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HISTOKV
Original Town of Concord,
BEING THE PRESENT TOWNS OF
CONCORD, COLLINS, N. COLLINS AND
SARDINIA,
Erie Couni^v, new. York,
BY ERASMUS BRIGGS.
ROCHESTER, N. Y.:
UNION AXI) ADVERTISER COMPANY'S PRINT.
1883.
50422
Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1S83.
BY ERASMUS BRIGGS,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
</>;
INDEX,
Chapter I. pa(;e.
From 1534 to 1(355.
Cartier's and Champlain's Expe-
dions 3
Chapter II.
From 1655 to 1679— Indians,
Dutch, French, &c 9
Chapter III.
DeNonville-La Houton— Queen
Anne — the Iroquois, &c 13
Chapter IV.
Pontiac' League — tlie Senecas —
the Devil's Hole, &c 17
Chapter V.
The Revolution — the Indians'
Ho?tiUty — Wyoming— Clierry
Valley. &c 20
Chapter VI
The Treaty of Fort Stanwix and
subsequent Treaties 24
Chapter VII.
Land Titles — Various Grants —
Conflicting Claims — Robert
Morris 29
Chapter VIII.
A curious fact — the First Crop
raised on the Holland Pur-
(;hase . 32
Chapter IX.
Agents of Holland C'ompany.
Theophilus Cazenova & Paul
Bustle 48
Joseph Ellicott 49
Jacob S. Otto, David E Evans. 51
A sketcli of others.
Robert Morris 52
Mary Jemison, the White Wo-
man 57
Chapter X. pa«e.
War of 1812-15 60
Chapter XI.
Campaign of 1813 66
Chapter XII.
Burning of Buffalo, &c 74
Chapter XIII.
Campaign of 1814 81
Discipline at Butf alo— the Death
Penalty 82
Capture of Fort Erie by the
Americans 83
An Indian Battle 84
The Battle of Chippewa 87
Battle of Conjockety Creek. ... 91
Battle of Fort Erie 92
Sortie at Fort Erie 95
News of Peace 98
Chapter XIV.
Early Settlers 100
Early Organization of County
and Towns 102
Date of Settlement and Organi-
zation of Towns in Erie Co. . . 104
Old Town of Concord 105
Coming to the country 106
Log Houses — Dutch Cliimneys
and Log-raising "106
Clearing Land 109
Sugar Making 113
Pioneer Wells 116
Pioneer Fencing 118
Frame Barns 120
Primitive Household Furnitm-e,
&c , &c 121
Carding, Spinning and Weaving 124
Raising, Dressing and Spinning
Flax 127
Bull Plow and Crotch Drag 128
Milling 129
Manufacturing of Clothing,
Boots and Shoes I3i
Making Black Salt . . . v 132
Husking Bees, &c . .'. .-',. . . ... . . 134
Schools •••,■>.. 136
'•■_
INDEX.
PAGE.
Spelling Schools 139
Reaping with a Sickle, &c 143
Militia Training .-. 144
Wrestling 146
Snow Shoes 146
Dancing 147
The Great AVolf Hunt 148
Droves and Drovers 150
The Lost Boy lol
Pigeons l^^
Thanksgiving 153
Chapter XV.
History of Concord 156
Names of persons previous to
Jan. 1. 1815 158
Names of persons Buying Land
of the Holland Company,
Township 6, Range 6 159
Township 7. Range 6 . 160
Township 6, Range 7 163
Township 7. Range 7 : . . . . 165
Copy of an Original Article of
Land 168
Copy of the First Deed in Con-
cord 172
Early Roads 173
Springville & Sardinia Railroad 175
Rochester & Pittsburgh Railro'd 175
Names of one or more of the
First Settlers on each Lot in
Concord 176
Hotels — Mills — Manufactories . 17S
Professional Men — Merchants —
Tradei-s and Mechanics 185
Banks 192
Manufacturers — Merchants and
Tradesmen 193
" Fiddler's Green' 196
Mail Routes— Post Offices 197
Commission of the First Post
Master in Springville 199
A list of the Owners of Farming
Lands in the Town of Con-
cord in 1845 200
Concord Soldiers' Record 205
Presbyterian Church 209
Metliodist Episcopal Church of
Springville 213
First Baptist Church of Spring-
ville 214
Free Baptist Church of Spring-
ville 216
Roman Catholic C h u r c h o f
Springville 217
Universalist Church 218
Free Baptist Church, East C!on-
cord 218
Free Baptist Church, West Con-
cord 219
PAGE.
Methodist Episcopal Church,
West Concord 219
Springville Academy 220
Semi-Centennial Celebration of
the Opening of Springville
Academy 223
Teachers' institutes 230
List of Accidental Deaths in the
Town of Concord 235
Names of Streams in Concord. . 237
The First Liberty-Pole 238
The Springville Mill 239
Local Names in Concord 240
The Springville Rifle Company 241
Town Officers of Concord 242
Town Accounts, 1830 245
Names of Early Settlers 246
Soldiers of Concord in 1812. . . . 247
Vosburg Murder 247
Otis Murder 248
The Old Springville Hotel 248
Panther Stories 250
Bear Story 251
Lands Deeded in Concord 252
Societies 265
Newspapers 267
Chapter XVI.
Family Histories of the Town of
Concord in Alphabetical Or-
der
A, 269 : B. 277 ; C, 303 ; D, 341 ;
E. 348 ; F, 353 : G, 369 ; H.
376 : I, 386 : J, 387 ; K, 391 :
L. 399 : M, 404 ; N. 417 : O.
422 ; P. 423 ; Q, 435 : R, 436 ;
S, 450 : T. 487 ; Urich, 502 ;
V, 502 ; W, 509 : Z, 532.
Eliza Reynolds
Springville
Chester Spencer
C. C McClure
Goddard Family
Christopher Stone's House
269
533
541
534
535
536
542
Chapter XVII.
History of C^ollins 543
First Settlers 544
Articles 545
Assessment Roll, 1823 553
Act Creating the Town 559
Defining Boundaries 560
Zoar 563
Deeds 569
List of Town Officers 577
Schools 583
Religious Meetings and Church
Organizations 584
••East District." Town of Col-
lins Center 585
INDEX.
PAGE.
Collins Center 585
Physicians 586
C'oilins C'enter Merchants 586
Tanneries 587
Mills 587
'• Society of Friends" 588
Soldiers' Record 589
Settlers of 60 and 70 years ago. . 593
Town Account. 1830 593
Societies 594
John Millis and his grist 595
Wild Animals 596
Business Directory of Collins
Center for 1882 596
Cowanda Directoiy for 1882... 597
Mrs. CJiarlotte Seymour's letter 598
Statement of S. W. Soule 600
Mrs. Stoddard's Statement 604
Statement of Joseph Plumb, Esq 617
Statement of S. Carv Adams . . . 624
Statement of David Wilber 696
Letter of Wm H. Parkinson. . . 675
Augustus Smith's Statement. . . 683
Statement of Benj. Albee. 2d. . 637
Blackney Murder 641
Chapter XVIII.
Family Histories, Collins 635
A, 635^ B. 639 ; C. 647 : F. 655 ;
G, 656 ; H, 657 ; J, 661 ; K,
663 ; L. 666 : M, 668 : N, 674 ;
O. 674 : P, 675 ; R, 682 ; S, 683 :
T, 691; V, 695; W, 696
Chapter XIX.
North Collins 707
Names of those who Purchased
Lands of the Holland Com-
pany 708
Deeds 714
First Settlers on each Lot 725
Assessment Roll of 1823 734
List of Town Officers ; . 728
Societies 731
Soldiers' Record 733
First Congregational Chui-ch . . . 737
Job Southwoi-th's Statement. . . 738
Statement of Isaac Hale 740
Statement of Noel Conger 743
'Statement of Isaac Woodward . 745
ClIAPTKR XX.
Family Histories, North Collins 749
B, 749 ; C, 750 ; D, 753 : F, 752 ;
G. 753 : H, 754 ; J, 755 : K.
756 ; L, 757 , P, 759 ; R. 761 :
S, 762 ; V, 766 ; W, 766
Chapter XXI.
General Historj^ of Sardinia. . . 769
Early Settlers 770
PAGE.
Articled Land 771
Deed of the Holland Comi)any. 776
Early Reminiscences — Nott. . . . 784
Fourth of July Party, 181 1 789
Soldiers" Record 794
First Baptist Church 797
Beneficiary Orders 798
Town Ofticers 798
Assessment Roll, 1843 813
Reminiscences by Dr. B. H. Col-
RToye 823
Statement of A. W. Shedd 839
Statement of L. D. Smith 832
Statement of Cyrus Rice 835
Business Places. &c 845
Notes from the Old Town Book
of 1821, &c 848
Chapter XXII.
Family Histories in Alphabet-
ical Order — Illustrations 851
A, 851 ; B. 854 : C. 857 : F. 860 :
G, 861 : H, 862 ; J, 868 : L,
868 : M, 870 : N, 871 ; O, 873 ;
P. 873 ; R, 875 : S, 878 ; T.
885 ; V. 885 ; Sterling Titus,
886; W, 886
OUTSIDERS.
Adams, J. C 892
Brooks, John 893
Brooks. Andrew J 894
Briggs, A. H , M. D 894
Briggs, George W 895
Foster, Harrison T 895
Field, William 897
Field. ]\Iarvin 898
Drake, Allen 898
Hammond, Wm. W 899
Hastings. Chancey J 900
Hastings, Sej'mour P 901
Koch, Harry H 901
Miller. Frederick 903
Nott. S. E. L. H 903
Nichols, George W 904
Wilev. William 904
Wiley, John M 905
Jliller, Christian 905
Oatman, David 906
Williams, George 907
Stowell, ( "harles 908
Ewell, Joseph E 908
Tanner, Aukxs B 1)09
Per.sons, Daniel H 910
Emery, Joseph, (,'ol 910
Scott.' Justus. 91 1
Smither, R. R 913
Spencer, H. S 912
Tanner, Alonzo, Esq 913
Wil)ert Family 913
INDEX.
PAGE.
Cutler, Caleb 915
Ransom. Asa 915
Ransom, Asa. Jr. ... : 916
Ransom, Harry B 917
Titus, James B 917
Kent, Joseph 919
Kent, Jonathan 919
Cooper, Joseph 920
Young, Charles E 930
Lockwood, Ebenezer 921
Stickney, David, Jr 922
White, Aimer 928
Tucker, Harvey J 924
Lockwood, A. U 925
Preston, A. G 926
Lawson, W. W 927
Bartholomew, A 928
Sampson, Joseph P 929
PAGE.
Bensley, John R 930
Bensley, George E 931
Haight, Albert 982
Coit, George 935
Humphrey, Arthur 935
Humphrey, J. M 936
Lockwood, D. N 937
Green, O J. & Sons 938
Reading, Richard 939
Canbee, Joseph 940
Kerr. Patterson 941
Scoby. M C 941
Bartlett, Marcus 542
Calkins, AC 544
Coit, Chas. T 944
Coit, Frank S 945
Eustaphive. HA 945
Masonic 947
ERRATA.
Page 105, read " Lawton " for Lanton.
Page 106, read " Big Tree " for Fitr Tree.
Page 126, read " Scarn " for Scam.
Page 131, 9th line, read " difticuU '" for different.
Page 152, read " Morton's Corners" for Morton's Creek.
Page 174, line 38, read " at lot 32 " for at lot 52.
Page 180, read '" Theodore Frew " for Theodore Trevv.
Page 188, read " Perigo " for Brigo.
Page 189, read " Shoutz " for Shontz ; same page, read " Barnhart " for Ramhart ; same
page, read " Post " for Past.
Page 190, read " Parmeter " for Bameter.
Page 192, read " F. K. Davis " for T. K. Davis.
Page 195, read " Frew " for Trew.
Page 208, read " 1862 " for 1892.
Page 218, read " Morris Hall " for Horris Hall.
Page 275, read " Auwater " for Anwater.
Page 253, 3d line from bottom, read " 1819 " instead of 1809.
Page 293, read " 1869" for 1899.
Page 294, read " 1880 " for 1810 ; same page, read " 1882 " for 1822.
Page 332, read " 1839 " for 1849. •
Page 338, read " 1877" for 1878.
Page 359, read the name " Benjamin Fay " for Benjamin Frye.
Page 360, read the name " Nemiah Fay '" for Nemiah Frj-e.
Page 369, line 16, read " Ruth Briggs" for Bertha Briggs.
Page 391, read " Benjamin Gardner" for Benjamin Gordon.
Page 305, read " Otis Morton " for Otis Horton.
Page 400, read " Mary Hufstader " for John Hufstader.
Page 433, read " 1832 " for 1882.
Page 452, read"' William T., " for William G., and "' W. T. Lincoln " for William F.
Page 468. read " Orrin Baker " for Owen Baker.
Page 484, line 20, read " Council Bluffs " for Dakota.
Page 476, read '" Marcy " for Mercy.
Page 478, line 6th, read " 1761 " for 1861.
Page 496, 2d line, leave out "Boston"; same page, read 4th line from bottom p;»ge
■' near" for new.
Page 498, 2d line from top, read "1792 " for 1702.
Page 519, in the account of Levi and Isaac Woodward, read "• married " for the capital M.
Page 566, i2th line, read "her family" for his family.
Page 618, read " Parthenia" for Perthenia.
Page 623, read " Parthenia " for Pathenia.
Page 632, last line, read " Methodist Preacher " for teacher
Page 659, 12th line, read " born 1831 " for 1871.
Page 672, line 14, read " 1850 " for 1859.
Page 743, read " Noel Conger " for Noah Conger; page following 770, read " 77I " for
781 ; page following 872, read " 873 " for 783.
Page 827. read " Reuben B. Heacock " for Reuben B. Hancock.
Page 861, ^4th line, " TuUer " for I'uller.
Page 889, " Brewer " for Brower.
Page 894, " John Jr., 2d " for John Jr.. Son.
INTRODUCTION,
" Oft did the harvest to their sickle yield
Their furrow oft the stubborn glebe has broke,
How jocund did they drive their team a-field,
How bowed the woods beneath their sturdy stroke.
Let not ambition mock their useful toil,
Their homely joys and destiny obscure."
The motives that prompted the author to attempt the com-
pilation of a work of this nature were, that bein^ himself to
the " manor born," and having enjoyed an intimate personal
acquaintance with many of the early settlers of these towns,
and knowing that very little had ever been said of them in any
history that had been heretofore published, he felt that all
former attempts of the historian to portray the.se early tijnes
and scenes were lacking in detail and did not accord to the
brave pioneers of these towns the mead of pra'ise that their
self-sacrificing labors and privations entitle them to, and he
departs from the rule generally pursued by writers, of record-
ing only the acts of those whom fortune or favor has raised to
positions of prominence, and he feels that the lives and deeds
of the pioneer, though their destiny may have been obscure,
are worthy of being remembered and perpetuated upon the
pages of history; for the pioneer, like the great forests that
once surrounded his humble cabin, is passing awa)- ; onl)' here
and there you find them, and soon, very soon, there will not
one remain, and it is but a simple acti of justice to the living
and an honor that we owe to the dead, who now rest from their
toils on fields their hands helped to clear, that a record of their
lives should be put into some tangible form and the multitude
of facts in the possession of those who are yet with us be res-
cued from oblivion, for soon these witnesses will pass away, and
there will be none left to tell the story of the olden time.
X INTRODUCTION.
For this reason the author has undertaken the task of com-
piling a vohime, and he finds that there has been an ahiiost
endless amount of labor to collect and arrange facts and dates
to incidents that transpired so many years ago, and much of it
may appear commonplace and non-interesting to some, but the
author belives that the task he has undertaken is a laudable
one, and that the few pioneers now remaining and their de-
scendants for generations to come, will be interested in the
work, and will properly appreciate the undertaking.
To the many who have aided him in this undertaking and
were induced to, at his earnest request, he is under many obliga-
tions, and though their names may appear elsewhere, in con-
nection with articles contributed, still he takes pleasure in ren-
dering a personal acknowledgment here : J. H. Plumb, Esq., of
Westfield, Mrs. Stoddard of Iowa, S Gary Adams, Esq. of
Buffalo, S. W. Soule, William H. Parkinson of Collins, Mrs. Sey-
mour of Chautauqua, L. B. Cochran, Esq., Hon. C. C. Sever-
ance, W. G. Ramson, Dr. G. G. Stanbro of Concord and L. D.
Smith and Cyrus Rice of Sardinia, have placed him under a debt
of gratitude. Of those who rendered valuable aid in soliciting
subscriptions and encouraging him in his undertaking, he will
ever remember the names of James Hopkins, Addison Whee-
lock, Cyrus Rice, Welcome Andrews, Alden J. McArthur and
many others. Christfield Johnson, Esq., author of the Centen-
nial History of Erie county, courteously allowed him the free
use of his book, and the first one hundred pages of this work
are taken from his book, and Turner's History of the Holland
Purchase. Nearly the whole of the remaining pages are original.
The amount of matter in this volume in relation to the family
histories of each of these respective towns will be accounted for
by the number of subscriptions that the author has received in
said towns to aid in the publication of this work. Of course a
work of this nature, containing the amount of matter that this
one does, must necessarily be expensive, and every page added
must necessarily also increase the expense to be borne by the
author who has to depend for the funds to defray the cost most
entirely upon local patronage, and most certainly he cannot do
as his inclinations would otherwise naturally lead him, if he
were not confined to limited means, and in the present under-
INTRODUCTION. xi
taking he wcnild feci himself am[jl\- rewarded if lie were to re-
ceive the bare expense of preparing and publishing this work.
But he is well aware nozo that the expense will far exceed all
such hopes, and the author regrets too that there is a single
thing omitted that will detract from the general interest of this
volume, and yet he knows that there are names of those who
were early identified with the settlement of these towns, whose
histories would have been of interest and were worth)- of being
preserved, that are now lacking, which can only be accounted
for by the indifference of those who should have taken some
interest in a work of this nature.
Following appears the number of subscribers of each town,
together with those who are not residents :
Concord 260
Collins 125
North Collins 35
Sardinia 65
Buffalo and others localities ■ 80
E. B.
"^%i^»"^^
^\^^ /,
?>f''*
^
E. BRIGGS.
Autobioijraphy of the Author.
The author of this work was born on the ^ist thi)- of August,
i8i8, on Townsend Hill, in the town of (Joncord, where he
remained with his parents until after he was seventeen years of
age. As soon as old enough, he was put to work to assist in
clearing up a heavily-timbered farm ; and the scenes and inci-
dents appertaining to pioneer life jjortrayed in the several
articles in chapter xiv. of this work are from his own knowl-
edge and experience.
His education was principally obtained in the district school,
on Townsend Hill, supplemented by a few terms at select
school and Springville Academy. •
The Winter after he was eighteen years of age, he taught a
term of school, and the Spring following, he took Greeley's
advice and went west. This was before the advent of railroads,
and was quite an undertaking. The journey across the State
of Michigan, and from Chicago to Racine, from Racine to
Janesville, from Janesville to Galena, and from Galena to Ful-
ton, a total distance of over six hundred miles, was made on
foot. At that time, the prairies of Northern Illinois and
Southern Wisconsin were unoccupied; the onl\- settlers to be
found were located in or near the timber. Chicago at that
time was a small town, whose buildings and improvements
were confined to a narrow belt of dry land along the lake-shore
and river-bank ; the ground back being low and covered with
prairie-grass and water. Racine was a straggling little hamlet,
and the city of Janesville was yet in embryo, its site being
occupied by two or three small log farm-houses. He remem-
bers stopping there a few days, and planting corn on the land
where the city now stands. Beloit was named, but Freeport
was unknown, and Galena was a very small village. The jour-
ney for the last two days was made on a single meal. Fulton
was surveyed and named, but contained but one log-house.
He remained in Fulton two and a half years, putting up build-
ings in the Summer, and getting out timber and cutting steam-
boat wood in the Winter. He built the first frame-house in
Fulton, and continued to work at the business until prostrated
by sickness.
When sufficiently recovered to travel, he returned to his
native town, where for the next eleven years his time was
divided between working at the carpenters' trade Summers,
teaching school Winters, and attending to the duties of the
office of Superintendent of Common Schools.
In 1850, he went to the town of West Seneca, and invested
in timbered land, which had formerly been a part of the Indian
reservation. For the next fifteen years, this town and the ad-
joining town of Elma was his home. During these }'-ears, he
was quite extensively engaged in the wood, bark and lumber
business. In 1852, while a resident of West Seneca, he was
elected Justice of the Peace, and also town Superintendent of
Common Schools. He was also chosen to represent them on the
Board of Supervisors, in 1853-54-55. He afterward held the
office of Justice of the Peace in the town of Elma. Since his re-
turn to Concord, in 1865, he has worked at building several Sum-
mers, and taught school occasionally Winters. For the last
five years, his time has been principally spent in procuring
facts and preparing this work. Since his return to Concord, he
has been several times elected Supervisor, although the party
with which he affiliates is in the minority ; and it is a source of
gratification to know^ that wherever he has resided, he has,
enjoyed the confidence of his fellow-townsmen.
HISTORY
OF THE
ORIGINAL TOWN OF CONCORD.
CHAPTER I.
FROM 1534 TO 1655.
George Cartier's Expedition — Champlain's Expedition — King James' Grant —
Henry Hudson — French Traders — The Jesuits— Chaumonot and Bre-
boeuf — Hunting Buffalo — Destruction of the Kahquahs and Eries —
Seneca Tradition — French Account — Their Sysiem of Clans —Its Import-
ance— Sachems and War-Chiefs — Method of Descent — Choice of
Sachems — Family Relations.
In the year 1534, forty-two years after the discovery of
America, George Cartier, a French explorer sailed up the St.
Lawrence to Montreal and took possession of all the country
round about on behalf of the King of France, Francis the P'irst,
and called it New France.
He made some attempts to colonize, but in 1543 they were
all abandoned, and for more than half a century no further
progress was made.
In 1603, the celebrated French mariner, Samuel Champlain,
led an expedition to Quebec and made a permanent settlement
there, and, in fact, founded the Colony of Canada. Montreal
was founded soon after, and communication was comparatively
easy along the course of the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario,
and, with a portage around the Falls, to Lake Erie. And
4 KING JAMES GRANT.
mainly for this reason, the French fur traders and missionaries
reached this region of country long before any other Europeans.
In 1606, King James, of England, granted to an association
of Englishmen called the Plymouth company, the territory of
New England, but no permanent settlement was made until the
9th day of November, 1620, when, from the historic Ma}'flower,
the Pilgrim Fathers landed on Plymouth Rock.
In 1628, Charles the F"irst, of England, granted a charter for
the government of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. It
included the territory between latitude 40° 2' and 44° 15' north,
extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific, making a colony a
hundred and fifty-four miles wide and four thousand miles long.
The County of Erie and Western New York were included
within its limits.
In 1609, the English navigator, Henry Hudson, while in the
employ of Holland, discovered the river that bears his name,
and the Hollanders established fortified trading posts on Man-
hattan island and at Alban)% and commenced trading with the
Indians. They also made an indefinite claim of territory west-
ward.
All European nations at that time claimed title to lands in
America by the right of discovery, and they granted them away
to individuals and companies in small and large tracts, as they
saw fit, when, as a matter of right and justice, their title was no
better than was the title of that character we read of, to all the
kingdoms of the world, which he offered to give Christ if he
would fall down and worship him.
In 1623, permanent Dutch emigration for agricultural pur-
poses first began upon the Hudson river.
In 1625, a few Catholic missionaries arrived on the banks of
the St. Lawrence.
About 1620, the first white men visited the country about the
lower end of Lake Erie and the Niagara river ; the}' were French
fur traders in search of furs.
In 1626, Father De La Roche Daillon, a French missionary,
visited the Neuter Nation and passed the winter preaching the
gospel among them. The Neuter Nation occupied the countiy
about the east end of Lake Erie and on both sides of the
Niagara River. They had their villages in Canada and in Erie
riiK jKsri r missk ixariks. 5
count)'; there was one at or near the mouth of I'LiL(hteen-Mile
creek, and perhaps others further west. Hut the south shore of
Lake Erie was occupied principally by a tribe called the Eries.
The French called the. tribe occupying the countrx- hereabouts
the Neuter Nation, because they dwelt in peace with surround-
ing tribes, but they were kno\\n among the other tribes as the
Kahquahs.
The Jesuit missionaries, fired with unbounded zeal and unsur-
passed valor, traversed the wilderness, holding up the cross
before the bewildered pagans. They soon had flourishing sta-
tions as far west as Lake Huron. One of these stations was St.
Marie, near the eastern extremity of the lake, and it was from
St. Marie that Fathers Breboeuf and Chaumonot set forth in
November, 1640, to visit the Neuter Nation. They returned in
the Spring, having visited eighteen Kahquah villages, but hav-
ing met with very little encouragement among them. They
reported the Neuter Lidians to be stronger and finer looking
than the Hurons, and that their food and clothing were but little
different ; that the}' had corn, beans and some other vegetables,
and plenty of fish ; that they were much employed in hunting
deer, bears, buffalo, beavers, wolves, wild-cats and other animals;
that there was also an abundance of wild turkeys. They esti-
mated the whole number of villages of the Neuter Nation at
forty, and that the most eastern was but one day's journe}' from
the country of the Senecas. The Senecas, when first \isited by
the whites, had their villages east of the Genesee river.
Up to this time, the Kahquahs had succeeded in maintaining
their neutrality between the fierce belligerents on either side.
What the cause of quarrel, if any, arose between the peaceful
possessors of Erie county and the powerful confederates to the
eastward, is entirely unknown ; but sometime during the next
fifteen years, the Iroquois fell upon both the Kahquahs and the
Eries and exterminated them, as nations, from the face of the
earth.
The precise years in which these e\ents occurred are uncer-
tain, and it is not known whether the Kahquahs or the Eries
were first destroyed. French accounts go to show that the
Neuter Nation were first destroyed ; while, according to Seneca
tradition, the Kahquahs still dwelt here when the Iroquois
6 THE IROQUOIS CONFEDERACY.
annihilated the Eries; but it is certain that, somewhere between
1643 and 1655, the fierce confederates of Central New York
"put out the fires" of both the Kahquahs and the Eries.
From the destruction of the Kahquahs down to the time the
Iroquois sold to the Holland Land company (or, rather, to
Robert Morris), they were, by right of conquest, the actual
possessors of the territory composing the present County of
Erie, and, a few years before the sale, the largest nation of the
confederacy made their principal residence within the county.
Within its borders, too, are still to be seen the largest united
body of their descendants. For two hundred and thirty years,
the Iroquois have been closely identified with the history of
Erie county, and it is proper to give a short account of the
interior structure of that remarkable confederacy.
The name Iroquois was never applied by the confederates to
themselves ; it was first used by the French. The men of the
five nations called themselves He-do-no-saunee, which means
literally " They form a cabin," describing in this expressive
manner the close union existing between them. The Indian
name just quoted is more liberally and more commonly ren-
dered "The People of the Long House," which is more fully
descriptive of the confederacy.
The feature that distinguished the people of the Long House
from all the world beside, and which, at the same time, bound
together all these ferocious warriors as with a living chain was
the system oi c/ans extending through all the different tribes.
Many readers doubtless have often heard of the warlike suc-
cess and outward greatness of the Iroquois confederacy, but one
unacquainted with the inner league, which was its distinguish-
ing characteristic, and without which in all probability have met
at an early day with the fate of numerous similar alliances.
The people of the Iroquois confederacy were divided into
eight c/aHS, or families, the names of which were as follows:
Wolf, Bear, Beaver, Turtle, Deer, Snipe, Heron and Hawk.
Each clan formed a large artificial family modeled on the
natural family. All the members of the clan, no matter how
widely separated among the tribes were considered as brothers
and sisters to each other, and forbidden to intermarry. This
prohibition was strictly enforced b}' public opinion.
SAC'IIKMS AND \VAR-{ 1 1 1 KKS. J
The clan.bciiii^ thus tauL;lU from earliest infanc)' that tliey
belonged to the same famil\-, a bond of the strongest kind was
created throughout the confederac)-. Hie Oneida of the Wolf
clan had no sooner appeared among the Cayugas than those of
the same clan claimed iiim as their special guest, and admitted
him to the most confidential intimac}'. The Seneca of the
Turtle clan might wander to the country of the Mohawks at the
further extremity of the Long House, and he had a claim upon
his brother Turtles which they would not dream of repudiating.
Thus the whole confederacy was linked together. If at any
time there appeared a tendency toward conflict between the
different tribes, it was instantly checked by the thought that
if persisted in the hand of the Heron would be turned against
Heron, and the hatchet of the Bear would be raised against
his brother Bear, and the bow of the Beaver would be drawn
against his brother Beaver. And so potent was the feeling
that until the power of the confederacy was broken by over-
whelming outside force, there was no serious dissension between
the tribes of the Iroquois. Aside from the clan-system just
described, which was an artificial invention expressly invented
to prevent dissension among the confederates, the Iroquois
league had some resemblance to the great American Union
which succeeded it. The central authority was supreme on
questions of peace and war, and on all others relating to the
general welfare of the confederacy, while the tribes, like the
states, reserved to themselves the management of their ordin-
ary affairs. In peace, all power was confided to " Sachems,"
in war, to " Chiefs." The Sachems of each tribe acted as its
rulers in matters which required the exercise of civil authority.
The same rulers also met in congress to direct the affairs of the
confederacy. There was, in each tribe, the same number of
War-chiefs as Sachems, and these had absolute authority in
time of war. But in a war-party the War-chiefs commanded
and the Sachem took his place in the ranks.
The congress always met at the council-fire of the Onon-
dagas. The Senecas were unquestionably the most powerful
of all the tribes, and as the\' were located at the western
extremity of the confederac}-, they had to bear the brunt of
war when it was assailed by its most formidable foes, who dwelt
8 P'AMILV RELATIONS.
in that quarter. It would naturally follow that the principal
War-chief of the league should be of the Seneca Nation, and
such is said to have been the case.
As among many other savage tribes the right of heirship was
in the female line. Titles, as far as they were hereditary at all,
followed the same law of descent. The child also followed
the clan and tribe of the mother. Notwithstanding the modi-
fied system of hereditary power in vogue, the constitution of
every tribe was essentially republican. Warriors, old men, and
even women, attended the council and made their influence
felt. Neither in the government of the confederacy nor in the
tribes, was there any such thing as tyranny over the people.
ENGLAND CONQUERS NEW AMSTERDAM. 9
CHAPTER II.
FROM 1655 TO 1679.
The Iroquois Triumphant— Obliteration of Dutch Power — French Progress —
La Salle Visits the Senecas — Greenhalph's Estimates — La Salle on the
Niagara — Building of the Griffin — It Enters Lake Erie — La Salle's Subse-
quent Career — The Prospect in 1679.
From the time of the destruction of the Kahquahs and
Eries, the Iroquois went forth conquering and to conquer.
This was probably the day of their greatest glory. They
stayed the progress of the French into their territories; they
negotiated on equal terms \\ith the Dutch and English, and
having supplied themselves with the terrible arms of the pale-
faces, they smote with direst vengeance whomsoever of their
own race were unfortunate enough to provoke their wrath.
At one period, the sound of their war cry was heard along
the Straits of St. Marys and at the foot of Lake Superior. At
another, under the walls of Quebec, where they defeated the
Hurons under the eyes of the French. They spread the terror
of their arms over New England — Smith encountered their
warriors in the settlement of Virginia, and La Salle on the
discovery of Illinois. They bore their conquering arms along
the Susquehanna, the Allegheny and the Ohio, and farther
south. In short, they triumphed on every side, save only
where the white men came, and even the white man was for a
time held at bay by their fierce confederates.
In 1664 the English conquered New Amsterdam, and in
1670 their conquest was made permanent.
Charles the Second, then King of England, granted the
conquered province to his brother James, Duke of York, from
whom it was called New York. This grant comprised all the
lands along the Hudson, with an indefinite amount westward,
thus overlapping the previous grant of James the First, to the
Plymouth company, and the boundaries of Massachusetts by
the charter of Charles the First, and laying the foundation for
a conflict of jurisdiction, which was afterward to have import-
ant effects on the destinies of Western New York.
lO LA SALLE S ARRIVAL.
By 1665, trading posts had been established by the French at
Mackinaw, Green Bay, Chicago and St. Joseph. In 1669 La
Salle, whose name was soon to be indissolubly united to the
annals of Erie county, visited the Senecas with only two com-
panions, finding their four principal villages from ten to twenty
miles southerly from Rochester, scattered over portions of the
present Counties of Monroe, Livingston and Ontario.
In 1673, the Missionaries Marquette and Joliet, pushed on
beyond the farthest French post and erected the emblems of
Christianity on the shore of the Father of Waters.
In 1677, Wentworth Greenhalph, an Englishman, visited all
the F'ive Nations, finding the same four towns of the Senecas
described by the companions of La Salle. Greenhalph made
very minute observations counting the houses of the Indians
and reported the Mohawk as having three hundred warriors,
the Oneidas two hundred, the Onondagas three hundred and
fifty, the Cayugas three hundred and the Senecas a thousand.
It will be seen that the Senecas, the Guardians of the western
door of the Long House, numbered, according to Greenhalph's
computation, nearly as many as all of the other tribes of the
confederacy combined, and other accounts show that he was not
far from correct.
In the month of January, 1679, a Frenchman of good
family, Robert Cavalier de La Salle, arrived at the mouth of
Niagara. He was one of the most gallant, devoted and ad-
venturous of all the bold explorers, who under many different
banners, opened the new world to the knowledge of the old.
In 1678 he had received from King Louis a commission to
discover the western part of New France. He made some
preparations the same year and in the Fall sent the Seuer de
La Motte and Father Hennepin (the priest and historian of
the expedition) in advance to the mouth of the Niagara. As
soon as La Salle arrived he went two leagues above the Falls,
built a rude dock at the mouth of Cayuga Creek, in Niagara
county and laid the keel of a vessel with which to navigate the
Lakes. Hennepin distinctly mentions a small village of Sene-
cas at the mouth of the Niagara, and it is plain from his whole
narrative that the Iroquois were in possession of the country
along the ri\er.
THE FIRST VESSEL IS BUILT. II
The work was carried on throu<;h the Winter, and in the
Sprin^^ the vessel was launched. It was a small vessel of sixty
tons burthen, completely furnished with anchors, and other
equipments, and armed with seven small cannon, all of which
had been transported by hand around the cataract. The vessel
was named the "Grififin," and there were thirt)--four men on
board, all Frenchmen with a single exception.
For several months the Griffin remained in the Niagara,
between the place where it was built and the rapids at the head
of the river. When all was ready, the attempt was made and
several times repeated, to ascend' the rapids above Black Rock.
At length on the 7th day of August, 1679, a favorable wind
sprung up from the Northeast; all the Griffin's sails were set,
and again it approached the rapids. A dozen stout sailors
were sent ashore , with a tow-line, and aided with all their
strength the breeze that blew from the North. Those efforts
were soon successful; by the aid of sails and tow-line, the
Griffin surmounted the rapids, and the pioneer vessel of these
waters swept out on to the bosom of Lake Erie. As it did so,
the priests led in singing a joyous Te Deum, and all the cannon
were fired in a grand salute. On board that vessel was the
intrepid La Salle, a man fitted to grace the salons of Paris,
yet now eagerly pressing forward to dare the hardships of
unknown seas and savage lands.
A born leader of men, a heroic subduer of nature, the gallant
Frenchman for a brief time passes along the border of our
county and then disappears in the far West, where he was
eventually to find a grave.
There w^as Tonti, the solitary alien, amid the Gallic band
exiled by revolution from his native Italy, who had been chosen
by La Salle as second in command, and who justified the choice
by his unswerving courage and devoted loyalty. There, too,
was Father Hennepin, the earliest historian of these regions, one
of the most zealous of all the zealous band of Catholic priests
who at that period undauntedly bore the cross amid the fiercest
pagans of America.
This was the beginning of the commerce of the upper lakes
and like many another first venture it resulted only in disaster
to its projectors, though the harbinger of unbounded success by
12 LA SALLE RETURNS TO FRANCE.
others. The (iriffin went to Green Bay where La Salle and
Hennepin left it, and started on its return with'a cargo of furs,
and was never heard of more. It is supposed that it sank in a
storm and all on board perished.
After the Grif^n had sailed. La Salle and Hennepin went in
canoes to the head of Lake Michigan. Then, after building a
trading post and waiting many weary months for the return of
his vessel, he went, with thirty followers, to Lake Peoria, on the
Illinois, where he built a fort and gave it the expressive name
of " Creve Cceur," Broken Heart. But notwithstanding this
expression of despair, his courage was far from exhausted, and
after sending Hennepin to explore the Mississippi, he, with three
comrades, performed the remarkable feat of returning to Fort
Frontenac on foot, depending on their guns for support.
From Fort Frontenac he returned to Creve Coeur, the garri-
son of which had in the meantime been driven away by the
Indians. Again the indomitable La Salle gathered his follow-
^ ers, and in the fore part of 1682 descended the Mississippi to
the sea, being the first European to explore any considerable
portion of that mighty stream. He took possession of the
country in the name of King Louis the Fourteenth, and called
it Louisiana.
Returning to France, he astonished and gratified the Court
with the story of his discoveries, and in 1684 was furnished with
a fleet and several hundred men to colonize the new domain.
Then everything went wrong ; the fleet, through the blunders
of its naval commander, went to Mattagorda bay, in Texas ; the
store ship was wrecked ; the fleet returned ; La Salle failed to
find the mouth of the Mississippi ; his colony dwindled away,
through desertion and death, to forty men, and at length he
started with sixteen of these on foot to return to Canada for
assistance. Ere he reached the Sabine he was murdered by two
of his followers and left unburied on the prairie. France knows
him as the man who added Louisiana to her empire ; the Mis-
sissippi valley reveres him as the first explorer of its great river,
but by the citizens of this county he will best be remembered
as the pioneer navigator of Lake Erie.
TIIK Kki:( ri(>\ ol" lOKT MACAkA. 13
CHAPTKR 111.
FRENCH DOMINION.
De Nonville's Assault — Origin of Fort Niagara — La Honlan's Expedition — The
Peace of Ryswyck — Queen Anne's War — The Iroquois Neutral — The
Tuscaroras — Joncaire — Fort Niagara Rebuilt — French Power Increas-
ing— Successive Wars — The Line of Posts— The Final Struggle — The
Expedition of D'Aubrey — The Result — The Surrender of Canada
For the next forty-five years after the adventures of La
Salle, the French voya<^eurs traded and the missionaries labored,
and their soldiers sometimes made incursions, but thev had no
permanent fortress this side of Fort Frontenac (Kingston,
Canada).
In 1687, the Marquis de Nonville, Governor of New France,
came with an army and attacked the Senecas at their village
near Avon and Victor, and after giving battle the Senecas fled.
De Nonville destroyed their stores of corn and retired to Lake
Ontario, and then sailed to the mouth of the Niagara, where he
erected a small fort on the east side of the river. This was the
origin of Fort Niagara, one of the most celebrated strongholds
in America, and which, though a while abandoned, was after-
wards for a long time considered the key of Western New York.
Detroit was founded by the French in 1701 ; other posts were
established far and wide.
About 17 12, an important event occurred in the histor}- of the
Iroquois.
The Five Nations become Six Nations. The Tuscaroras, a
powerful tribe of North Carolina, had become involved in a
w^ar with the whites, originating, as usual, in a dispute about
land. The colonists being aided by several other tribes, the
Tuscaroras were soon defeated, many of them killed, and many
others captured and sold as slaves. The greater part of the
remainder fled northward to the Iroquois, who immediately
adopted them as one of the tribes of the confederacy.
Not long after this, one Chabert Joncaire, a Frenchman, who
had been captured in \-outh by the Senecas, who had been
14 WAR BETWEEN ENGLAND AND FRANCE.
adopted into their tribe, and had married a Seneca wife, but
who had been released, was employed by the French authorities
to promote their interests among the Iroquois. Pleading his
claims as an adopted child of the nation, he was allowed by the
Seneca Chiefs to build a cabin on the site of Lewiston, which
soon became a center of French influence.
About 1725, the French began re-building Fort Niagara on
the site where De Nonville had erected his fortress ; this was
their stronghold for many years. To this, and forts that were
already built, they added Presque Isle (now Erie), Venango
(Franklin, Pa.), and Fort Du Quesne, on the site of Pittsburgh,
designing to establish a line of forts from the Lakes to the Ohio,
and thence down that river to the Mississippi.
Frequent detachments of troops passed through along this
line. Their course was up Niagara to Buffalo, thence either by
bateaux up the lake or on foot along the shore to Erie, and
thence to Venango and Du Quesne. Gaily-dressed French
officers went to and fro ; dark-gowned Jesuits traveled back and
forth receiving the respect of the red men even when their
creed was rejected.
In 1756, war was again declared between England and France,
being their last great struggle for supremacy in the New World.
More frequently sped the gay officers and soldiers of King
Louis from Quebec, and Frontenac, and Niagara — now in
bateaux, now on foot, along the western border of our county.
At first the French were everywhere victorious. Braddock,
almost at the gates of Fort Du Quesne, was slain, and his army
cut in pieces.
Montcalm captured Oswego. The French line up the lakes
and across to the Ohio was stronger than ever; but, in 1758,
William Pitt became Prime Minister, and then England flung
herself in dead earnest into the contest ; that year Fort Du
Quesne was captured by an English and provincial army. Fort
Frontenac was seized by Colonel Bradstreet. The cordon was
broken, but Fort Niagara still held out for F'rance. In 1759,
still heavier blows were struck. Wolfe assailed Quebec, the
strongest of all the French strongholds.
Almost at the same time General Prideaux, with two thous-
and British and Provincials, accompanied by Sir William Johnson
SIR WII.I.FAM JOHNSON" AND D'aI'HRKV. I5
with his faithful Iroquois, sailed up Lake Ontario and laid
siege to Fort Niagara. Defended by only six hundred men,
its capture was certain unless relief could be obtained. Its
commander was not idle. Once again along the Niagara and
up Lake Erie, and away through the forest, sped his lithe red-
skinned messenger, to summon the sons and the allies of
France. D'Aubrey at Venango heard the call and responded
with his most zealous endeavours. Gathering all the troops
he could from far and near, stripping bare with desperate
energy the little French forts at the west, and mustering every
red man he could persuade to follow his banner to set forth to
relieve Niagara.
Thus it was about the 20th of July, 1759, that the largest
European force which had yet been seen in this region at any
one time, came coasting down the lake from Presque Isle, past
the mouth of the Cattaraugus and along the shores of Brant and
Evens, and Hamburgh, to the foot of the lake. Fifty or sixty
batteaux bore near a thousand Frenchmen on their mission of
relief, while a long line of canoes were freighted with four
hundred of the dusky warriors of the west.
History has preserved but a slight record of this last struggle
of the French for dominion in these regions, but it has rescued
from oblivion the names of D'Aubrey, the commander, De
Lignery, his second, of Monsieur Marini, the leader of the
Indians, and of Captains De Villie, Pepentine, Martini and
Basonc.
The Seneca warriors, snuffing the battle from their homes
on the Genesee and beyond, were roaming restlessly through
Erie and Niagara counties and along the shores of the river,
uncertain how to act, more friendly to the French than the
English, and yet unwilling to engage in conflict with their
brethren of the Six Nations.
D'Aubrey led his flotilla past the site of Buffalo and past
Grand island and only halted on reaching the shores of Navy
island. After staying there a day or two, to communicate with
the fort, he passed over to the main land and marched forward
to battle. But Sir William Johnson, who had succeeded to
the command on the death of Prideaux, was not the kind of
man likely to meet with the fate of Braddock. Apprised of
1 6 THE FREN'CH DEFEATED.
the approach of the French, he retained men enough before
the fort to prevent an outbreak of the garrison, and stationed
the rest in an advantageous position on the east side of the
Niagara, just below the whirlpool. After a battle an hour
long the French were utterly routed, several hundred being
slain on the field, and a large part of the remainder being cap-
tured, including the wounded D'Aubrey.
On the receipt of this disastrous news, the garrison at once
surrendered. The control of the Niagara river, which had
been in the hands of the French for over a hundred years,
passed into those of the English. For a little while the
French held possession of the fort at Schlosser, and even
repulsed an English force sent against it. Becoming satisfied,
however, that they could not withstand their powerful foe,
they determined to destroy their two armed vessels laden with
military stores. They accordingly took them into an arm of
the river separating Buckhorn from Grand island, at the very
northwesternmost limit of Erie county, burned them to the
waters' edge and sunk the hulls.
Soon the life-bought victory of Wolfe gave Quebec to the
triumphant Britons. Still the French clung to their colonies
with desperate but failing grasp, and it was not till September,
1760, that the Marquis de Vaudreuil, the Governor-General of
Canada, surrendered Montreal, and with it Detroit, Venango,
and all the other within his jurisdiction. This surrender was
ratified by the treaty of peace between England and France
in February, 1 763, which ceded Canada to the former power
and thus ended the long- contest.
PONTIAC S CONSI'IRACV.
CHAPTER IV.
ENGLISH DOMINION.
Pontiac's League — The Seneca's Hostile — The Devil's Hole — Battle Near Buf-
falo— Treaty at Niagara — Bradstreet's Expedition — Israel Putnam — Lake
Commerce — Wreck of the Beaver — Tryon County.
The celebrated Indian Chief Pontiac, united several western
tribes against the British soon after their advent. In May,
1763, the league surprised nine out of twelve English forts and
massacred their garrisons. Detroit, Pittsburgh and Niagara
alone escaped surprise and each successfully resisted a siege.
There is no positive evidence, but there is little doubt that the
Senecas were involved in Pontiac's league and were active in
their attack on Niagara.
In the September following occurred the awful tragedy of
the Devil's Hole, when a band of Senecas, of whom Honaye-
wus, afterwards celebrated as Farmers Brothers, was one and
Cornplanter probably another, ambushed a train of English
army wagons, with an escort of soldiers, the whole numbering
ninety-six men, three and a half miles below the Falls, and
massacred every man except four.
A few weeks later, on the 19th of October, 1763, there
occurred the first hostile conflict in Erie county, of which
there is any record, in which white men took part. It occurred
probably at or near Black Rock. Si.x hundred British soldiers,
under one Major Wilkins, were on their way in boats to rein-
force their comrades in Detroit. A hundred and sixty of them,
who were a half mile astern of the others, were suddenly fired on
by a band of Senecas in a thicket on the shore. So close was
their aim that thirteen men were killed or wounded at the first
fire. Yihy soldiers landed and attacked the Indians. Three
more soldiers were killed and twelve badh- wounded. It does
not appear that the Indians suffered near as heavily as the
English.
In the Summer of 1764, General Bradstreet, with twelve hun-
dred British and Americans came bv water to Fort Niagara.
l8 INDIAN' COUNCIL AT FORT NIAGARA.
accompanied by the indefatigable Sir William Johnson. A grand
council of friendly Indians was held at the fort, among whom
Sir William exercised his customary skill, and satisfactory treaties
were made. But the Senecas held aloof, and were said to be
meditating a renewal of the war. At length General Bradstreet
ordered their immediate attendance, under penalty of the
destruction of their settlements. They came, ratified the treaty
and thenceforward adhered to it pretty faithfully, notwithstand-
ing the peremptory manner in which it was obtained. In the
meantime a fort had been erected on the site of Fort Erie, the
first ever built there.
In August, Bradstreet's army increased to nearly three thou-
sand men, came up the river and proceeded up the south side of
the lake, for the purpose of bringing the western Indians to
terms, a task which was successfully accomplished without blood-
shed. (The journey was made in open boats rigged with sails.)
Now there was peace for awhile. The British coming up the
Niagara usually landed at Fort Erie, where a post was all the
while maintained, and going thence in open boats to Detroit,
Mackinaw and other western forts.
The commerce of the upper lakes consisted of supplies for the
military posts, goods to trade with the Indians and furs received
in return. The trade was carried on mostly in open boats, pro-
pelled by oars, with the occasional aid of a temporary sail.
There were, however, at least two or three English trading ves-
sels on Lake Erie before the Revolution. One, called the
Beaver, is known to have been lost in a storm, and is believed
by the best authorities to have been wrecked near the mouth of
Eigteen-Mile creek, and to have furnished the relics found in
that vicinity b)' early settlers.
All the western part of the Colony of New York was nomin-
ally a part of Albany county up to 1772. In that year a new
county was formed embracing all that part of the colony west
of the Delaware river, and of a line running northeastward from
the head of that stream through the present Count}' of Scho-
harie, thence northward along the east line of Montgomer)',
Fulton and Hamilton counties, and continuing in a straight line
to Canada. It was named Tryon in honor of William Tr\'on,
then the Royal Governor of Ne\\' York. Guy Johnson, Sir
DEATH OF SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON. I9
William's nephew and son-in-law, was the earliest " first Judge"
of the Common Pleas, with the afterward celebrated John But-
ler as one of his associates. Sir William Johnson, an able mili-
tary commander and Indian agent long in the employ of the
British government, died suddenly, at Johnstown, near the
Mohawk in 1774. Much of his influence over the Six Nations
descended to his son, Sir John Johnson, and his nephew. Col.
Guy Johnson. The latter became his successor in the ofifice of
Superintendent of Indian Affairs.
20 TREATY BETWEEN THE INDIANS AND HRITISH.
CHAPTER V.
THE REVOLUTION.
Four Iroquois Tribes Hostile — The Oswego Treaty — Scalps — Brant — Guien-
gwahtoh — Wyoming — Cherry Valley — Sullivan's Expedition — Senecas
Settle in Erie County — Gilbert Family — Pence.
In 1775, the Revolution began. Tlie new Superintendent
made good his influence over all of the Six Nations except the
Oneidas and Tuscaroras. John Butler established himself at
Fort Niagara and organized a- regiment of Tories, known as
Butler's Rangers, and he and the Johnsons used all their influ-
ence to induce the Indians to attack the Americans. The Sen-
ecas held aloof for a while, but the prospect of both blood and
pay was too much for them to withstand, and in 1777 they, in
common with Cayugas, Onondagas and Mohawks, made a treaty
with the British at Oswego, agreeing to serve the King through-
out the war.
Fort Niagara became, as it had been during the French war
the key of all this region, and to it the Iroquois constantly
looked for support and guidance. Their raids kept the whole
frontier for hundreds of m.iles in a state of terror, and were
attended by the usual horrors of savage warfare.
Among the celebrated Iroquois Chiefs in the Revolution was
Theyendenega (or Joseph Brant), a Mohawk, and Guiengwah-
toh and Honayewus (or Farmer's Brother), Cornplanter, and
Governor Blacksnake, of the Senecas.
The slaughter and devastation in the \\'\-oming valley, in
Pennsylvania, and the massacre at Cherry Valley, in the State
of New Yot"k, and other events of a similar kind on a smaller
scale, induced Congress and Cieneral Washington to send an
army against the Six Nations in the Summer of 1779. General
Sullivan, the commander, marched up the Susquehana to Tioga
Point, where he was joined by a brigade under Gen. James
Clinton (father of DeWitt Clinton), and then with a force of
about 4,000 men, moved up the Chemung to near the site of
Klmira- There Colonel Butler, with a small body of Indians
THK SKNF.CAS IX l-.RIK (■()rNI\'. 21
and Tories, x'ariousK' estimated at from six lumdred to fifteen
hundred men, had thrown up intrenchments, and a battle was
foui^ht. Butler was defeated, retired with considerable loss, and
made no further resistance. Sullivan advanced and destroyed
all the Seneca villages on the Genesee and about Cieneva, burn-
iuL;- wii^wams and cabins, cuttint;^ down orchards, cuttint:^ up
<;"rowin;^ corn and utterl)' clewistatins^ the country.
The Senecas fled in great disma\' to fort Niagara. The
Onondaga village had iti the meantime been destroyed by
another force, but it is plain that the Senecas were the ones
who were chiefly feared, and against whom the vengeance of
the Americans was chiefly directed. After thoroughly lading
waste their country, the Americans returned to the east.
The Senecas had not only cornfields, but gardens, orchards
and sometimes comfortable houses. They were the most pow-
erful and warlike of all the Six Nations, but their spirits were
much broken by this disaster. It was with difficult}' that the
British authorities procured sufficient rations to sustain the
Indians through the severe Winter of 1779-80, at Niagara.
As Spring approached the English made earnest efforts to
reduce the expense, by persuading the Indians to make new-
settlements and plant crops.
In the Spring of 1780, a considerable body of Senecas came
up from Fort Niagara and established themselves on Buffalo
Creek, about four miles above its mouth. This as far as known
A\as the first permanent settlement of the Senecas in Erie
county. They had probably had huts here to use while hunt-
ing and fishing, but no regular villages. In fact, this settle-
ment of the Senecas in the Spring of 1780, was probably the
first permanent occupation of the count}' since the destruction
of the Neuter Nation, a hundred and thirty-five years before.
The same Spring another band located themselves at the
mouth of the Cattaraugus.
The Indians who settled on Buffalo creek brought with them
several members of a Quaker family b}' the name of (iilbert
who had been captured a few months prexious on the borders
of Pennsylvania. After the war, this family published a narra-
tive of their capti\'it}', which gives valuable information regard-
ing this period of our history.
22 SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS.
Immediately on the arrival of the Indians the squaws began
to clear the land and prepare it for corn, while the men built
some log huts and then went out hunting. In the beginning of
the Winter of 1780-81, two British officers. Captain Powell and
Lieutenant Johnston, came to the settlement on Buffalo creek
and remained until toward Spring. They were probably sent
by the British authorities at Fort Niagara to aid in putting the
new settlement on a solid foundation. They made strenuous
efforts to obtain the release of Rebecca and Benjamin, two of
the younger members of the Gilbert family, but the Indians
were unwilling to give them up. This Lieutenant Johnston
afterward located at Buffalo, and was known to the early settlers
as Capt. William Johnston. It must have been about this time
that Johnston took unto himself a Seneca wife, for his son,
John Johnston, was a young man when Buffalo was laid out, in
1803. Captain Powell had married Jane Moore, a girl who,
with her mother and others of the family, had been captured at
Cherry Valley.
Captain (afterwards Colonel) Powell is frequently and honor-
ably mentioned in several accounts as doing everything in his
power to ameliorate the condition of the captives among the
Indians. Through his influence and exertions, several of the
Gilbert family were released from captivity and sent to Mon-
treal. In the Spring of 1781, Captain Powell was sent to dis-
tribute provisions, hoes and other implements among the
Indians. At the distribution, the Chiefs of every band came
for shares, each having as many sticks as there were persons
in his band, in order to insure a fair division. In October,
1 78 1, Cornwallis surrendered, and thenceforth there were no
more active hostilities.
Rebecca Gilbert and Benjamin Gilbert, jr., were released the
next year. This appears to have been managed by Colonel
Butler, who, to give him his due, always seemed willing to
befriend the captives, though constantly sending out his sav-
ages to make new ones. Not until the arrangements were all
made did the Indians inform Rebecca of her approaching
freedom. With joyful heart she prepared for the journey,
making bread and doing other needful work for her captors.
PEACK l••()RM.\I.I.^■ DKCl.ARKI). 23
Then by canoe and on foot she aiid her brother were taken to
Fort Niai^ara, and, after a conference, the last two of tlie ill-fated
Gilbert family were released from captivity in June, I7<S2.
In the fall of 1783, peace was formally declared between
Great Britain and the revolted colonies henceforth to be
acknowledt^ed by all men as the United States of America.
24 PHELPS AND GORHAM PURCHASE.
CHAPTER VI.
The Treaty of Fort Stanwix, 1784 — Phelps and Gorham's Purchase in 17S8 —
Council at Buffalo Creek in 178S — Phelps' Large Mill Site on the Genesee
River — Robert Morris — The Holland Land Company— Treaty of 1826 —
Treaty of 1842 — Buffalos and Buffalo Creek.
In October, 1784, a treaty was made at Fort Stanwix (Rome)
between three Commissioners of the United States and the
Sachems of the Six Nations.
The eastern boundary of the Indian lands does not seem to
have been in dispute, but the United States wanted to extin-
guish whatever claim the Six Nation: might have to the west-
ern territory, and also to keep open the right of way around the
Falls of Niagara, which Sir William Johnston had obtained for
the British.
In 1788, Massachusetts sold all her land in New York, about
six million acres, to Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham act-
ing on behalf of themselves and others, for one million dollars,
in three equal annnal payments, the purchasers being at liberty
to pay in certain stocks of that State, then worth about twenty
cents on the dollar; the purchase was subject to the rights of
the Indians.
Phelps procured the calling of a council at Buffalo Creek,
which met July 5, 1788. Phelps had secured the influence of
Butler, Brant, and other influential persons, and the proceed-
ings were very harmonious. The east line of this purchase ran
from Pennsylvania due north to Lake Ontario and crossing
•Seneca lake ; the west line ran from Avon south, along the
Genesee river to the mouth of Canaseraga creek, thence due
south to the Pennsylvania line. This was " Phelps and Gorham
purchase." It included about two million six hundred thousand
acres, for which they paid five thousand dollars in hand, and five
hundred dollars annually for e\^er; this was about equal to half
a cent an acre. During the negotiations, Phelps suggested that
he wanted to build some mills at the falls of the Genesee (now
Rochester), which would be very convenient for Indians as well
as whites; and he wished the Indians to give him a mill site
HOLLAND PU RCIL\SE. 25
and the necessary aiiKHint ()f land to l;<) with it. The red men
thought mills woidd be a good thing, and their white brotlier
should have a mill-site — how much land did he want for this
purpose? Phelps replied that he thought a strip about twelve
miles wide, extending from Avon to the mouth of the river,
tw^enty-eight miles, would be about right. The Indians thought
that a pretty large mill-site, but they gave him the land. The
mill-site contained about two hundred thousand acres.
The adoption of the Federal constitution had caused a great
rise in Massachusetts stocks, so that Phelps and Gorham were
unable to make the payments they had agreed on and Massa-
chusetts released them from their contract as to all the land
except that to which they had extinguished the Indian title, to
wit, " Phelps and Gorham Purchase;" of that the State gave
them a deed in full.
Massachusetts then sold the released lands in five tracts to
Robert Morris, the merchant prince of Philadelphia, and the
celebrated financier of the revolution. ' The easternmost of
these tracts Mr. Morris sold out in small parcels. The remain-
ing four constituted the " Holland Purchase." Mr. Morris sold
it by conveyances made in 1792 and 1793, to several Ameri-
cans, who held it in trust for a number of Hollanders, who,
being aliens, could not hold it in their own name at that time.
These Hollanders were known as the Holland company after-
wards. In September, 1797, a council was held at Geneseo, at
which Robert Morris bought of the Indians the whole of the
remaining Seneca lands in New York, except eleven reserva-
tions of various sizes.
At a council held in August, 1826, the Senecas ceded to the
Ogden compan)- thirt)--three thousand six hundred and thirty-
seven acres of the Buffalo Creek reservation, thirty-three
thousand four hundred and nine acres of the Tonawanda reser-
\-ation, five thousand one hundred and twent}' of the Catta-
augus reser\^ation, besides one thousand fi\e hundred acres in
the Genesee valley.
From the Buffalo Creek reser\-ation, a strip a mile and a half
wide was sold off on the north side commencing at a point
one and one half miles east of where the Cayuga creek crossed
the reservation line in the town of Chautauqua, thence to the
26 THE ( ;attakau(;us reservation.
east end of the reservation, also a strip three miles wide across
the east end. And finally a strip a mile wide extending the
whole length of the south side of the reservation called the
" Mile Strip."
Of the Cattaragus reservation, there was ceded in Erie
county a strip six miles long and a mile wide from the north
side called the " Mile Strip," and a mile square called the
" Mile Block," south of the east end of that strip. Both are
in the present town of Brant.
In the year 1838, the Ogden company made strong efforts
to obtain possession of all the Indian lands in Western New
York. A treaty was made and sanctioned by the President and
ratified by the Senate to accomplish that object. The Indians
were to receive nearly two million acres of land in Kansas,
and a considerable amount of money in exchange for their
reservation. But the facts brought to light in regards to the
means used to obtain the signatures of some of the chiefs
caused so much popular feeling, and the determination of
the Indians was so strong not to go west, that the company
did not try to remove them.
In May, 1842, a new agreement was made by which the
Ogden company allowed the Senecas to retain the Cattaraugus
and Allegany reservations and the Indians gave up the Buffalo
creek and Tonawanda tracts on condition of receiving their
proportionate value. This was satisfactory to the Buffalo
Creek Indians, but not to those on the Tonawanda reservation.
Arbitrators duly chosen decided that the proportionate value
of the Indian title to those two reservations was seventy-five
thousand dollars, and that of the improvements on them fifty-
nine thousand dollars. They also awarded the portion of the
fifty-nine thousand dollars due to each Indian on the Buffalo
creek reservation, but could not do it on the Tonawanda one,
because the inhabitants of the latter refused to let them come
on the reservation to make an appraisal. After some two years
one of the claimants undertook to expel one of the Tonawanda
Indians by force, whereupon he sued him and recovered judg-
ments, the court deciding that the proper steps had not been
taken to justify the claimant's action.
Finally to end the controversy the United States Govern-
BUFFALO CREEK. 2/
ment bought the claim of the O^den Company to the Tona-
wanda Reservation and gave it to the Indians residing there.
They now hold it by the same title by which white men own
their lands, except that the fee is in the whole tribe and not in
any individual members.
Meanwhile the Buffalo Indians quietly received the money
alloted to them and after a year or two allowed them for prep-
aration, they in 1843-4 abandoned their reservation. Most
of them joined their brethren on the Cattaraugus reserva-
tion, some went to that on the Allegany, and a few removed
to lands allotted them in Kansas.
The treaty of Fort Stanwix was the first public document
containing the name of Buffalo creek, as applied to the stream
which empties into the foot of Lake Erie. The narrative of
the Gilbert family, published just after the war, was the first
appearance of the name in writing or printing.
The question has been often debated, whether the original
Indian name was "Buffalo" creek. This almost of necessity
involves the further question, whether the buffalo ever ranged
on its banks; for it is to be presumed that Indians would not
in the first place have adopted that name, unless such had
been the case.
Numerous early travelers and later hunters, mention the
existence of buffalo in the vicinity, or not far away. A strong
instance is the account of the Missionaries Chaumonot and
Breboeuf, which declares that the Neuter Nation, who occu-
pied the County of Erie, and a portion of Canada across the
Niagara river were in the habit of hunting the buffalo, together
with other animals.
Mr. Ketchum in his history of " Buffalo and the Senccas,"
says that all the oldest Senecas in 1820, declared that buffalo
bones had been found within their recollection, at the salt licks
near Sulphur Springs. The same authorities produce evidence
that white men had killed buffaloes within the last one hundred
and twenty years, not only in Ohio, but Western Pennsylvania.
Albert Gallatin who was a surve}'or in Western Virginia in
1784, declared in a paper published by the American Ethno-
logical Society, that they were at that time abundant in the
Kenhawa \'alle\-, and that he had for eight months lived
28 THE NEUTER XATKJN.
principally on their flesh. This is positive proof and the Kenhawa
valley is onl)' three hundred miles from here and oni\- one hun-
dred miles further west, and is as well wooded a country as this.
The narrative of the Gilbert family is very strong evidence
that from the first the Senecas applied the name of Buffalo to
the stream in question. Although the book was not published
until after the war, yet the knowledge then given to the public
was acquired in 1 780, '81 and '82. At least six of the family
were among the Senecas on Buffalo, creek. Some of them
were captives for over two years, and must have acquired con-
siderable knowledge of the language. It is utterly out of the
question that they could all have been mistaken as to the name
of the stream on which they lived, which must have been con-
stantly referred to by all the Senecas in talking about their peo-
ple domiciled there, as well as by the scores of British ofificers
and soldiers with whom the Gilberts came in contact.
If then the Neuter Nation hunted buffalos across in Canada
in 1640, if they were killed by the whites in Ohio and Penn-
sylvania within the last century, if Albert Gallatin found them
abundant on the Kenhawa in 1784, if the old Senecas of 1820
declared they had found their bones at the salt licks, and if the
Indians called the stream on which they settled in 1780, Buffalo
creek, there can be no reasonable doubt that they knew what
they were about, and did so because that name came down
from former times when the monarch of the western prairie
strayed over the plains of the county of Erie.
KARI.V LAND (i RANIS. 29
C H A P r E R VII.
LAND TITLES.
King James' Grant — Grant of Charles [. — Conflicting Claims — Phelps and
(jorham's Purchase — Sale to Robert Morris.
James the b'irst, Kin<;" of Great Britain, in the year 1620,
granted to the Ph'inouth company a tract of countr\' called
New Ent;iand. This tract extended through several degrees of
latitude north and south, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific
ocean, east and west.
Charles the First, in 1663, granted to the Duke of York and
Albany the province of New York, including the present State
of New Jersey. The tract thus granted extended from a line
twenty miles east of the Hudson river westward indefiniteh'.
By these grants, each of the colonies (afterward states) laid
claim to the jurisdiction as well as to the pre-emption right of
the same land, including a portion of the State of New York,
and a tract farther west sufficiently large to fornj several states.
The State of New York, how^ever, in 1781, and Massachu-
setts in 1785, ceded to the United States all their rights, both
of jurisdiction and of proprietorship, to all the territor)' l}'ing
west of the meridian line running south from the westerly end of
Lake Ontario. This left about twenty thousand square miles
of territory in dispute, but this controversy was finall\- settled
by a convention of commissioners appointed by Massachusetts
and New York, held at Hartford, Conn., on the i6th day of
December, 1786.
According to the stipulation entered into by the convention
Massachusetts ceded to the State of New York all her claim to
the government, sovereignt}' and jurisdiction of all the terri-
tory lying west of the present east line of the State of New-
York, and New York ceded to Massachusetts the pre-emption
right or fee of the land, subject to the title of the Indians, of
all that part of the State of New York lying west of a line
beginning at a point in the north line of Pennsylvania, eighty-
two miles west of the northeast corner of said state, and
30 LAND PURCHASES.
running from there due north through Seneca lake to Lake
Ontario ; excepting and reserving to the State of New York a
strip of land east of and adjoining the eastern bank of Niagara
river, one mile wide, and extending its whole length (called the
state mile strip). The land, the pre-emption right of which
was thus ceded, amounted to about six millions of acres.
In April, 1788, Massachusetts contracted to sell to Nathaniel
Gorham and Olivier Phelps, of said state (who were acting for
themselves and their associates), their pre-emption right to all
the lands in Western New York, amounting to about six
million acres, for the sum of one million dollars, to be paid in
three annual installments, for which a kind of scrip Massa-
chusetts had issued, called consolidated securities, was to be
received, which was then in the market much below par.
In July, 1788, Messrs. Gorham and Phelps, purchased of the
Indians, by a treaty at a convention held at Buffalo creek, the
Indian title to about two millions six hundred thousand acres of
the eastern part of their purchase from Massachusetts. This
purchase of the Indians being bounded west by a line running
due south from the mouth of Canaseraga creek to the Pennsyl-
vania line, and northerly from the mouth of said creek along
the waters of the Genesee river to a point two miles north of
Cannawagas village, thence running west twelve miles, thence
running northwardly so as to be twelve miles distant from the
west side of said river to the shore of Lake Ontario.
On the 2 1st day of November, 1788, the State of Massachu-
setts conveyed and forever quitclaimed to Gorham and Phelps,
their heirs and assigns forever, all the right and title of said
state to all that tract of country of which Messrs. Phelps and
Gorham had extinguished the Indian title. This tract, and
this only, has since been designated as the " Phelps and Gor-
ham purchase."
Messrs. Phelps and Gorham, who had paid about one-third
of the purchase money of the whole tract purchased by Massa-
chusetts, in consequence of the rise of the value of Massach-
setts consolidated stock (in which the payments for the land
were to be received) from twenty per cent, to par. were unable
further to comply with their engagements on their part and
Massachusetts commenced suits on their bonds. After a long
TlIK MORRIS RKSKRVK. 3 1
negotiati()n between the parties, the v\ hole transaction relative
to the purchase of those land was settled and finally closed on
the loth day of March, 1791, Phelps and Gorham relinquished
to Massachusetts that portion of the land since known as the
"Holland Purchase" and the "Morris Reserve," and Massa-
chusetts relinquished to the said Phelps and Gorham their
bonds for the payment of the purchase money therefor.
The whole of said lands, released by Phelps and Gorham to the
State of Massachusetts, as above stated, were sold by said state,
to Robert Morris on the i ith day of May, 1791, in five different
deeds. The first deed included all the land on said tract l>'inij
east of a meridian line beginning at a point in the north line of
Pennsylvania, twelve miles west of the southwest corner of
Phelps and Gorham's tract and running due north to Lake
Ontario, supposed to contain about five hundred thousand
acres. The above tract took the name of " The Morris
Reserve." from the fact that he retained that tract in the sale
which he afterwards made to the Holland company.
32 THE HOLLAND COMPANY.
CHAPTER VIII.
Historical Deduction of the Holland Company's Title — A Curious Fact —
Indian Council at Geneseo — Indian Reservation^Joseph Ellicott the
Principal Surveyor — Other Surveyors — The Transit Instrument — Run-
ning the East Transit Line — Running the Mile-Sirip Line a ong the
Niagara River — Buffalo Creek — Williamsburg — "Transit Store House"
— The First Wagon Track on the Holland Purchase— Buffalo in 179S —
First Crops Raised on the Holland Purchase —The Three Taverns
Located — The First Woman on the Holland Purchase.
The last four tracts described in the conveyances of the
land purchased of Massachusetts, by Robert Morris, were con-
veyed by him, by four separate deeds, as follows: First deed
from Robert Morris and wife, to Herman Le Roy and John
Linklaen, for one and a half million acres, dated December 24,
1 792. Second deed from Robert Morris and wife, to Herman Le
Roy, John Linklaen and Gerrit Boon for one million acres,
dated February 27, 1793. Third deed from Robert Morris and
wife, to Herman Le Roy, John Linklaen and Gerrit Boon, for
eight hundred thousand acres, dated July 20, 1793. Fourth
deed from Robert Morris and wife, to Herman Le Ro}% William
Bayard and Matthew Clarkson, for three hundred thousand
acres, dated July 20, 1793.
These tracts were purchased with the funds of certain gen-
tlemen in Holland, and held in trust b\' the several grantees
for their benefit, as they, being aliens, could not purchase and
hold real estate in their own names, according to the then
existing laws of the State. After several changes in the trus-
tees, and transfers of portions of the land, sanctioned b}' the
Legislature, the whole tract was conveyed by the trustees, by
three separate deeds to the Holland compan\', or rather to the
individuals in their own names, composing three separate
branches of the company.
Although these deeds of con\'e\'ance were given to three
distinct companies of proprietors, their interests were so closely
blended, several ot the same persons, having large interests in
each of the three different estates; they appointed one general
'11 1 1'-. DITCH I'kol'RIKl'okS. 33
agent for the whole, who manaj^ed the coneerns of the tract
generally, as though it belonged to the same proprietors,
making no distinction which operated in the least on the settlers
and purchasers, but sinii)l\- keeping the accounts of each separate,
when practicable, and apportioning /n^ /v^/c?, all expenses when
blended in the same transaction, for the benefit of the whole.
The general agent likewise appointed the same local or resident
agent for the three companies owning this tract in Western
New York. The onl)- difference between its consisting of one
or more tracts discernable by the purchaser of lands, was, in
executing contracts or conveyances, the agents used the names
of the respective proprietors of each tract. Under this state
of things, we shall denominate the whole of the proprietors
holding under these three deeds, "The Holland Company,"
and the lands conveyed by those deeds the "Holland Purchase.''
It is a curious fact that when the Dutch proprietors were par-
celing out the tract among the three different branches of the
company, it was mutually agreed among the whole, that
Messrs. Wilhem Willink, Jan Willink, Wilhem VVillink the
younger, and Jan Willink the younger, should have three
hundred thousand acres, located in such part of the whole tract
as they should select. In making their selection they located
their three hundred thousand acres in nearl)- a square form, in
the south-east corner of the tract, for the reason that it was
nearest Philadelphia, the residence of their general agent.
This selection contained the territory now comprising the towns
of Bolivar, Wirt, Friendship, the east part of Belfast, (ienesee,
Clarksville and Cuba, in Allegany county; Portville and the
east parts of Ischua and Hinsdale, in Cattaraugus county.
This location will give the reader who is acquainted with the
geography of the country, some idea of the knowledge, or
rather want of knowledge, of the Dutch proprietors, of the
situation and relative advantages of the different portions of
their vast domains.
This sale by Robert Morris to the Holland company was
made before the Indian title to the land was extinguished,
accompanied by an agreement on his part to extinguish that
title, with the assistance of the company, as soon as practicable ;
therefore at a council of the Seneca Indi.uis, hekl at Geneseo,
2
34
I NDI AN RESERV ATION.'^.
on the Genesee river, in the month of September, 1797, at which
Jeremiah Wadsworth attended as commissioner for the United
States, and William Shepherd as agent for Massachusetts,
Robert Morris in fulfilment of his several contracts with the
Holland company, and to other persons to whom he had sold
land on this tract, acting by his agents, Thomas Morris and
Charles Williamson, extinguished the Indian title to all the
land, the pre-emption right of which he had purchased of Mas-
sachusetts, except the following Indian reservations, viz ; The
Cannawagus reservation, containing two square miles, lying on
the west bank of Genesee river, west of Avon. Little Beard's
and Big Tree reservations, containing together four square
miles, lying on the west bank of the Genesee river, opposite
Geneseo. Squakie Hill reservation, containing two square
miles, lying on the north bank of the Genesee river, north of
Mount Morris. Gardeau reservation, containing about twenty-
eight square miles, lying on both sides of Genesee river, two
or three miles south of Mount Morris. The Canadea reserva-
tion, containing sixteen square miles, lying each side of, and
extend eight miles along the Genesee river, in the county of
Allegany. The Oil Spring reservation, containing one square
mile, lying on the line between Allegany and Cattaraugus
counties. The Allegany reservation, containing forty-two
square miles, lying on each side of the Allegany river and
extending from the Pennsylvania line northeaswardly about
twenty-five miles. The Cattaraugus reservation, containing
forty-two square miles, lying on each aide and near the mouth
of the Cattaraugus creek, on Lake Erie. The Buffalo reserva-
tion, containing one hundred and thirty square miles, lying on
both sides of Buffalo creek, and extending east from Lake
Erie about seven miles wide. The Tonawanda reservation,
containing seventy square miles, lying on both sides of
Tonawanda creek, beginning about twenty-five miles from
its mouth, and extending eastwardly about seven miles wide ;
and the Tuscarora reservation, containing one square mile,
being about three miles east of Lcwiston on the Mountain
Ridge.
Theophilus Cazenove, the general agent of the Holland
company, resident at Philadelphia, in July, 1797, had engaged
11 IK srK\ i:\' Co.MMKXCKI).
Mr. loscpli ICllicott, as principal surveyor of the conii^any's
lands in Western New York, whenever their title should be
[jcrfected and possession obtained, and likewise, to attend the
before-mentioned council, and assist Messrs. W. Bayard and J.
Linklaen, who were to attend and act as assents for the corn-
pan}' [sill) rasa) for the purpose of promoting- the interests of
their principals in an\- treaty which mi<;ht be made with the
Indians. Mr. Ellicott attended the council accordingly, and
rendered valuable services to the purchasers. This period was
the commencement of upwards of twenty years" re<;ular active
service rendered by Mr. Ellicott to the Holland company, in
conducting their affairs and executing laborious enterprises for
their benefit.
As soon as the favorable result of the proceedings of this
council was known, Mr. Ellicott proceeded immediately to
prepare for the traverse and survey of the north and northwest
bounds of the tract. As soon as the necessary preparatory
steps could be taken, Mr. Ellicott, as surveyor for the Holland
company, and Augustus Porter, in the same capacity, for
Robert Morris, for the purpose of estimating the quantity of
land in the tract, started a survey at the northeast corner of
Phelps and Gorham's tract, west of Genesee river, and trav-
ersed the .south shore of Lake Ontario to the mouth of Niagara
riv^er, thence up the eastern shore of Niagara river to Lake
Erie, thence along the southeast shore of Lake Erie to
the west bounds of the State of New York being a meridian
line running due south from the west end of Lake Ontario,
which had been previously established by Andrew Ellicott,
Surveyor-General of the United States, assisted b\- Joseph
Ellicott. All which was perfected by the middle of Novem-
ber following.
Before Mr. Ellicott left Western New York for Philadelphia,
he contracted with Thomas Morris to deliver on the Genesee
river or shore of Lake Ontario near the mouth of that river,
one hundred barrels of pork, fifteen barrels of beef, and two
hundred and seventy barrels of flour, for the supply of the
surveyors and their assistants the ensuing season. Mr. Ellicott,
at the request of the Agent-General, made a list of articles to
be provided for the next .season's campaign, consisting of a
36 SUBDIVISION OF WWNSHIPS.
diversity of articles, from pack-horses to horse-shoes, nails and
gimlets — from tents to towels — from barle}' and rice to choco-
late, coffee and tea, and from camp-kettles to teacups ; esti-
mated to amount to $7,213.33. This statement, however, did
not include medicine, " or wine, spirits, loaf-sugar, &c., for
headquarters." Mr. EUicott likewise calculated the wages of
surveyors and other hands, for six months of the next season,
at $19,830.
Although the great divisions of the Holland Purchase was
intended to consist of townships six miles square, the division
of the tract among the three sets of proprietors, the Indian
reservations which were not included in the townships, as well
as the offsets and sinuosities existing in most of the boundaries,
prevented a large portion of the townships conforming to this
standard. The townships are situated in ranges running from
south to north. The townships in each range of townships
beginning to number one at the south, rising regularly in
number to the north, and the ranges of townships beginning
to number one at the east, and proceeding regularly west, to
fifteen.
The first plan of the Agent-General of the compan}-, relative
to the subdivision of the townships, was to divide each town-
ship, which was six miles square, into sixteen portions one and
a half miles square, to be called sections, and each section
again subdivided into twelve lots, each lot to be three-fourths
of a mile long (generally north and south), and one-fourth of a
mile wide, containing about one hundred and twent}' acres
each ; presuming that a wealthy farmer would buy a section,
whereon to locate himself and his progeny. Twenty-four
townships were surveyed or commenced to be surveyed in con-
formity to that plan, although the uniformity of the size and
shape of lots was often departed from, where large streams,
such as the Tonawanda, running through the townships, were,
for convenience, made boundaries of lots. From experience,
however, it was ascertained that, in the purchase of land, each
individual, whether father, son, or son-in-law, would locate him-
self according to his own choice or fancy. That this formal
and regular division of land into farms, seldom was found to be
in conformity to the topography of the country, nor to the
■|"IIE SUR\ KNORS. 37
different iXHjuireinents as to ciuaiitit}', likewise that tlie addition
of sections to townships and lots, rendered the description of
farms more complex, and increased the liability to err in defin-
ing any particular location ; for which reasons, the practice of
dividing townships in sections was abandoned, and thereafter,
the townships were simply divided into lots of about sixty
chains or three-fourths of a mile square, which could be divided
into farms to suit the topography of the land and quantity
required by the purchasers. In those townships which the sur-
veys had commenced to divide into sections, and not com-
pleted, the remaining sections were divided into four lots only
of three-fourths of a mile square each. These lots conse-
quently contained about three hundred and sixty acres each,
but could not be laid off exactly uniform in shape and area, for
the same reason heretofore given in a note, why the townships
could not be laid off exactly uniform.
Early in the Spring of 1788, Mr. Ellicott dispatched Adam
Hoops, jr., a nephew of Major Adam Hoops, from Philadelphia,
to Western New York, with general powers to prepare for
opening the approaching campaign of surveying the Holland
Purchase, and to co-operate with Augustus Porter, who had
previously been engaged to procure horses, employ hands, and
transport stores from the places of their delivery by the con-
tractor, Mr. Morris, to the places where they would be required
for consumption.
The principal surve)^ors engaged during the active season of
1798, in township, meridian line and reservation surveys, and in
lake and river traverses, were as follows: Joseph and Benjamin
Ellicott, JohnTompson, Richard M. Stoddard, George Burgess,
James Dewey, David Ellicott, Aaron Oakford, jr., Augustus
Porter, Seth Pease, James Smedly, William Shepherd, Geo.
Eggleston. In addition to these, were two P'renchmen, MM.
Haudecaur and Autrechy, who were employed in some surveys
of Niagara river and the Falls. The last were rather engineers
than surveyors. Mr. James Brisbane, then in his minority,
came from Philadelphia, with Mr. Tompson, as clerk and store-
keeper.
Mr. Ellicott and his assistants having arrived on the territory,
his first business was to ascertain and correctly establish the
38 Till-: "TRANSIT IXSTRrMKXr."
c;ist line of the Purchase. He caused the PennsyKania Hne to be
accurateh' measured from the southwest corner of Phelps and
Gorham's purchase, on the eighty-second mile-stone, twelve
miles west, and there erected a stone monument for the south-
east corner of the Holland Purchase. The whole company
was then divided into parties, to prosecute the undertaking to
advantage. The principal surveyor, Joseph Ellicott, assisted
by Benjamin Ellicott, one other surveyor and the requisite
number of hands, undertook to run the eastern boundary line.
The other surveyors, each with his c[uota of hands, were
assigned to run different township lines.
A line running due north from the monument established as
the south-east corner by Mr. Ellicott, to the boundary line
between the United States and the dominions of the King of
Great Britain, in Lake (3ntario, according to the deeds of con-
veyance from Robert Morris to the company, constitutes the
east line of their purchase. To run a true meridian by the sur-
veyor's compass Mr. Ellicott knew to be impracticable, he there-
fore determined to run this line by an instrument, having for
its basis the properties of the " Transit instrument " (an instru-
ment made use of to observe the transits of the heavenly
bodies), improved for this purpose by a newly-invented manner
of accurately arriving at the same ; to effect this object, an
instrument possessing all these qualities, was manufactured in
Philadelphia by his brother, Benjamin Ellicott, as no instru-
ment possessing all the qualities desired, was then to be found
in the United States.
This instrument had no magnetic needle attached to it, but
its peculiar qualities and prominent advantages are, that by
means of its telescopic tube and accurate manner of reversing,
by it, a straight line can be correctly, and comparatively speak-
ing, expeditiously run. But such an instrument, by reason of
its magnifying powers, is as ill calculated to run a line through
the woods and underbrush, as would be a microscope to observe
the transits of the satellites of Herschel. Therefore it became
necessary to cut a vista through the woods on the highlands
and on level ground, sufficient!}' wide to admit a clear and
uninterru})ted view.
Mr, Ellicott having provided himself with such an instrument.
SUKVKV(JRS ARRIN'K .\r \V1 LMAMSliURO. 39
caused the vista to be cut, some three or four rods wide,
ahead of the transit instrument, in a north direction as indi-
cated by the compass, which sometimes led the axmen more
than the width of the vista from the meridian sought ; there-
fore the true meridian hne, called the transit line, from the
name of the instrument with which it was run, being of no
width, runs sometimes on one side of the middle of the vista
cut in advance, and sometimes on the other.
Thus prepared with' a suitable instrument, Mr. Ellicott
assisted by his brother, Benjamin Elllicott, together with sur-
veyors and their assistants, established a true meridian line north
from the corner monument, by astronomical observations, and
pursued it with the transit instrument, taking new astronomical
observations at different stations, to guard against accidental
variations.
The progress in running this line was slow, as it could not be
otherwise expected, considering the great amount of labor nec-
essary to be performed in clearing the vista, and taking other
preparatory measures, and, above all, the vast importance of
having it correctly established, which rendered anything like
precipitance or haste, an experiment too hazardous to be per-
mitted. June 1 2th, the party on this line had advanced so far
north, that they established their store-house at Williamsburg
(about three miles south of the village of Geneseo), and soon after
Mr. Ellicott made it his headquarters at Hugh M'Nair's, in that
vicinity. On the 22d day of November, following, eighty-one
and a half miles of the line was established, which brought them
within about thirteen miles of the shore of Lake Ontario. The
precise date of its completion is unknowns.
This line defined the west bounds of Mr. Church's one hun-
dred thousand acres, but passed through the Cotringer, Ogden
and Cragie tracts, about two miles from their west boundaries,
as described in the deeds of conveyance from Robert Morris to
the several grantees ; but as their titles were of a later date than
the conveyance to the Holland Company, no deviation from the
first established meridian was made by Mr. Ellicott.
On arriving at the south line of the one hundred thousand
acre tract, conveyed by Robert Morris to Leroy Bayard and
M'Evers, now called the Connecticut tract (the conveyance of
40 DIFFICULT WORK Acro.MI'LISHK] ).
which, from Robert Morris, claimed seniority over that to the
Holland Company). Mr. Ellicott found that his meridian inter-
sected the south line of that tract, one hundred and sixty-six
chains thirty links east of its southwest corner, on which he
moved his position that distance to the west, from which point
he ran the transit due north to Lake Ontario.
Although the eastern bank of the Niagara river had been
traversed, the east bounds of the New York mile strip had not
been ascertained, and the state would participate in it no
further than to give the proprietors of the land adjoining, to
wit : the Holland Company liberty to run the line at their own
expense, and if so run as to be approved by the Surveyor Gen-
eral of the state, it should be established as permanently located,
and passed a law to that effect. This was undoubtedly the
most difficult piece of surveying ever performed in the state.
At the north end where the river disembogued itself into the
lake, at almost right angles with its shores, there could no
doubts arise, but at the south end of the straits or river, a dif-
ferent state of things existed, Lake Erie narrowed gradually and
became a river ; where the lake ends and the river begins may
be considered a difficult question, but it was finally agreed
between the parties interested, the river should be deemed to
extend to where the water was one mile wide and there cease ;
the line of the strip east of this point extending to the shore
of Lake Erie, on an arc of a circle of one mile radius, the center
being on the eastern bank at the termination of the lake and
head of the river, giving to the strip all the land lying within
a mile of the river, whether east or south.
For this arc of the circle, which could not be practically run,
a repetition of short sides, making a section of a regular poly-
gon, was substituted. Seth Pease, a scientific surveyor and
astronomer, was engaged in the fall of 1788, to run this line,
who executed the survey in a masterly manner, and to the satis-
faction of all the parties concerned.
During the year 1799 and 1800, few events transpired relative
to the settlement of the Holland Purchase, which require a cir-
cumstantial detail, or would admit of one which would be inter-
esting to the reader. The surveyors and their assistants, under
the direction of their principal, Joseph Ellicott, continued the
CAl'l'. WILLIAM J( )II\S'r( )\. 41
same stead}- routine of encamping in the woods, pitchinL( their
tents, transportini,^ provisions, surveyin^r lines and striking their
tents and removing to new positions ; and although at times
many individuals, undoubtedly, suffered pain and endured hard-
ships, such incidents must have been caused by accidental
occurrences, unforeseen events or carelessness and imprudence
in themselves or their companions, as the well-supplied coffers
of the company, accompanied by their liberality, furnished
sufficient means, and the provident care of Mr. Ellicott kept
their storehouses well supplied with the best kind of provisions
for that service, as well as other necessaries and many of the
comforts of life.
This might be seen from Mr. Ellicott's catalogue of items
for the outfit of the first campaign, and its cost, heretofore
referred to, which was adopted and its contents provided.
(3f those events, however, the following deserve notice:
The Indian treaty of 1797, in which the Indian title to the
Holland Purchase was extinguished, except to certain reserva-
tions, as has been before stated, prescribed the quantities con-
tained in, and general shape and location of each reservation,
leaving the precise locations of the boundary lines to be deter-
mined thereafter.
The Indians reserved 200,000 acres, one indefinite portion of
which was to be located on Buffalo creek, at the east end of
Lake Erie, and the remainder on Tonawanda creek.
As the New York reservation excluded the Holland com-
pany's land from the waters of Niagara river, and from the
shore of Lake Erie one mile southerly from the river, it became
very important to the company to secure a landing place and
harbor at the mouth of Buffalo creek, and sufficient ground
whereon to establish a commercial and manufacturing village
or city.
Capt. William Johnston, an Indian trader and interpreter,
settled himself at the mouth of Buffalo creek at an early period
under the auspices of the British government, and remained
there until the Holland company had effected their purchase.
His dwelling house stood south of Exchange and east of Wash-
ington streets. Captain Johnston had procured of the Indians,
by gift or purchase, two square miles of land at the mouth of
42 I'KEI'ARATIUNS FUR THE CAMPAIGN.
Buffalo creek, including a large portion of the territory on
which now stands the City of Buffalo. He had also entered
into an agreement with the Indians which amounted to a life
lease of a certain mill site and the timbered land in its vicinity,
on condition of supplying the Indians with all the boards and
plank they wanted for building at and near the creek. This
site was about six miles east of the mouth of the creek. Al-
though Johnston's title to this land was not considered to have
the least validity, yet the Indians had the power and the inclina-
tion to include it within their reservation, unless a compromise
was made with Johnston, and, taking into consideration his influ-
ence with them, the agents of the company concluded to enter
into the following agreement with him, which was afterwards
fully complied with and performed by both of the parties :
Johnston agreed to surrender his right to the said two square
miles and use his influence with the Indians to have that tract
and his mill site left out of their reservation, in consideration
of which the Holland company agreed to convey by deed to
said Johnston, 640 acres, including the said mill site and adja-
cent timbered land, together with forty-five and one-half acres,
being part of said two square miles, including the buildings and
improvements, then owned by Johnston, four acres of which
were to be on the "point."
These lands, as afterward definitely located, were a tract of
forty-one and a half acres, bounded : north, by Seneca street,
west by Washington street, and south by the Little Buffalo
creek ; the other tract was bounded, east by Main street, south-
westerly by the Buffalo creek, and northwesterly by Little
BulTalo creek, containing about four acres.
This matter will again be referred to, in connection with
some further notice of early events in Buffalo.
Mr. Ellicott, before leaving Philadelphia — in the time that
intervened between his appointment and his departure — was
activel}^ engaged in making all the necessary preparations for
the campaign. David Rittenhouse, the eminent American
philosopher, was then of the firm of Rittenhouse & Potts,
mathematical and astronomical instrument makers, in Philadel-
phia; orders were given for compasses, chains and staffs — all
things in their line necessary to surveyors' outfits. Letters
i)i;i'.\Kri'i<i-. iRoM i'iiii.Ai)i:i.nii.\. 43
were written to AuL;ustus Porter, at Canandait;ua, to have
ready such provisions, pack horses, axe-nien and chain-men, as
lie had been ordered to provide; to Thomas Morris, at the
same place, recjuestin^ his promj^t performance of some agen-
cies that had been entrusted to him; to different persons at
New York, iVlbany, h'ort Schu)der and Oueenston, containing
orders to facilitate the transportation of stores and aid the sur-
veying [)arties in getting upon the ground, and in supplying
themselves with all things necessary for going into the woods.
All things requisite were remembered and provided for. Clark
and Street, at Chippewa, were ordered to have read\- two yoke
of oxen and a stout lumber wagon (that was undoubtedly the
pioneer ox team upon the Holland Purchase, other than such
as had been used upon the portage); even axe-handles and
tent-poles were not forgotten.
To each principal surveyor or sub-agent starting from Phila-
delphia or elsewhere, written orders were issued what route to
pursue, where to first rendezvous, where to draw his supplies
and where to commence operations. P'ormulas were made out
for each surveyor prescribing definitely the manner of his
duties, of marking lines, keeping field notes and generally
embracing all the minuta,' of his operations. It was as if the
general of an army was acting as his own commissary and put-
ting a force into the field, distributing it and making all things
ready for a campaign, and the records of our war department
would hardly furnish better examples of systematic and well
ordered enterprises.
Embraced in these preliminary proceedings, was a corre-
spondence with Mr. Williamson, in reference to a road from
the west branch of Susciuehaiinah to the " Genesee country ;"
and with the Surveyor-General of this state in reference to the
laying out of towns at Lewiston and Fort Schlosser.
Mr. Ellicott arrived at Canandaigua on the 12th of June,
1798.
The reader will best be enabled to catch glimpses of early
events — those that attended the surveys and preceded land
sales and the commencement of settlement — by occasional
references to and extracts from his correspondence, the only
existing records.
44 BUFFALO CREEK AND \VILLL\MSBUR(;H.
A letter from Mr. Thompson to Mr. Ellicott, dated Buffalo
Creek, states the stores had all arrived safely at Schlosser.
except what had been left with Mr. Brisbane, at the " Chene-
see" river; that Mr. Hoops, who had arrived in advance of
him, had gone on to "Chetawque," where he had been joined
by Mr. Stoddard ; that he himself was engaged in getting
" axes ground and handled, and in sundry other things, prepara-
tory to going to the woods."
Letters followed this very soon, by which it would seem
that the camp was erected at "Chautauqua Creek," and all
things prepared for active operation as early as the 19th of
June.
Messrs. Smedley and Egleston were located at Buffalo
Creek with surveying parties. In a letter to Mr. Ellicott, writ-
ten from there, under date June 27th, Mr. Egleston says the
goods have arrived, and that the " family in the house on the
hill" are about to move out to make room for the surveyors.
Mr. Ellicott, it would seem, had arrived at Schlosser. Antici-
pating his arrival at Buffalo, Mr. Egleston very providently
suggests that he had better bring with him room boards to
make a mapping table, as there were none to be had in their
new location, " Mr. Winne having carried off those that were in
the partition."
The first principal stations of the surveyors — their head-
quarters or depots — were at Buffalo Creek and Williamsburgh ;
before the close of 1798, however, the principal establishments
were located at the Transit Line (Stafford, the locali^ty desig-
nated as "Transit Storehouse").
Mr. James Brisbane, moving his quarters from Williams-
burgh, continued as the principal Clerk or Agent.
While upon the purchase, in 1798. Mr. Flllicott's time was
principally spent at Buffalo Creek, Williamsburgh, and upon
the Transit Line.
In the Spring of 1798, when the surveys of the Holland Pur-
chase first commenced, all the travel between the Phelps and
Gorham tract and Buffalo was an old Indian trail. The Win-
ter previous, however, the Legislature of this State passed an
act appointing Charles Williamson a Commissioner to la}- out
Bn-'IAI.o IN ITS I'.Akl.N' D.WS. 45
and open a State road from C'anncwagus on Genesee river to
Buffalo Creek on Lake Krie and to Lewiston, on the Niagara
river.
To defra\' the ex]:)ense of cutting;- out these roads, the Hol-
land Compan}' subscribed fi\'e thousand dollars. Mr. William-
son laid out and established the roads in 1798, generally
adhering" to the course of old Indian trails; but they were not
opened throughout according to contract, under his superin-
tendence. The first wagon track opened upon the Holland
purcha.se, was by Mr. Ellicott, as a preliminary step in com-
mencing operations, early in the season of 1798. He employed
a gang" of hands to improve the Indian trail, so that wagons
could pass upon it, from the east transit to Buffalo creek.
In 1 801 he opened the road from transit line as far west as
Vandeventer's". The whole road was opened to LeRoy before
the close of 1802. But little reference can be had to the order
of time in noting the events of this period; up to the period
of the commencement of land sales and settlements, our
sketches must necessarily be desultory.
Mr. Brisbane first saw Buffalo in October, 1798. There was
then the log house of Middaugh and Lane — a double log house
— about two squares from Main street, a little north of the
present line of Exchange street. Captain Johnston's half log
and half framed house, stood a little east of the main building^
of the present Mansion House, near Washington street. There
was a two-story hewed log house, owned by Captain Johnston,
about where Exchange street now is, from six to eight rods
west of Main street, where a tavern was kept by John Palmer.
Palmer afterwards moved over to Canada and kept a tavern
there.
Asa Ransom lived in a log house west of Western Hotel.
Winne had a log house on . bank of Little Buffalo, south of
Mansion House. A Mr. Maybee, who afterwards went to
Cattaraugus, kept a little Indian store in a log building on west
side of Main street, about twenty rods north of Exchange
.street. There was also a log house occupied by a man named
Robbins.
The flats were open ground ; a portion of them had been
cultivated. Such was Buffalo, and all of Buffalo in 1798.
46 FIRST CROPS ON THE IK »1. 1. AND I'ljRCIIASE.
The first crojis raised upon the Holland purchase, were at
the transit store house. In the spring of 1799, Mr. James
Dewey was waiting there with a gang of hands, to start upon a
surveying expedition as soon as the weather would permit. At
the request of Mr. Brisbane, he cleared ten acres upon either
side of the present road, twenty rods west of the Transit, which
was mainly sowed with oats ; though some potatoes and garden
vegetables were planted. The early tavern keeper there — Mr.
Walthers — reported by letter to Mr. Ellicott, that the yield
was a good one, and fully demonstrated the goodness of the
soil of the region he was surveying for a settlement.
In the summer of 1799, there not being a house on the road
from the eastern Transit line to Buffalo, Mr. Busti, the agent
general of the company, authorized Mr. Ellicott by a letter
dated June ist, 1799, to contract with six reputable individuals
to locate themselves on the road from the eastern Transit to
Buffalo creek ; about ten miles asunder, and open houses of en-
tertainment for travelers, at their several locations, in considera-
tion of which they were to have a quantity of land, from fifty
to one hundred and fifty acres each ; " at a liberal time for pay-
ment, without interest, at the lowest price the company will
sell their lands, when settlements shall be begun."
Three persons accepted of this offer, to wit : Frederick Wal-
thers who was then residing on the land, took one hundred and
fifty acres in township number twelve, range one, west of and
adjoining the eastern Transit, including the Company's store
house, and being where the village of Stafford now stands. Asa
Ransom located himself Sept. ist, 1799, on one hundred and
fifty acres in township number twelve, range six. at what is
now known as Ransom's Gro\e or Clarence Hollow. Garrett
Davis located himself Sept. 16, 1799, in township number thir-
teen, range two, on one hundred and fifty acres, on the south
line of said township; (the Buffalo road then run through the
reservation, some distance north of its present location.) These
lots were severally laid out and surveyed for the purchasers,
before the several townships in which they are located were
surveyed. These three persons erected and furnished comfort-
able houses for the purposes intended, as soon as practicable ;
which although not as splendid, yet were more eagerly sought.
rill-. 1'1()m:i;i< womiix. 47
and cheerfully cnj(i}'ccl b)- the forest traxeler and land explorer
than any of the " Astor Mouses," " Americans," or " Mansions"
of the present day.
With the exceptions of those residint:^ at Buffalo, Mrs. Gar-
rett Davis and Mrs. Walthers, were the pioneer women upon
the Holland Purchase. In 1800, Asa Ransom and Garrett
Davis raised summer crops, which were second to those raised
at the Transit store house the vear before.
4<S a(;exts of the Holland (■o^^^\^'v
CHAPTER IX.
Biographical Sketches or Agents of the Holland Company, and others.
Theophilus Cazenove.
He was the first agent of the Holland Company ; but little
is known of his personal histor}^- When the company made
their first purchases of land in this state and Pennsylvania, soon
after 1790, he had arrived in this country, and acted as their
agent. In all the negotiations and preliminary proceedings
connected with the large purchase of Mr. Morris, of this region,
the interest of the company were principally confided to him
His name is intimately blended with the whole history of the
title. When the purchase was perfected, he was made the
general agent, and under his auspices the surveys commenced.
In all the embarrassments that attended the perfection of the
title, he would seem to have been actuated b}' honorable and
praise-worthy motives, and to have assisted with a good deal
of ability, the legal managers of the compan\-'s interests. He
returned to Europe in 1799, ending then his connection with
the company. He resided for a considerable period after this
in London, after which he lived in Paris, where he died.
Paul Bustl
He was a native of Milan, in Italy; was born on the 17th of
October, 1749. After receiving his education in his native
country, he entered the counting-house of his uncle, in Amster-
dam, where he afterwards established himself in business, mar-
ried, and acquired a high reputation for business talents, indus-
try and integrity.
About retiring from commercial life and connected with one
who was interested in the Holland Company purchase, he was
induced to accept the general agency at Philadelphia, in the
place of Mr. Cazenove; and most faithfully and satisfactorily
did he perform its duties for a period of 24 years, up to the day
of his death, July 23, 1824. He left no children.
The original proprietors — the eleven who constituted the
I'AUi. ijus'ii. 49
priniitix'c Hollaiul Company, were merchants in the City of
Amsterdam (then in the RepubHc of Batavia). They had little
of the spirit of speculation ; had acquired wealth by careful
investments and fair profits. They had spare capital and wished
to invest it ; their highest anticipations were perhaps a realization
of something near the per cent, interest which was generally
fixed upon money in this country, instead of the then low per
cent, money yielded in Europe. And here it may be remarked,
that considering the period of investment — 1792 and 1793, —
but ten years after the close of the Revolutionary war — these
Dutch merchants were far in advance of the prevailing senti-
ment in Europe, as to the success and permanency of the experi-
ment of free government. We should respect their memories
for such an earnest, at that early period, of confidence in the
stability of our system.
Mr. Busti's agency, as will be observed, commenced before
the completion of surveys and the opening of sales ; conse-
quently it was under his auspices that settlements began. In
his early instructions to Mr. Ellicott, he proposed liberal meas-
ures— seems to have started on the basis that the interests of
his principals and the interest of the settlers were mutual.
While he guarded strictly and with rigid economy the one, his
views and munificence were liberal in reference to the other.
Mr. Ellicott acted under general instructions from him as to
the opening of roads, building of mills and public buildings;
but when he advised, as he often did, additional measures of
improvement or increased outlays, he was quite sure to be sec-
onded by his principal.
Next to Mr. Ellicott Mr. Busti was more closely identified
with the settlement of the Holland purchase than any other
individual. His administration of the general agency, embraced
almost the entire period of pioneer settlement. The records of
the company furnish conclusive evidence of clear judgment,
great integrity of purpose and a disposition to promote the
interests of the wild region he was aiding to settle and improve.
Joseph Ellicott.
No man has ever, perhaps, been so closely identified with the
history of any region, as he is with the history of the Holland
50 j')si:i'ii Kr.Licoir.
rurcliasc. He was not onl}- the land-ag^cnt, superintending
from the start, surve\-s and settlement — exercising locally, a
one-man-power and influence — but for a long period, he was far
more than this. In all the early years of settlement, especially
— in all things hax'ing reference to the organizing of towns,
counties, erection of public buildings, the la\'ing out of roads,
the establishment of post-offices — in all that related to the
prosperit}' and convenience of the region over which his agency
extended, he occupied a prominent position, a close identity,
that few, if any, patrons of new settlements have ever attained.
As early as 1770, Joseph Ellicott's father and his brothers
purchased a tract of wild land on the Patapoca, in Maryland,
and erecting mills and machinery, became the founders of what
was long known as '• Ellicott's Mills," now, for the sake of
brevity, termed " Ellicott's."
Andrew, the eldest brother, became an eminent surveyor ;
surveyed the Spanish boundary line under the administration
of Mr. Jefferson : \\as afterwards Surveyor-General of the U. S.:
and died the Professor of Mathematics at West Point, in 1 820
or '21.
Bexjamix, entered the service of the Holland Company at
an early period, as the assistant of his brother Joseph. He
was at an early period, one of the Judges of Genesee county,
and a representative in Congress, from the district. He was
a bachelor; died a resident of W'illiamsville, Erie count}-,
in 1827.
David, the )-ounger brother, a somewhat erratic genius, was
in some of the earliest \-ears, a sur\e\-or upon the Purchase.
He went south and no tidings ever came of him.
There were five sisters, three of whom married three brothers
by the name of Evans. In this circumstance, the reader will
find the explanation of the numerous heirs of Joseph Ellicott.
bearing that name.
Joseph Ellicott's earh* lessons in surveying, were gi\-en him
by his elder brother, Andrew. His first practical surveying,
was as an assistant of his brother, in the survey of the City of
Washington, soon after that site had been selected for the
national capital. In 1791, he was appointed by Timothy
Pickering, then Secretary of War, to run the boundary line
JOSEI'lI KL1.I(()|-|-. 51
between Geoi-oiu and the Creek Indians. After completini;- this
survey, he was employed by Mr. Cazenove, to survey the
Holland Company's lands in Pennsylvania.
This completed, he was engaged for a short time in Maryland,
in business with his brothers, and then enlisted in the Holland
Company's service in this region.
The active years of his life were those, principally, inter-
vening between the years 1790 and 1 821 — a period of about
thirty years. At least ten or twelve years were spent in the
arduous duties of a surveyor ; and when he left the woods and
settled down in the discharge of his duties as local agent, his
place was no sinecure, as the records of the of^fice will abund-
antly testif)^ He was a man of great industry; careful, system-
atic in all his business, and recjuired of all under his control a
prompt and faithful discharge of all their duties.
Jacob S. Otto.
This gentleman was the successor to Mr. Ellicott in the local
agency. He was previously a resident of Philadelphia ; had
been engaged in mercantile and commercial pursuits.
The period of his agency was from 1821 to his death, in 1826.
It was during Mr. Otto's administration, that the plan of
receiving cattle and grain from the settlers, that had previously
been entertained, was effectually commenced. Depots were
designated in different parts of the Purchase, for the delivery
of wheat; where the settler could carry it, and have its value
endorsed upon his contract. Agents were appointed to receive
cattle. They advertised yearly, the times and places, when
and where the cattle would be received, fixed upon their price,
and endorsed it upon contracts. It was one among the
measures of relief, and its operation was highly beneficial.
David E. E\'ans.
During the administration of Mr. Otto, Mr. Evans had been
appointed as his associate, to give the incumbent the advantage
of his long experience and familiarity with the details of the
business. Yet he did not to any considerable degree partici-
pate in the joint administration proposed, his time being chiefly
occupied with his own private affairs, and the duties of a mem-
ber of the Senate of this state.
52 D.WIl) K. KNAXS.
Upon the death of Mr. Otto, he entered upon tlie dischart^e
of the duties of the local agency. Earl\- in life he had been
a clerk in the office, under his uncle, Joseph Ellicott, and had
for a long period occupied the desk of the cashier and accountant
of the agency. Few, therefore, could have been more familiar
with the wants, interest and welfare of the settlers. They were
old, familiar acquaintances, and his interests were identified
with theirs.
It was during the second year of Mr. Evans' administration
(in September, 1827,) that a general plan for the modification
of land contracts was adopted. It was regarded at the time as
a very decided measure of relief to the settlers, and its opera-
tions were highh' beneficial to a very large class of the debtors
of the Holland compan\'.
Mr. Evans' agency continued until 1837. It embraced the
large sales of the Holland company's interest ; in fact, before
it closed the entire business and interests of the company had
progressed nearly to a termination.
Having served one term as State Senator, Mr. Evans had
been elected a Representative in Congress at the period of Mr.
Otto's death. He resigned to take upon himself the duties of
the agency.
R(^BERT Morris.
A short biography of one eminently useful in our revolution-
ary struggle is suggested by his after-identity with our local
region. He was, as will have been seen, at one period the pro-
prietor of the whole of Western New York west of Phelps and
Gorham's purchase, by purchase from Massachusetts and the
Seneca Indians.
In the attempt of feeble colonies to throw off oppression
there was work to be done in council as well as in the field — at
the financier's desk as well as in the more conspicuous conflicts
of arms. If raw troops called from the field and workshop
were to be enrolled and disciplined, upon a sudden emergency
provisions were to be made for their equipment and sustenance ;
J^oth were tasks surrounded with difficulty and embarrassment;
both required men and minds of no ordinary cast. Fortun-
ately they were found. Washington was the chief, the leader
RoiiKki' MORRIS — i:aki.n I. hi:. 53
of our armies, the master-spirit that conducted the stru<j^le to
glorious termination. Morris was the financier. The}' were
heads of co-ordinate branches in a i^reat crisis, and e(|uall}- well
performed their parts.
Robert Morris was born in Lixerpool, in 1733. His father
emif^rated to the United States in 1745, and settled at Port
Tobacco, in Marylanci, en<^af^intr extensively in the tobacco
trade.
Previous to the death of his father, Robert Morris had been
placed in the counting-house of Mr. Charles Willing, an
eminent merchant of Philadelphia, where he soon acquired a
proficiency in mercantile afTairs that recommended liim as a
partner of the son of his employer.
When the first difficulties occurred between the colonies and
the mother countr}-, though extensively engaged in a mercan-
tile business that was to be seriously affected by it, he was one
of other patriotic Philadelphia merchants who promoted and
signed the non-importation agreement, which restricted com-
mercial intercourse with Great Britain to the mere necessaries
of life.
When the news of the Battle of Lexington reached Philadel-
phia, Mr. Morris was presiding at a dinner usuall}^ given on the
anniversary of St. George. He participated in putting a stop
to the celebration in honor of an English saint, and helped to
upset the tables that had been spread. His resolution was
fixed ; it was one of devotion to the cause of the colonies, and
well was it adhered to.
In 1775 and '76, he w^as a Member of Congress, and became
a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
When Washington had re-crossed the Delaware for the
second time, in December, 1777, the time of service of nearly
all the Eastern troops had expired. To induce them to engage
for another si.x weeks, he promised a bounty of ten dollars
each, and for the necessary funds applied to Mr. Morris. In
the answer of Mr. Morris accompanying the sum of fifty
thousand dollars, he congratulated the Commander-in-Chief
upon his success in retaining the men, and assured him that
" if farther occasional supplies of money are wanted you may
depend upon m)' exertions either in a public or private capacity."
54 ELECTED MEMISER OF (( ).\( IRESS.
In March, 1777, he was chosen, with l-5enjamin Franklin and
others, to represent the Assembly of Pennsylvania in Congress,
and in November following was associated with Mr. Gerry and
Mr. Jones to repair to the army and confidentially consult with
the Commander-in-Chief upon the best plan of conducting the
Winter campaign.
In August, 1778, he was appointed a member of the stand-
ing Committee of Finance.
The years 1778 and '79 were the most distressing periods of
the war. The finances were in a wretched condition, and Mr.
Morris not only advanced his money freely, but put in requisi-
tion an almost unlimited individual credit.
In 1781 (a period of despair), in addition to other contribu-
tions of money and credit, Mr. Morris supplied the almost fam-
ishing troops with several thousand barrels of flour. This timely
aid came w^ien it was seriously contemplated to authorize the
seizure of provisions wherever they could be found ; a measure
which would have been unpopular with the whole country, and
probably turned back the tide of public feeling flowing in favor
of the Revolution.
There is upon record a long catalogue of transactions simi-
lar to those which have been related. Not only the Comman-
der-in-Chief but Generals of divisions found Mr. Morris the
dernier resort when money and provisions were wanted. To
private means, which must have been large, and a large credit,
he added astonishing faculties as a financier. When he had
no other resources, he would compel others to use their money
and credit. In financial negotiations, with him, to will a thing
was to do it.
He was appointed to the office of Financier, or what was
equivalent to the now office of Secretary of the Treasury.
Never, perhaps, in any country, was a minister of finance placed
over a treasury, the conditions of which were worse. To use a
phrase of the play-house, it was
" Beggarly account of empty boxes."
It had not a dollar in it and was two millions and a half in debt.
Those who have seen Gen. Washington's military journal of the
first of May, 1781, can form some idea of the condition of the
army and the finances'.
Ai'i'oiN ii:i) iiN.\\( ii;r. 55
It was the proxincc of Mr. Morris to financier for Con<^rcss
and a coiintr\- and cause in such a crisis. He be<^an by restor-
in<;' credit and estabHshin^' confidence; promuli^ated the assur-
ance that all his official enL^a^ements would be punctuall)' met,
and j)ut in rccjinsition his ])ri\'ate means, the means of his
friends, to fulfill the promises he iiad held out. When apprised
of his ap|)ointment to the manat^ement of financial affairs, he
replied : " In acceptini;; the office bestowed upon me, I sacrifice
much of m\- interest, my ease, nn- domestic enjo\-ment and
internal traiK[uilit)'. If I know m}" own heart, I make these
.sacrifices with a disinterestetl \iew to the ser\ice of m\- countr\-.
I am willing to go further, and the United States ma)' com-
mand everything I have e.Kcej)t my integrity, and the loss of
that would efTectualh' dissable me from serving them more."
Among his financial expedients to resuscitate public credit, was
the establishment of the Bank of North America. Collateral
security was given for the ])erformance of engagements of the
institution, in f(M-m of bonds, signed by wealth}- individuals.
Mr. Morris heading the list with a subscription of iJ"io,000.
In a private interview with Washington, the subject of an
attack on New York was broached. Mr. Morris dissented,
assuming that it would be too great a sacrifice of men and
mone)- ; that the success of the measure was doubtful; that
even if successful the triumph, as to results, would be a barren
one ; the enemy having command of the sea could, at anytime,
land fresh troops and re-take it, &c." A.ssenting to these objec-
tions, the Commander-in-Chief said : " What am I to do? The
country calls on me for action ; and moreox-er, m\- arm}- cannot
be kept together unless .some bold enterprise is undertaken."
To this Mr. Morris replied: "Why not lead \-our forces to
Yorktown ? There Cornwallis ma}' be hemmed in b}- the
French fleet b}' sea and the American and French armies by
land, and will ultimately be compelled to surrender." " Lead
ni}- troops to Yorktow n I" said Washington, appearing sur-
prised at the suggestion, " How am I to get them there ? One
of my difficulties about attacking New York arises from the
want of funds to transport them thither. How, then, can I
. muster the means that will be requisite to enable them to march
to Yorktown ?" " You must look to me for funds," rejoined
56 MORRIS AND HANCOCK.
Mr. Morris. ''And how are you to provide them ?" said Wash-
ington. " That," said Mr. Morris, " I am unable at this time to
tell you, but I will answer with my head, that if you will put
your army in motion, I will supply the means of their reaching
Yorktown." After a few minutes reflection, Washington said:
"On this assurance of yours, Mr. Morris, such is my confidence
in your ability to perform any engagement you make, I will
adopt your suggestion."
When the army arrived at Philadelphia Mr. Morris had the
utmost difificulty in furnishing the supplies he had promised,
but at last he hit upon the expedient of borrowing twenty
thousand crowns from the Chevalier de Luzerne, the French
Minister. The Chevalier objected that he had only funds
enough to pay the French troops, and could not comply unless
two vessels with specie on board for him arrived from France.
Fortunately, about the time the troops were at Elk, preparing
to march to Yorktown, the ships arrived, the money was pro-
cured and especial pains taken to parade the specie in open
kegs before the army. The troops were paid, and cheerfully
embarked to achieve the crow^ning triumph of the Revolution.
John Hancock, President of Congress, writing to Mr. Mor-
ris in a severe crisis of the Revolution, says: " I know, how-
ever, you will put things in a proper way ; all things depend
upon you, and you have my hearty thanks for your unremitting
labor." Gen. Charles Lee said to. him in a letter, when he
assumed the duties of Secretary of an empty treasury: " It is
an office I cannot wish you joy of ; the labor is more than her-
culean ; the filth of that Augean stable is, in my opinion, too
great to be cleared away even by your skill and industry."
During the Revolution, the commercial house in which he
continued a partner, was prosecuting a successful business.
The close of the Revolution must have found him in possession
of immense wealth, exceeding by far that of any individual cit-
izen of the United States. But he was destined to a sudden
reverse of fortune. There followed the revolution a mania for
land speculation. Mr. Morris participated largely in it, in-
vesting in large tracts of wild land as they came into market
in different parts of the United States, realizing for a time vast
profits up(^n sales. A reaction ensued, which found him in
ii.i.-iouruNK AM) i»i;.\iii. 57
possession of an immense landed estate, and lart^ely in debt
for purchase money. Trom the opulence we ha\e been speak-
ing of, he was reduced to poverty ; and ultimately some mer-
ciless creditors made him for a long time the tenant of a
prison.
Upon Mr. Morris had devolved the financiering for our coun-
try in a period of peril and embarrassment. When the army
of Washington, unpaid, were lacking food and raiment, mur-
muring as they well might be, it was his purse and credit that
more than once prevented its dispersion and the failure of the
glorious achievement of independence. His ships were upon
the ocean, his notes-of-hand forming a currency, his drafts hon-
ored everywhere among capitalists in his own country and in
many of the marts of commerce in Europe.
A reverse of fortune occurred, which is saddening to those
who are now enjoying the blessings to which he so eminently
contributed, and who wish that no cloud had gathered around
the close of his useful life.
Mr. Morris died at Morrisiana, N. J., Nov. 6, 1806, aged sev-
enty-three years.
Makv Jemison.
In the Summer of 1755, during the P^rench and Indian wars,
Mary Jamison's father's house, situated on the western frontier
of Pennsylvania, was surrounded by a band, consisting of six
Indians and four Frenchmen. They plundered and carried
away whate\-er the)' could that was \'aluable, and took the
whole family captive, with two or three others, who were stay-
ing there at the time. They were all immediately hastened
away into the wilderness, murdered and scalped, with the
exception of Mary and a small boy, who were carried to Fort
Du Quesne. Little Mary was there given to two Indian sisters,
who came to that place to get a captive to .supply the place of
a brother that had been slain in battle. They took her down
the Ohio to their home, and adopted her as their sister, under
the name of Dehhewamis — a word signifying " a beautiful girl."
The sorrow and regret which so sudden and fearful a change in
her condition produced, gradually yielded under the influence
of time ; and she began to be quite reconciled to her fate.
58 MARY JEMISOX AND INDIAN SISTERS.
when an incident occurred, wliich once more revix'cd her hopes
of being redeemed from captivit}- and restored to her friends.
When Fort Pitt fell into the possession of the British, Mary
was taken with a part)^ who went there to conclude a treaty of
peace with the English. She immediately attracted the notice
of the white people, who showed great anxiety to know how
one so young and delicate came among the savages. Her
Indian sisters became alarmed, and fearing that they might lose
her, suddenly fled away with her, and carried her back to their
forest home. Her disappointment was painful and she brooded
over it for many days, but at length gained her usual cheerful-
ness and contentment. As soon as she was of sufficient age,
she was married to a young Delaware Indian named Sheninjee.
Notwithstanding her reluctance at first to become the wife
of an Indian, her husband's uniform kind treatment and
gentleness, soon won her esteem and affection, and she says:
" Strange as it may seem, I loved him ! " and she often spoke
of him as her "kind husband." About 1759, she concluded to
change her residence. With a little child, on foot, she traveled
to the Genesee river, through the pathless wilderness, a distance
of near six hundred miles, and fixed her home at Little Beard's
Town. When she came there, she found the Senecas in alliance
with the French ; they were making preparation for an attack
on Fort Schlosser ; and not a great while after, enacted the
tragedy at the Devil's Hole. Some time after her arrival, she
received intelligence of the death of her husband, Sheninjee,
who was to have come to her in the succeeding Spring. They
had lived happily together, and she sincerely lamented his
death. When the war between England and France ended,
she might have returned to the English, but she did not. She
married another Indian, named Hiakatoo, two or three years
after the death of Sheninjee. When General Sullivan invaded
the Genesee country, her house and field shared a common fate
with the rest. When she saw them in ruins, with great energy
and perseverance, she immediately went to making prepara-
tion for the coming W^inter. Taking her two youngest children
on her back, and bidding the other three follow, she sought
Till': (;.\Ri)i;.\i' ki':sKk\Ari()\. 59
cniploynicnt. She found an ()j)|)()rlunit\- to husk corn, and
secured in tliat way t\\ent\'-fi\'e busliels of slielled corn, which
kept tliem through the Winter.
After the close of the Revolution, slie obtained the ^rant of
a lar^^e tract of huul, called the " Gardeau Reservation," which
was about six miles in length and five in breadth.
In 1 83 I, preferrin<^ to i)ass the remainder of her da}'s in the
midst of those with w^hom her youth and middle age had been
spent, she sold the rest of the land at Gardeau Flats, purchased
a farm on the BufTalo Reservation, where the Senecas, among
whom she had li\ed, had settled some five years j^revious. She
passed the remainder of her days in peace and Cjuietness,
embraced the Christian religion, and on the 19th of Sept., 1833,
ended a life that had been marked by vicissitudes such as it is
the lot of but few to experience.
6o ■ PREPARATIONS OF WAR.
CHAPTER X.
WAR OF 1812-15— CAMPAIGN OF 1812.
War Declared — Troops Called For — Colonel Swift — First Detachment of Mili-
tia— Council with the Indians ■ — Excitement, Bustle, Confusion and
Flight —Active Preparations on the Canada Side — General Brock — Fear
of the Indians — The Caledonia and Detroit — The Defeat of General
Van Rensselaer— General Smyth and His Failures — Disgust of the Sol-
diers and the Public.
After a debate of several days" duration, an act declaring
war against Great Britain was passed by Congress, and was
approved by the President on the i8th of June, 1812. On the
19th the President issued a proclamation declaring that war
existed between the United States and Great Britain and her
dependencies.
Congress authorized the President to enlist 25,000 men for
the regular army, to raise a force of 50,000 volunteers, and to
call out 100,000 militia.
On the 17th of May, Colonel Swift, of Ontario county, came
to Buffalo to assume command on the frontier. On the i8th,
the first detachment of militia marched through that village on
their way to Lewiston. They were from the south towns, and
were commanded by Major Benjamin Whale}'.
On the 26th of May, Indian-Superintendent Granger held a
council with the Chiefs of the Six Nations of Indians, living on
this side of the Niagara. He did not seek to enlist their ser-
vices in the war, but urged them to remain neutral. To this
they agreed.
On the 23d of June, Colonel Swift, whose headquarters were
at Black Rock, was in command of 600 militia ; besides there
was a small garrison of regulars at Fort Niagara. There was
no artillery except at the fort.
The preparations for war on the other side were somewhat
better, there being six or seven hundred British regulars along
the Niagara and a hundred pieces of artillery.
. On the morning of the 26th of June, a small vessel, which had
just left Black Rock, was noticed entering Lake Eric b\' some
\.\\ ri;nssi;i,.\i;r iaki^s ((i.m.m.\m». 6i
of the citizens of Buffalo, aiul preseiitK' a British armed xx-ssel
from Fort Kric was seen makint^ its \va\- toward the /Vmerican
ship. The hitter was soon overtaken and boarded, and then
both vessels turned their prows toward the British stron<^hold.
The vessel was captured, and a few hours later an express-rider
from the east arri\'ed bearing the President's proclamation of
war. The Canadians had received the news the earliest. The
express-riders spread the news as they passed upon the main
roads; thence it spread rapidh' in every direction from settle-
ment to settlement.
The usual avocations of life w ere temporarily suspended ;
here and there in all the detached neighborhoods were small
collections of citizens deliberating and consulting upon meas-
ures of safety, defense or flight. Many made hasty prepara-
tions and were soon on their wa\' seeking asylums beyond the
Genesee river. Many families who left, returned after a few
weeks' absence. All was bustle and confusion ; soldiers were
mustering, volunteers and drafted militia were marching to the
frontiers from the back settlements in small squads and larger
companies. By the 4th of July, the aggregate militia force
upon the frontier was about three thousand. Soon after the
declaration of war, Gen. William Wadsworth, of Geneseo,
assumed command. On the 28th of July, the command
devolved upon Gen. Amos Hall, of Ontario count}', and on the
I ith of August upon Major-General Van Rensselaer, of Albany
(these were not officers of the regular army but of the New
York State militia). General Van Rensselaer established his
headquarters at Lewi.ston.
War preparations were as active in Canada as upon this side
of the lines. The militia in the Upper Province were ordered
out en masse. P"ort Erie was put in repair; a redoubt was
thrown up opposite Black Rock, a battery erected at Chippewa
and another below the falls ; defences were also erected on
Oueenston heights directly opposite Lewiston village, and Fort
George was strengthened. One of the incipient steps in Canada
was to secure the services of the Indians in the Pro\-ince. This
had been too long a favorite policy of England to be aban-
doned. General Brock, the acting Governor of the Province,
assumed the immediate command of the troops.
62 CAPTURE OF BRITISH VESSELS.
After the first turmoil and bustle were over, there succeeded
comparative quiet — weeks and months of inactivity upon the
lines. The usual avocations were partially resumed in the
settlements, though frequently disturbed by militia drafts and
harrassing, unfounded rumors of actual or contemplated incur-
sions of the British and Indians.
There was little real cause for anticipating danger of this
nature, for the preparations on the other side were wholly
defensive, and the state of alarm among the inhabitants there
was as great as here. Among the inhabitants on each side
of the lines there was mutual fear of invasion.
One of the most fruitful sources of apprehension and alarm
in the earlier stages of the war was the fear that the Seneca
Indians would become allies of the British and Canadian
Indians. Their neutrality, however, was early secured by a
talk in council. This position of neutrality, taken in the first
stages of the war, was not long maintained. The Senecas
rightly determining their true position and interests, soon
became fast friends of the United States, and useful armed
allies. On the 8th of October, a detachment of sailors arrived
on the frontier from New York, and were placed under the
command of Lieut. Jesse D. Elliott, stationed at Black Rock.
Two British armed vessels, the brig Detroit and the schooner
Caledonia, had just come down the lake, and were at anchor
near Fort Erie. About one o'clock, on the morning of the 9th
of October, three boats put out from the American shore with
their prows directed toward Fort Erie. The first contained
fifty men under Lieutenant Elliott in person ; the second forty-
seven, under Sailing-Master Watts, while the third was manned
by six Buffalonians under Dr. Chapin. The boats moved
stealthily across the river in the darkness. Arriving at the side
of their prey, the three crews boarded both vessels almost at
the same time. In ten minutes, the enemy was overpowered,
the cables cut, and the vessels on their way down the river.
The Caledonia was brought to anchor near Black Rock, but the
Detroit was carried by the current on the west side of Squaw
island, and ran aground. The prisoners taken in this gallant
affair numbered seventy-one officers and men ; besides these,
the captors released about forty American prisoners who were
DKKKAI' Oh' \A.\ KllNSSKl.Al'.k. 63
ca])turctl at the I\i\cr Raisin, and were on their \va)' to (.)ue-
bec. This was the first hostile enterprise which took phice in
or started from Flrie count}' during- the War of 1812.
If the settlers on the Holland purchase were somewhat
cheered by the achiex-ement of Lieutenant Klliott and his com-
mand, the}' were at once cast down attain b}- the news of the
defeat of General \'an Rensselaer at Oueenston. He had col-
lected a force, i)rincipally New \'ork militia, at Lewiston, on
the Niagara ri\er. At Oueenston, on the opposite side of the
river, a British force was stationed. On the 13th of October
(ieneral Van Rensselaer crossed a force under Col. Solomon
Van Rensselaer (his nephew), and attacked the British fort and
captured it. General Brock now arriv^ed with a reinforement
of 600 men and endeavored to regain the fort, but was defeated
and killed. General Van Rensselaer hastened back to the
American side to bring over more troops, but his men refused
to obey his orders, alleging that they could not be ordered out
of the state without their consent. The British were heavily
reinforced, and the Americans were attacked and defeated, all
who crossed to the Canada side being killed or captured.
General Van Rensselaer was succeeded in command on the
Niagara frontier by Brigadier-Gen. Alexander Smyth, of the
regular army, who had been on the lines a short time as Inspec-
tor-General. Immediatel}' on taking command he began con-
centrating troops at Buffalo and Black Rock, preparatory to an
invasion of Canada. On the 1 2th of November, he issued a
flaming address to the men of New York, calling for their ser-
vices and declaring that in a few da}'s the troops under his
command would plant the American standard in Canada. A
considerable force came to Buffalo ; a brigade of militia arrived
from Pennsylvania; three or four hundred New York militia
reported themselves. Peter B. Porter was assigned to the com-
mand of these New \'ork volunteers. On the 27th of Novem-
ber the General commanding issued orders to cross the river
the next da}'. There were then about four thousand men at and
near Black Rock, but as a large portion of them were militia, it
is not certain how man}- he could ha\'e depended on to enter
the enemy's countr}-. There were boats sufficient to carry at
least 3,000 men.
64 (APTAIX KIXC; AXl) MEN TAKEN PRISONERS.
About one o'clock the next morninij two detachments were
sent across the river, one under Lieutenant-Colonel Boerstler
and the other under Captain King, with whom was Lieutenant
Angus of the Navy and fifty or sixty seamen. Bcerstler
returned without accomplishing anything of consequence, but
the forces of King and Angus behaved with great gallantry.
They landed at three o'clock in the morning. Angus attacked
and dispersed a force of the enemy stationed at what was called
"The Red House," spiking two field-pieces and throwing then,i
into the river. The sailors and some of the soldiers then
returned, bringing a number of prisoners, but througli some
blunder no boats were left to bring over Captain King, who
with sixty men remained behind. King and his men then
attacked and captured two batteries, spiked their guns and took
thirty-four prisoners. Having found two boats, capable of hold-
ing about sixty men, the gallant Captain sent over his prisoners,
half his men and all his officers, remaining himself with thirty
men. He doubtless expected Smyth's whole army in an hour
or two, and thought he would take care of himself until that
time. The general embarkation commenced but went on very
slowly. About one o'clock I'. M., the regulars, the twelve-
months volunteers and a body of militia, the whole making a
force variously estimated at from fourteen hundred to two
thousand men were in boats at the navy-yard, at the mouth of
Scajaquada creek. General Smyth then ordered the troops to
disembark and dine. He then called a council of war, to see
whether he had better cross the river or not. It is not surpris-
ing that, with such a commander, several of the officers con-
sulted were opposed to making the attempt. It was at length
de'cided to postpone the invasion until more boats could be
made ready. Late in the afternoon the troops were ordered to
their quarters. The gallant Captain King was left to his fate
and was taken prisoner with all his remaining men.
The next day was spent in preparation. On Sunday, the
30th, the troops were ordered to be ready to embark at nine
o'clock the following morning. General Porter advocated post-
poning the expedition till Monday night, when the troops
should embark in the darkness and land about five miles below
the navy-yard, where the stream and the banks were favorable.
CF.NKKAI. SMVTIl'S RESICXATION. 65
These views were seconded by Colonel Winder and adopted
by General Smyth, his intention being to assault Chipi)ewa and
march through Oueenston to Fort George.
Then it was found that the Quarter-Master had ncjt rations
enough for two thcnisand five hundred men for four days. Never-
theless, the embarkation commenced at three o'clock on Tues-
day' morning. Again some fifteen hundred men were placed in
boats. It was arranged that General Porter was to lead the
van and direct the landing, on account of his knowledge of the
river and the farther shore.
Hut the embarkation of the regulars was greatl}' delayed and
daylight appeared before the flotilla was under way. Then the
redoubtable Smyth called another council of war, composed of
four regular officers, to decide whether Canada should be in-
vaded ihat season. They unanimously decided it should not. So
the *'fH>»ps were again ordered ashore and the militia and most
of th^' volunteers sent home, and the regulars put into winter
quarters.
The breaking up of the command was attended by scenes of
the wildest confusion ; four thousand men firing off their guns,
cursing General Smyth, their officers, the service, and every-
thing connected with their military experience. The disgust
of the public was equally great. Smyth became the object of
universal derision. The mere fact of his twice waiting till his
men were in boats for the purpose of invading Canada before
calling a council of war to decide whether Canada should be
invaded, showed him to be entirely deficient in the qualifica-
tions of a general.
On the 22nd of December, Smyth resigned his command to
Col. Moses Porter, and retired to Virginia on leave of absence.
Before his leave expired. Congress legislated him out of office.
4
66 ARRIVAL OF PERRY.
CHAPTER XI.
CAMPAIGN OF 1813.
Arrival of Captain Perry, of the Navy — Fitting out a fleet — General Dearborn
in command of the northern frontiers — Toronto captured— Fort George
evacuated by the British — Americans occupy it — Americans occupy the
whole Canadian side of the Niagara — Fortifying in Holland, Hamburg
and Boston — Chapin's gallant exploit — The Senecas take part in the war
— Battle at Black Rock, the British defeated — Perry's victory on Lake
Erie — Harrison's victory on the Thames — General McCiure — Fort
Niagara captured — General Hall.
Early in March, Capt. Oliver Hazard Perry, of the United
States Navy, a young man twenty-six years of age, of hand-
some features and gallant bearing, arrived in Buffalo from the
East, and after a brief stay, went forward to Erie to superin-
tend the fitting out of a naval armament there. During the
Winter, the Government had purchased a number of merchant
vessels, for the purpose of converting them into men-of-war,
and the construction of several new ones had been begun.
Erie, from its comparatively secure harbor, had been selected
as the naval headquarters.
Five vessels, however, were fitted out in Scajaquada creek,
and for several months Perry flitted back and forth between
the two places, urging forward the work.
In the fore part of April, soldiers began to arrive on the
frontier. On the 17th of that month, Major-General Lewis
and Brigadier-General Boyd arrived in Buffalo to assume com-
mand according to their respective ranks. General Dearborn
took cominand on the n'hole northern frontier. The British
force on the other side of the Niagara was very weak.
The campaign in the north was commenced by an expedi-
tion from Sacket's Harbor, under General Dearborn and
Commodore Chauncy, by which York (now Toronto) was cap-
tured b\- a dashing attack, the gallant General Pike being killed
by the explosion of the enemy's magazine. This triumph pre-
vented the sending of re-enforcements to the British forts on
AMERICANS OCCUPY FORT GEORGE. 67
the Niai^ara. and when our fleet appeared off Fort George,
about the 25th of Ma)', it was immediately evacuated. The
Americans, under General Lewis, crossed and occupied it.
The same day, the commander at Fort Erie received orders
under which he kept up a heavy cannonade on Black Rock
until the following morning, when he blew up his magazines,
destroyed his stores, and dismissed his men. All other public
stores, barracks, and magazines, from Chippewa to Point Abino,
were likewise destroyed. Lieutenant-Colonel Preston, the
commandant at Black Rock, immediately crossed over and
took possession. So at length the Americans had obtained
possession of the Canadian side of the Niagara, and it would
not seem that it need to have been difficult to retain it.
But the lack of success in this respect, and in fact the greater
part of the disasters of the war of 1812, were attributable no
doubt to the blundering of the Government, the weakness of
the Commanders, to loose dicipline and to the excessive short
term of service of the drafted men and volunteers. As a gen-
eral rule, if a volunteer of 18 12 stayed on the line three months
he thought he had done something wonderful.
In the fore part of 18 13, the inhabitants on the upper part
of Cazenova creek combined and built a stockade of consider-
able magnitude, on the farm of Arthur Humphrey, in Holland.
About the same time Captain Bemis' barn, in Hamburg, was
surrounded by a similar stockade. There was also a block-
house built in that vicinity. Job Palmer's barn, in Boston, was
likewise stockaded, and there may have been other fortifica-
tions of the kind in the county.
On the 23d of June, 18 13, a force of Americans started up
the river from Fort Geoi-ge. It consisted of four or five hun-
dred regular infantr\-, twenty regular dragoons and Chapin's
company of forty-four mounted riflemen, the whole under
Lieutenant-Colonel Bctrstler. On the 24th, when nine miles
west of Queenston at a place called Beaver Dams, it was
attacked by a force of British and Indians. After some skir
mishing and marching, accompanied with slight loss, the assail,
ants sent a flag to Colonel Bcerstler, and on the mere statement
of the bearer that the British regular force was double the
American, besides 700 Indians, that officer surrendered his
68 SIX NATION INDIANS ENROLLED.
whole command. Chapin and his Erie county volunteers were
sent to the head of Lake Ontario (now Hamilton), whence the
Colonel, two officers and twenty-six privates were ordered to
Kingston by water, under guard of a Lieutenant and fifteen
men. They were all in two boats. When about twenty miles
out on Lake Ontario Chapin and his comrades arose, captured
the guard and rowed them to Fort George and delivered them
as prisoners to the commandant. The British men-of-war still
commanded the lake. About the 15th of June the five vessels
which had been fitted up in Scajaquada creek, stole out of
Black Rock and joined Perry at Erie.
The Queen Charlotte and other British vessels, this year as
last, hovered along the lake shore and occasionally sent a boat's
crew ashore to depredate on the inhabitants of Hamburg and
Evans.
In the earl}' part of July, a skirmish took place near Fort
George, in which an American Lieutenant and ten men were
captured, who were never heard of more, and were supposed to
have been slain by the savages. Then General Boyd accepted
the services of the warriors of the Six Nations. Those then
enrolled numbered 400, and there were 550 in the ser\'ice in all.
General Dearborn had withdrawn all the regular soldiers from
Buffalo and Black Rock, leaving a large amount of public stores
entirely undefended. Being advised, however, of the danger
of a raid, he ordered ten artillerists to be stationed at the block-
house at Black Rock, and called for 500 militia from the
neighboring counties. Between a hundred and fifty and two
hundred of these arrived at the threatened point earl}- in Jul)-,
and were stationed at the warehouses at Black Rock, being
under the command of Maj. Parmenio Adams, of Genesee
County. They had three pieces of field artillery and near by
was a battery of four heavy guns. Nearly a hundred recruits
for the regular infantry and dragoons on their way to Dear-
born's headquarters, under Captain Cummings, were ordered
to stop at Buffalo. Judge (Granger was directed to engage as
many Seneca warriors as he could, and General Porter who
was then staying at his residence at Black Rock, was requested
to take command of the whole. By the loth of July Judge
Granger had received such positive information of an immediate
GENERAL PORTER's ESCAPE. 69
attack, accompanied by sjiccial threats a^^ainst himself, that
he iinited some Indians to come to his house north of the
Scajaquada creek. Thirt\'-seven of them arrived at II o'clock
that (Saturday) ni<^dit under the lead of I^\'u-mer's Brother. As
the\- were not all armed, and as the Judt^e was confident that
the enemy would be over the next day, he sent to the village
and yot a full supply of arms and ammunition for his braves
that niL^ht. The British headcjuarters were at Lundy's Lane,
close by the Falls, where their expedition was fitted out. The
commander was Lieutenant-Colonel Bishop. He had under
him a part of the forty-first regiment of the British army, and
a detachment of Canadian militia, commanded by Colonel
Clark. They took boat at Chippewa, on the night of the loth,
and after rowing against the current in the darkness several
hours, landed just after daylight a mile below the mouth of the
Scajac]uada. Forming his men, Colonel Bishop led them
rapidl)^ up the river bank. There was a single sentinel at the
Scajaquada bridge ; he flung away his musket, dodged into the
woods, and took a bee-line for Williamsville. Major Adams'
men attempted no resistance, but fled. General Porter had
barely time to escape from his house, and without his arms.
The victors, supposing no resistance would be made, set to
work burning the block-houses and barracks, while the ofificers
ordered breakfast at General Porter's. But a storm was gather-
ing. When the militia first began to retreat, a messenger was
sent to Buffalo, on whose arrival. Captain Cummings mustered
his recruits and marched towards the scene of action. On his
wa)' he met (General Porter, who ordered him to proceed to a
piece of open ground not far from the site of the reservoir,
and await re-enforcements.
Taking a horse, sword and other eciui{)ments from one of
Cumming's dragoons, the general galloped down to the village,
where he found everything in confusion ; the women and
children in a state of terror, and the men in the streets with
arms in their hands, but doubtful whether to fight or flee.
Being assured there was a chance of success, forty or fifty of
them formed ranks under Caj)tain Bull, the commander of the
Buffalo volunteer company, and marched to join Cummings.
About a hundred of the retreating militia had been kept
70 farmer's brother and his warriors.
together by Lieutenant Phineas Staunton, the adjutant of the
battalion. Meanwhile, Major King, of the regular army, who
was accidentally at Black Rock, on seeing the sudden retreat of
the militia, hurried through the \\-oods to Judge Granger's
(who lived beyond Cold Springs, on Main street), \\hence the
alarm was speedily carried to the scattered inhabitants of
" Buffalo Plains." F"armer's Brother at once gathered his war-
riors and made them a little speech, telling them that they
must now go and fight the red-coats ; that their country was
invaded ; that they had a common interest with the people of
the United States, and they must show their friendship for
their American brethren b}' deeds, not words. The old chief-
tain then led his little band to join his friend, General Porter.
Volunteers, too, came hurrying to the village from the Plains
and Cold Springs, until about thirty were gathered, who were
placed under the command of Capt. William Hull, of the militia.
General Porter now felt able to cope with the enemy.
Bringing together his forces, numbering but about three hun-
dred all told, at the open ground before-mentioned, he made
his dispositions for an attack. As the foe held a strong
position at Major Adams' encampment. Porter determined to
attack him on three sides at once, to prevent the destructive
use of artillery on a column in front.
The regulars and Captain Bull's Buff volunteers formed the
center. The Genesee militia, under Staunton, were on the left.
Captain Hull's men and the Indians were in the woods on the
right front. Farmer's Brother and his braves prepared for
action ; they cjuickly ranged themselves in line with their chiefs,
a few yards in front. At eight o'clock the signal for attack was
given. The militia, gallantly led on by Staunton, and ashamed
of their recent flight, dashed forward against the enemy. A
fight of some fifteen or twenty minutes ensued, in which the
militia stood up against the British regulars without flinching.
The right flank of the Americans came up ; the Indians raised
the war-whoop and opened fire. Colonel Bishop was severely
wounded, and fell from his horse ; his men became demoral-
ized, and when the regulars appeared in front, the enemy fled
towards the water's edge. The whole American force then
pressed forward together, the Indians making the forest resound
GENERAL WILKINSON TAKES COMMAND. 7 1
with Scivage yells. The chief, Younc^ ^i'li^- 'intl another warrior
were wounded. Part of the British wounded were carried off,
but part were left on the field.
.\t the Black Rock landing, the British rallied, but on the
approach of the Americans, hastily retreated into some boats
which they found there, leaving fifteen prisoners in the hands
of their pursuers. Many were killed and wounded after enter-
ing the boats, but tlie chief loss fell on the last one. It contained
sixty men and most of the officers, including Colonel Bishop,
who, notwithstanding his wounds, had insisted on remaining to
the last. The whole American force came up to the bank and
opened fire on this boat inflicting terrible injury. Two or three
Indians even sprang into the water, siezed the boat by the gun-
wale and endeavored to direct it ashore, but were compelled
to desist by the fire of their friends in the rear. Captain
Saunders, of the British Forty-first, was severely wounded at
the water's edge and left a prisoner. Colonel Bishop was pierced
with several bullets, receiving wounds of which he died, and
several other ofificers were killed or wounded. The enemy were
said at the time to have acknowledged a total loss in killed,
wounded and prisoners of nearly a hundred. The Americans
lost three killed and seven wounded.
The militia were in the front of the fray throughout, and
gallanth" retrieved their tarnished reputation. Their good
conduct was doubtless due largely to the example of Adjutant
Staunton, who also distinguished himself on several other oc-
casions in tlie war of 1812. All accounts speak in high terms
of the conduct of the Seneca warriors. iMthough the numbers
engaged in this affair were not large, it was cjuite an exciting
conflict, and is of importance as showing the value of one or
two resolute ofificers, in rallying and inspiriting a body of raw
troops, utterly demoralized by less ef^cient leadership.
Just before this event. General Dearborn had resigned the
chief command on the northern frontier, and soon after General
Wilkinson was appointed in his ])lace. General Porter and
Colonel Chapin gathered up another bod\' of volunteers and
went down to Fort (ieorge, taking a hundred or so Indians
with them.
A plan was concerted to cut off one of the enemy's pickets
72 PERRY AND HARRISON S SUCCESS.
on the morning of the 17th of August, Chapin and Porter went
out west from Fort George for the purpose. A heavy rain re-
tarded their progress, so the picket was not captured, but a fight
ensued in wliich the volunteers and Indians captured sixteen
prisoners and killed a considerable number of the enemy who
were left on the field. Chapin and his volunteers and most of
the Indians continued to operate in the vicinity of Fort George
until the 7th of September, when they returned to Buffalo.
A few days later came the news of " Perry's Victory" on
Lake Erie, which caused great rejoicing among the people.
Immediately succeeding Perry's victory, came that of Harrison
over Proctor and Tecumseh. It being supposed that the upper
peninsula was pretty well cleared of foes, General Wilkinson's
forces were nearly all withdrawn to the lower end of Lake
Ontario.
The force left behind by Wilkinson, was under the command
of Gen. George McClure, of Steuben county, a brigadier-
general of the New York militia, who made his headquarters
at Fort George. On the 6th of October, Colonel Chapin had an
all-day skirmish with some British outposts near Fort George.
On the 24th of October, Harrison and Perry with their vic-
torious army and fleet, came down the lake to Buffalo. On
the 25th a dinner was given to the two commanders at " Pome-
roy's Eagle." The next day Harrison and his army crossed
the river and went down to Fort George and thence in a short
time to Sackett's Harbor. General McClure was thus left with
about a thousand militia, two hundred and fifty Indians and
sixty regulars. The terms of the militia were fast expiring, and
they would not stay a day longer.
Another draft was ordered about the middle of November
of six hundred men from Hopkins' brigade, under Lieutenant
Colonel Warren. These marched to Fort George and remained
nearly a month.
When the term of Warren's regiment was about to expire,
McClure determined to abandon Fort George. In this he was
unquestionably justifiable, as his remaining force would have
been entirely inadequate to defend it. But he, at the same
time, took a step cruel in itself and fraught with woe
to the American frontier. He ordered the burning of the
CAl'TURK OK FDRl" \lA(,.\kA.
/J
lloun'sliin^" xilla^c of Newark, situated close to the fort aiul
containin<^ about one hundred and fift\' liouses. 'Ilie inhabit-
ants were turned out in the snow, and the torch ai)j)hed to
every buildini;" in tlie phice. McClure nio\ed tlie remnant of
his force across tlie river, closely ])ressed b}- the enrai;ed British,
leavin<^ Fort Niagara defended by a hundred and fift)' ret^ulars,
he called two hundred others from Canandaigua to Buffalo
On the morning of December 19th, h\^rt Niagara was surprised
and captured by a small British force through the criminal
negligence of its commander, who was at his residence four
miles away.
Before leaving Buffalo, McCIure called out the men of Gen-
esee, Niagara and Chautauqua counties en masse, and on arriving
at Batavia, on the 22d of December, he turned over the com-
mand to Major General Hall, the commander of this division
of militia. That ofificer who manifested no lack of zeal,
sent forward all the troops he could raise and proceeded to Buf-
falo himself, on the 25th, leaving McClure to organize and for-
ward r e i n f o re e m e n t s .
74 I'RErARATIOXS FOR DEFENSE.
CHAPTER XII.
BURNING OF BUFFALO.
Number of Troops — The Enemy's Approach — Movements in Defense — Attack
and Repulse — Battle of Black Rock — The Retreat — The Flight — Univer-
sal Confusion — The Indians — Chapin's Negotiation — Mrs. St. John — The
Village in Flames - Murder of Mrs. Lovejoy — The Enemy Retire - The
Slain — Calvin Cary^McClure to Blame — The Flight in the Country —
The Buffalo Road— The Big Tree Road— Exaggerated Reports — Return
of the British- — More Burning — The Scene at Reese's — Building Relief.
On the 27th of December, General Hall reviewed the forces
at Buffalo and Black Rock, \\hich were thus described in his
report. At Buffalo there were a hundred and twenty-nine
mounted volunteers under Colonel Broughton, of Ontario
county, four hundred and thirty-three Ontario county volun-
teers under Colonel Blakeslie, one hundred and thirty-six Buf-
falo militia under Colonel Chapin, ninety-seven Canadian vol-
unteers under Colonel Mallory, and three hundred and eighty-
two Genesee county militia under Major Adams. At Black
Rock there were three hundred and eighty-two under Colonel
Warren and Churchill, thirty-seven mounted men under Captain
Ransom, eighty-three Indians under Colonel Granger, one piece
of field artillery under Lieutenant Seeley. The aggregate
force at both places according to the re[)ort was about seven-
teen hundred. Colonel Warren lived in Aurora and his regi-
ment was from the south towns of Erie county. On the 29th,
there arrived a regiment of Chautaucjua count}' militia under Col-
onel McMahan, numbering about three hundred men, bringing
the aggregate force to about tw^o thousand.
Besides Seeley's field-piece, there were seven other cannon
at the two villages, but none of them mounted on carriages.
Several of them were in a battery at the top of the hill over-
looking Black Rock, and with them was May Dudley with a
part of Warren's regiment ; the rest, \\ ith Churchill's detach-
ment, were in the Village of Black Rock. >\bout midnight of
the 29th, a detachment of the enemy landed a little below
r.HNKRAi, iiAi.i, ()KI)i;rs ax at tack. 75
Scajaquada creek. The news was at <Jiice carried to Colonels
Warren antl Cluircliill at IMack Rock, and tlien to (ieneral Hail
at Buffalo. Tiie i^eneral ordered out his men, but,fearinir tliat
the enemy's movement was a feint, and that he would land in
force above Buffalo and march down, he did not send an\- con-
siderable force down the river. Colonels Warren and Churchill
endeavored to reach Scajaquada creek before the invaders and
hold it ai^ainst them, but the J-^ritish arri\'ed there first and got
possession of the bridge. Warren and Churchill deemed it
impracticable to dislodge the enemy in the darkness but deter-
mined to take a position at a small run between the village and
the bridge, and there oppose his further advance. The enemy
did not advance, but in the course of an hour or so Colonel
Chapin arri\-ed with a body of mounted men, and delivered
General Hall's order that they should immediately make an
attack. Chapin led the way, Warren and Churchill followed.
All was silent as death. Suddenly from the darkness flashed
a volley of musketry almost in the faces of the head of the
column. They instantly broke and fled, rushing back through
the ranks of Warren's men, who became utterly demoralized
withcHit receiving a shot. As the horsemen stampeded through
them they broke up, scattering through the woods or retreat-
ing toward Buffalo. Warren retired to the main battery to
endea\'or to ralh' some of the fugitives ; Churchill, with at
least part of his men, remained below the village. When
General Hall received news of this failure, he ordered Major
Adams, with his Genesee militia, to march against the enemy.
This movement was equally futile. The general then ordered
Colonel Blakeslie, with his Ontario County militia to ach'ance
to the attack. Hall then gathered his remaining forces and
started for Black Rock. .Vs he approached that village the
day began to dawn, and he discovered the enemy's boats cross-
ing the river in the direction of General Porter's house.
Blakeslie's command was ordered to meet the approaching
force at the water's edge. That force consisted of the Ro}'al
Scots under Colonel Gordon, and was estimated at four hun-
dred men. The invasion was under the general superintendence
of Lieutenant-General Drummond, but the troops were under
the immediate command of Major-General Riall. The artillery
76 THE AMERICAN RETREAT.
in battery fired on them as they advanced, and Blakeshe's
men opened fire when they landed. They returned it, and a
battery on the other side sent shells and balls over their heads
among the Americans. For half an hour, the forest and river-
side re-echoed with the thunder of artillery and ceaseless rattle
of small arms.
All accounts agree that Blakeshe's men did the most of the
fighting, and sustained the attack of the Ro\'al Scots with con-
siderable firmness. Had all the regiments been kept together,
and met the enemy at his landing the result might have been
far different.
Meanwhile, the hostile force at Scajaquada creek, consisting
of regulars and Indians, moved up the river, easily dispersing
Churchill's meagre force, and marched against Blakeshe's right.
It is not believed there were then over six hundred men in our
ranks, and these thus assailed on two sides were entirely unable
to maintain their ground. Large numbers were already scat-
tered through the woods toward home, when General Hall
ordered a retreat, hoping to make another stand at the edge of
Buffalo. This, as might be supposed, was utterly hopeless ;
once the men got to running, there were few that thought of
anything else. In a few moments all were in utter route. A
part hurried towards Buffalo ; others rushed along the Guide-
board road (North street) to Hodge's tavern, and thence took
the Williamsville road, while many fled through the woods
without regard to roads of any kind. Fugitives were rushing
through Buffalo and striking out for Williamsville, Willink or
Hamburgh. The Buffalo volunteers came hurrying up to take
care of their families. They declared that the Americans were
whipped, that the British were marching on the town, and,
most terrible of all, that the Indians were coming. Then all
was confusion and dismay. Teams w^ere at a premium ; horses,
o.xen, sleighs, sleds, wagons, carts — nearly everything that had
feet, wheels or runners, were pressed into service. Many who
neither had nor could obtain teams, set forth on foot. Men,
women and children by the score were seen hastening through
the light snow and half-frozen mud in the bitter morning air
up Main street, or out Seneca, or up the lake shore.
A crowd of teams and foot-men, and foot-women too, were
THE FLAG OF TRUCE. T"]
hurr\-in<4" up Main street, when suddenlx' tlie head of a cohinm
stopped and sury;ed back on the rear. " I'he Indians I" was the
cr\- from the front, "they are coming" up the Guide-board road."
\\\.\c\< down Main street rolled the tide. Teams were urged to
their utmost speed and people on foot did their best to keep
u[j with them. Turning down Seneca street, the crowd sped
on, some going straight to the Indian village and thence across
the reservation to Willink, others making for I'ratt's ferry and
thence up the beach to Hamburg.
There was good reason for the sudden retreat of the Main
street fugitives. While the main bod\' of the enem\' marched
along Niagara street, the Indians on the left pressed up the
"Guide-board road" (North street). Here it was that Job
Hoysington, a resolute volunteer, said to his comrades, with
whom he was retreating, that he would have one more shot at
the red-skins, and in spite of remonstrance waited for that pur-
pose. He doubtless got a shot at them, but they got a shot at
him too, as he was found with a bullet through his brain. His
wife waited for her husband's return at their residence at the
corner of Main and Utica streets, and finally set out on foot
with her children. She was soon overtaken by two cavalrymen,
who took two of the little ones on their horses. For a long time
she did not hear of them, but at length discovered them, one in
Clarence and one in Genesee county. (Many interesting inci-
dents of a similar nature might be mentioned, but for want of
space they are omitted.)
As the British came u[) Niagara street, se\'eral men, appar-
ently without any organization, manned an old twelve-pounder
mounted on a pair of trucks at the junction of Main and Niag-
ara streets, two ^^\■ three shots were fired and then it was dis-
mounted.
Colonel Chai)in then \\ent forward with a white handkerchief
tied to his cane, as a flag of truce, asked a halt, which was
granted, and began a parley. In a statement published by
himself shortly after, he speaks of "attempting a negotiation,"
claiming that while this was going on the people had a chance
to escape.
The Indians came to Main street before the I^ritish troops
which were draw n up near the corner of Morgan, Mohawk and
78 THE FIRE — KILLED AXD WOUNDED.
Niagara streets. The savages had apparent!}- full license to do
what the\- pleased in the way of plundering, though some
British officers went ahead and had the casks of liquor .stove in
to prevent their red allies from getting entirely beyond control.
Presently flames burst forth from the houses in the main part
of the village near the corner of Main and Seneca .streets. A
Lieutenant with a squad of men went from house to house
applying the torch. By 3 o'clock in the afternoon all of the
lately flourishing village of Buffalo, save some six or eight
structures, was smouldering in ashes. What few houses there
were at Black Rock were likewise destroyed, and the enemy
then retired across the river. The foe took with them about
ninety prisoners, of whom eleven were wounded. Forty of the
ninety were from Blakeslie's regiment. Besides these a con-
siderable number of American wounded were able to escape —
probably fift}' or sixt}-. Forty or fifty were killed ; most of
them lay on the field of battle, but some were scattered through
the upper part of the village. Among the slain the officer of
the highest rank was Colonel Boughton, of Avon. In Erie
county, reckoning according to present division of towns, the
killed were Job Noysington, John Roop, Samuel Holmes, John
Trsket, James Nesbet, Robert Franklin (colored), Mr. Myers
and Mr. Lovejoy, of Buffalo ; Robert Nilland, Adam Lawfer,
of Black Rock ; Jacob Vantine, Jr., of Clarence ; Moses Fenno,
of Alden ; Israel Reed, of Aurora; Newman Baker, Parle}^
Moffat and William Cheeseman, of Hamburgh and Ea.st Ham-
burgh; Maj. William C. Dudley, and probably Peter HofTman,
of Evans, and Calvin Cary, of Boston.
Calvin Cary, oldest son of the pioneer Deacon Richard Cary,
though only twenty-one years of age, was a man of gigantic
stature and herculean strength, weighing nearly three hundred
pounds. Pursued by three Indians, he shot one dead, killed
another with his clubbed musket, but was shot, tomahawked
and scalped b}- the third. His broken musket, which was found
by his side and testified to his \'alor, is still preserved b)' his
kindred.
During all that day (the 30th of December), the road through
Williamsville and Clarence was crowded with a hurrying and
heteroijcnous multitude — bands of militiamen, families in
THE ENEMY RETIRES. 79
sleighs, women dri\in^ ox-sleds, men in watj^ons, cavalrymen on
horseback, women on foot bearing infants in their arms and
attended by crying- children — all animated by a single thought,
to escape from the enemy and especially from the dreaded
Indians.
On the Big Tree road (running cast through Hamburg and
Aurora to the Genesee river) the scene was still more diversi-
fied, for in addition to the mixed multitude which poured along
the northern route, was the whole bod}' of Indians from the
Ruffalo reservation. Mr. Turner, the author of the " Histor\-
of the Holland Purchase," then a youth residing in Sheldon,
Wyoming county, gives the following picture of the scene from
personal recollection :
" An ox-sled would come along bearing wounded soldiers,
whose companions had perhaps pressed the slow team into their
service ; another \\-ith the family of a settler, a few household
goods that had been hustled upon it, and one, two or three
wearied females from Buffalo, wdio had begged the privilege of
a ride and the rest that it afforded ; then a remnant of some
dispersed corps of militia with the arms they had neglected to
use ; then squads and families of Indians, on foot and on pon-
ies, the squaw with her papoose on her back, and a bevy of
juvenile Senecas in her train. Bread, meats and drinks soon
\'anished from the log taverns on the routes, and fleeing set-
tlers divided their scanty stores with the almost famished that
came from the frontiers."
When it was found that the enemy had retired, curiosit}-
induced many men from the nearest towns to visit the ruins.
Others went to render what assistance the\- could, and still
others, alas, to take advantage of the unixersal confusion and
purloin whatever might have been left by the invaders. A few-
went on the 31st of December, more on the ist of Januar\-.
On the former day everything was quiet, (^n the latter, as
the few remaining citizx-ns and some fron-i the country were
staring at the ghastly ruins, a detachment of the enemy sud-
denl}- appeared, making prisoners of most of them. They then
fired all the remaining buildings except the jail, which would
not burn, Reese's blacksmith shop and Mrs. St. John's cottage.
A day or two after the second raid the people assembled and
8o RELIEF FOR THE SUFFERERS.
picked up the dead bodies and brou<^ht them to Reese's bhick-
smith shop. The number is variously stated, but the most
careful account makes it forty-two killed, besides some who
were not found (Hoysington was not found until Spring), and
some prominent persons like Colonel Boughton, who were taken
care of earlier. At the shop they were laid in rows, a ghastly
display, all being frozen stiff and most of them stripped and
scalped. After those belonging in the vicinit}' had been taken
away by their friends, the rest were deposited in a single large
grave in the old burying ground on Franklin Square (where the
city and county buildings now are), covered only with boards,
so they could be easily examined and taken away.
On the 6th of January, just a week after the main conflagra-
tion, William Hodge brought his family back, it being the first
that returned ; Pomeroy came immediately afterwards and
raised the first building in the new Village of Buffalo. Soldiers
were stationed in the village and as time wore on people began
to feel more safe ; but the Winter was one of intense excite-
ment and distress. Twice during the Winter, small squads of
the enemy crossed the river but were driven back by the
soldiers and citizens without much fighting. Most of the
people who came back had nothing to live on save what was
issued to them by the commissary department of the army.
The suffering would have been even greater than it was had
not prompt measures of relief been taken by the public author-
ities and citizens of more fortunate localities. The legislature
voted $40,000 in aid of the devastated district, besides $5,000
to the Tuscarora Indians, and $5,000 to residents of Canada,
driven out on account of their friendship for the United States.
The city of Albany voted $1,000, and the city of New York
$3,000. The citizens of Canandaigua appointed a committee
of relief who raised a considerable amount there and sent com-
munications soliciting aid to all the country eastward. They
were promptly responded to, and liberal contributions raised
throughout the state. With this aid, and that of the Commis-
sary department, and the assistance of personal friends, those
who remained on the frontier managed to live through the
woeful Winter.
AUKi\Ai. <)i' \viMn:i.i) scorr. 8i
CHAPTER XIII.
THE CAMPAIGN OF 1814.
Soldiers' Graves — Scott and Brown — Discipline at Buffalo— The Death Penalty —
Capture of Fort Erie — Approaching Chippewa — An Indian Battle — A
Retreat — \'ictory — Scalps — Advance to Fort George — Return— Lundy's
Lane — Retreat to Fort Eric — Bridgewater — Battle of Conjockety Creek —
Assault on Fort Erie — The Explosion — Call for Volunteers— The Res-
ponse— The Sortie — Gallantry of the Volunteers — General Porter
— Peace.
As Spring approached, the frontier began to revive. More
troop.s appeared, and their presence caused the paying out of
considerable sums of money among the inhabitants. There
was a ready market for produce at large prices.
Williamsville was the rendezvous for the troops. There was
a long row of barracks, parallel with the main street of that
village and a short distance north of it, and others used as a
hospital, a mile or so up the F],leven-Mile creek.
Near these latter, and close beside the murmuring waters of
the stream, rest several scores of soldiers who died in that
hospital, all unknown, their almost imperceptible graves
marked onl}' by a row of ma])les, long since planted b)' some
reverent hand.
On the lOth of .April there arrived on the frontier a state!}'
young warrior, whose presence was alread)' considered a har-
binger of victory, and whose shoulders had latel)' been adorned
by the epaulets of a brigadier-general. This was W'infield
Scott, then thirt\' \-ears old, and the hcau ideal of a gallant
soldier.
Immediatel}- afterwards came his superior officer, Major-
General Brown, who had been rapidl}' advanced to the highest
rank, on the strength of the vigor and skill he had shown as a
commander at the foot of Lake Ontario.
Bodies of regular troops and some \olunteers continued to
concentrate at Williamsville and Buffalo. Scott removed his
headquarters to the latter place toward the last of May, where
5
82 THE PENALTY OF DESERTION.
the troops were encamped amid the ruins. Great efforts were
made to introduce rigid discipHnc. The men were under con-
.stant drill, and desertion was mercilessly punished.
Among the reminiscences of that era, no scene appears to
have been more vividly impressed on the minds of the relators
than the one which was displayed near the present corner of
Mar}'land and Sixth streets, on the 4th of June, 18 14.
I'^ive men, con\-icted of desertion, knelt ^\'ith bandaged eyes
and pinioned arms, each with an open coffin before him and a
new-made grave behind him.
Twenty paces in front stood a platoon of men, detailed to
inflict the supreme penalty of military law. The whole arm}^
was drawn up on three sides in a hollow square, to witness the
execution, the artillerymen standing by their lighted matches,
ready to suppress a possible mutiny, while Generals Brown,
Scott and Ripley sat upon their horses, surrounded by their
brilliant staffs, looking sternly on the scene. Then the
firing party did their deadly work, four men fell in their coffins
or their graves, but one youth under twenty-one was unhurt.
He sprang up, wrenched loose his pinioned arms, and tore the
bandage from his eyes. Two men advanced to extinguish the
last remains of life in those who had fallen.
He supposed they were about to dispatch him, and fell
fainting to the ground.
He was taken away without further injury. Doubtless it
had been determined to spare him on account of his \'outh,
and therefore his supposed executioners had been furnished
with unloaded muskets.
The work of preparation went forward not very rapidl}-.
On the 28th of June a statement appeared in the Gazette that
the rumors of an immediate advance which had been in circula-
tion were not true, and that the transportation of the army
was not ready. This was not inserted by order, for on the 3rd
of Jul\- the advance began. Brown's force consisted of two
brigades of regulars, under Generals Scott and Ripley, and one
of volunteers under General Porter. This was composed of
five hundred I'enns)-lvanians, six hundred New York xolun-
teers, all of whom had not arrived when the movement began,
and near!)' six hundred Indians.
SliRRKNDKR Ol' llli: FORT. J^3
Six huiulrcd was almost the entire strength of the Six
Nations, and these liad been L^atliered from all reser\'ations in
Western New \'ork. It is i)robable that the i,n-eat a^c of Far-
mer's Brother prevented him from crossini^. Actinij^ as a pri-
\ate in the ranks was Red Jacket, the i)rincii)al and leader of
the Six Nations, who, notwitlistandin^^ the timidity usually
attributed' to him, was unwilling' to stay behind Avhile""his
c<Hmtr}-men were winning;' i^"lor\' on the field of carnage.
Col. Robert P'lemini;- was (|uartermaster of this peculiar bat-
talion.
Fort Erie was garrisoned b}- a hundred and se\'enty l^ritish
soldiers. The main bod}' of the enemy was at Chippewa, two
miles above the falls and eighteen miles below the fort.
On the 2nd of July, Brown, Scott and Porter reconnoitred
Fort P^rie and concerted the plan of attack. Riple}', with a
part of his brigade, was to embark at Buffalo in the night and
land a mile up the lake from the fort. Scott, witli his brigade,
was to cross from l^lack Rock, and land a mile below Fort Erie,
which, in the morning, both brigades were to invest and
capture.
Scott and Ripley both started at the time appointed, but as
in most military operations depending on concert of action be-
tween separate corps, there was a difificulty not foreseen. Rip-
ley's pilot was misled b\- a fog on the lake and his command
did not land until several hours past time. Scott, however,
cro.s.sed promiUl}- and was able to invest the fort with his brigade
alone. At sunrise the artillery and Indians crossed at the fer-
ry, and after some parle>-ing the fort surrendered, without
awaiting an attack.
The afternoon of the ^rtl, Scott marchetl sexeral miles down
the Niagara, and on the morning of the 4th, drove in the
enemy's advanced posts. He was followed by Brown and Rip-
ley, and both brigades established themselves on the south side
of Street's creek, two miles south of Chippewa. On the left,
three-fourths of a mile from Niagara, was a dense and some-
what swampy forest on both sides of Street's creek, extending
to within three-fourths of a mile of Chippewa creek, which was
bordered for that purpose by a level cleared plain. On the
north side of that creek, the British arm\'la\- inlrcnclud. The
84 ADVANCING TOWARD THE ENEMY.
two armies were concealed from each other's sight by a narrow
strip of woodhind, reaching from the main forest to ^\•ithin
a hundred yards of the riv^er bank.
During the night of the 4th, the Americans were much an-
noyed by Indians and Canadians lurking in the forest, who
drove in their pickets and threatened their flanks.
Late that night General Porter crossed the river with his
Indians and Pennsylvanians, and in the morning marched to-
ward Chippewa. He was met on the road by General Brown,
who spoke of the manner in which he had been annoyed by
lurkers in the forest, and proposed that Porter should dri\'e
them out, declaring confidently that there would be no
British regulars south of the Chippewa that da)\ Still, he said,
he would order Scott to occupy the open ground beyond
Street's creek in support of Porter. The latter accepted the
proposition of his chief, and at three o'clock started to put it
in execution.
The Indians assumed their usual full battle-dress, of mantur-
nipline, breech-clout, moccasins, feathers and paint, and the war-
chiefs then proceeded to elect a leader. Their choice fell on
Captain Pollard, a veteran of Wyoming and man}^ other fights.
Porter left two hundred of his Pennsylvanians in camp, think-
ing their presence needless, and formed the other three hun-
dred into one rank on the open ground, half a mile south of
Street's creek, their left resting on the forest. The whole five
or six hundred Indians were also formed in one rank in the
woods, their right reaching to the left of the whites. General
Porter stationed himself between the two wings of his com-
mand, with Captain Pollard on his left. He was also attended
by two or three stafT ofTficers, by Hank Johnson, the interpreter,
and by several regular officers, who had volunteered to see the
fun. Ked Jacket was on the extreme left of the Indian line.
A company of regular infantry followed as a reserve. The war-
chiefs took their places twenty yards in front of their braves,
and a few scouts were sent still further in advance.
Then, at a given signal, the whole line moved forward, the
whites marching steadily \\ith shouldered arms on the plain, the
naked Indians gliding through the forest with cat-like treatl,
their bodies bent forward, their rifles held ready for instant
rXDlAX M.Wd'.UVRINC. 85
use, their feathers nocUlini; at every step, their fierce eyes
llashiiiL;- in every direction. Suddenly one of the cliiefs made
a sii,mal, and tlie whole line of painted warriors sank to the
i^round as quickly and as noiselessly as the sons of Clan Alpine
at the command of Roderick Dim. This manceuvre was a jKirt
of their primitive tactics, and the chiefs rapidly assembled to
consult over some rei)ort broui^ht back by a scout. At another
sit;nal the warriors spranc;- up and the feather-crested line
again moved through the forest. The manctuvre was repeated
when the scouts brought back word that the enemy was await-
ing them on the north bank of Street's creek, General Porter
was informed of this fact and made some slight changes in his
arrangements, and again the line advanced with increased speed.
As the Indians approached the creek, they received the fire
of a force of British Indians and Canadians stationed there.
They instantly raised a war-whoop that resounded far over the
Niagara, and charged at the top of their speed. The foe at
once fled. The Iroquois dashed through the little stream and
bounded after them, whooping, yelling, shooting, cleaving sculls
and tearing off scalps like so many demons. Many were
overtaken, but few captured. Occasionally, however, a Seneca
or Cayuga would seize an enemy, unwind his maturnipline, bind
him with surprising quickness and then go trotting back to the
rear, holding one end of the maturnip as a man might lead a
horse by the halter.
Such speed and bottom were displayed by the Indians that
neither the regulars nor volunteers were able to keep up with
them. For more than a mile the pursuit was maintained in the
words of General Porter, " through scenes of frightful havoc."
At length the Indians who had got considerable in advance,
emerged upon the ojien ground three-quarters of a mile from
Chippewa creek, where they were received with a tremendous
fire from the greater part of the British regular army, draw-n in
line of battle on the plain.
It looked as if General Riall had determined to attack the
Americans, and had sent forward his light troops to bring on a
battle, expecting, probably, that the whole American force
would get exhausted in pursuit, and become an easy prey to his
fresh battalion.
86 f]j-:ei\(; ix confusion.
The fact that the pursuit was carried on by the American
h'l^ht troops and Indians alone broke up, and, in fact, reversed
this programme. The warriors c|uickl\' fled from the de-^truct-
ive fire in front.
General Porter, supposing that it came from the force they
had been pursuing, rallied the greater part of them, formed
them again on the left of his volunteers and moved forward to
the edge of the woods. Again the long red-coated battalions
opened fire.
The volunteers stood and exchanged two or three volleys
with them, but when the enemy dashed forward with the bay-
onet, Porter, seeing nothing of Scott with the supports, gave
the order to retreat.
Both whites and Indians fled in the greatest confusion. On
came the red-coats at their utmost speed, supposing they had
gained another easy victory, and that all that was necessary
was to catch the runaways.
The Indians being the best runners and unencumbered with
clothing, got ahead in the retreat as they had in the advance,
but the whites did their best to keep up with them. The flight
continued for a mile, pursuers as well as pursued becoming
greatly disorganized, and the speed of the fugitives being acceler-
ated by the constant bursting of shells from the enemy's artillery.
Approaching Street's creek, Scott's brigade was found just
crossing the bridge and forming line. They took up their posi-
tions with the greatest coolness under the fire of the British
artillery, but Porter claimed that through the fault of either
Scott or Brown, they were very much behind time.
The former General was always celebrated for his prompt-
ness, and the fault, if there was one, was probabh' with Brown.
Perhaps he didn't expect Porter's men to run so fast, either
going or coming.
The result, however, was as satisfactory- as if this precipitate
retreat had been planned to draw forward the foe. Ripley's
brigade was at once sent off to the left, through the woods, to
flank the enemy. The fugitives as they ran also bore to the
w estward, and Scott's fresh battalion came into line in perfect
order, making somewhat merry over the haste of their red and
white comrades.
TiiK Kn.i.ED AND \V( )r M )i:i ). 87
Some of ihc Iiulians had taken tlicir sons, from twelve to
sixteen years old, into battle to initiate them in the business of
war. One of these careful fathers was now seen running at his
best speed, with liis son on his shoulders. Just as he passed
the left flank of Scott's brigade, near where the General and
his stafT sat on their horses, superintending the formation of
the line, a shell burst directly over the head of the panting war-
rior. " Ugh," he exclaimed in a x'oice of terror, bounding sev-
eral feet from the ground. As he came down he fell to the
earth, and the lad tumbled off. Springing up, the older Indian
ran on at still greater speed than before, leaving the }'oungster
to pick himself up and scamper away as best he might. The
scene was greeted with a roar of laughter by the young ofificers
around Scott, who rebuked them sharply for their levity.
In a few moments they had plenty of serious work to occupy
their attention. The Americans reserved their fire till the
encm\- was within fift\- }'ards, when they poured in so deadly
a voile}' that the British instantly fell back. They were quickly
rallied and led to the attack, but were again met with a terrific
fire, under which they retreated in hopeless disorder. Scott
pursued them beyond the strip of woods before mentioned,
when the}' fled across the Chippewa into their intrenchments
and tore up the bridge, Scott's brigade then lay down on the
open plain north of the woods.
By order of General Brown, who was in the midst of the
fight. Porter took his 200 reserve Pennsylvanians to the left of
Scott's brigade, where they, too, lay down under the fire of the
l^ritish artiller}'.
After a while Ripley's brigade came out of the woods cov-
ered with mud, having had their march for nothing, as the
enemy they had attempted to flank had run away before their
flank could be reached. It not being deemed best to attack
the foe in his intrenchments, directl}- in front, the Americans
returned at nightfall to their encampment.
The battle of Chippewa w;is the first, during the war of 1812,
in which a large body of British regulars were defeated in the
open field, and the Americans w ere immensely encouraged by
it. Enlistment thereafter was much more rapid than before.
The total British loss, as officially reported, was 514, of whom
88 INDIANS RETURNING To TIIKIK HOMES.
between one and two hundred were found dead on the held by
the victors. About two hundred and fifty were taken prison-
ers, mostly wounded. The Americans had about fifty killed, a
hundred and forty wounded and a few taken prisoners. The
number of American re<^ulars engai^ed was 1,300. General
Porter estimated the British regulars in the fight at 1,700.
The Canadian Indians were so roughh' handled that they fled
at once to the head of Lake Ontario, and ne\'er after took any
part in the war.
On the 7th of July, the 600 volunteers frtmi Western New
York joined Porter's brigade, I have found no account of how
they were organized nor of the localities from which they came.
On the 8th, Ripley's brigade and these New York volunteers
forced a passage of the Chippewa, three miles up, quickly driv-
ing back the force stationed there. General Riall, finding
himself flanked, destroyed his works and retreated rapidly to
Oueenston and then to Fort George. Brown pursued and took
up his quarters at Oueenston, but did not deem his force suffi-
cient either to assault or besiege the fortress.
On the 1 6th, Porter's brigade skirmished around the fort, to
give the engineers a chance to reconnoitre, but nothing came
of it.
Meanwhile, the British received reinforcements and Brown
determined to return to Fort Erie. Riall followed. Before
arriving at the Falls, most of the Indians, through the arrange-
ment of Red Jacket, obtained permission to retire to their
homes, agreeing to return if the British Indians should again
take the field. But the latter were perfectly satisfied with
that terrible cirubbing in the Chippewa woods, and never again
appeared in arms against the Americans. Nevertheless, some
forty or fifty of our Indians remained with the army through-
out the campaign.
On the 25th of Jul}', Brown's ami)' encamped near Chippewa
creek. Riall was pressing so closely on the American rear that
Brown sent back Scott's brigade to check him. Scott met the
enemy at l^ridgewater, just below the P"alls ; sending back word
to his sujierior, the impetuous Virginian led his columns to the
attack.
For an hour a desperate battle raged between Scotts single
CAI'TUKK OK MAJOR ( il'.MlKA I, KIAI.l.. 89
bi'ii;a(.lc aiul Riall's army, neither Ljainini; an\' decided advan-
tai4'e. At the end of that time and but a h'ttle before niL;lit,
l^rown arrived with the brii^ades of Ripley and Porter.
Determinini^" to interpose a new Hne and diseni^a^e Scott's
exhausted men, he ordered forward the two fresh brigades.
The enemy's line was then near " Lundy's Lane," a road run-
ninij^ at right anii^les with the riv^er, wliich it reaches a short
distance below the h^alls. Mis artillery was on a piece of risini^
y^round which was the key t)f the position.
Colonel Miller commanding a regiment of infantr)-, was
asked by Brown if he could ca})ture it. "I can try, sir!"
was the memorable response of the gallant officer.
Though the regiment which should have supported Miller's
gave way, yet the latter moved steadily up the hill. Increas-
ing its pace, it swept forward, while its ranks were depleted at
every step, and, after a brief but desperate struggle, carried the
heights and captured the hostile cannon at the point of the
bayonet. At the same time, Major Jessup's regiment drove
back a part of the enemy's infantry, capturing Major-General
Riall, their commander, and when General Ripley led forward
his reserve regiment the l^ritish fell back and disajjpeared from
the field.
It was now eight o'clock and entirely dark. In a short time
the enemy rallied and attempted to regain his lost artillery.
Seldom, in all the annals of war, has a conflict been fought
under more strange and romantic circumstances. The dark-
ness of night was over all the combatants. A little way to the
northeastward rolled and roared the greatest cataract in the
world^wonderful Niagara. Its thunders subdued, yet dis-
tinct, could be heard whenever the cannon were silent. And
there in the darkness upon that solitary hillside, within sound
of that mighty avalanche of water the soldiers of the young
republic, flushed with the triumph w hich had given them their
enemy's battle-ground antl cannon and commander, calmly
awaited the onslaught of Mnglaml's defeated but not disheart-
ened veterans.
At half-past eight the .Americans saw the darkness turning
red, far down the slope, and soon in the gloom were dimly
outlined the advancing battalions of the foe. The red line
QO AMERICANS RK'l'URNINC WITH TIIKIK TRISOXHRS.
came swiftly, silently and i^allantl)' up the hill, beneath the
banners of St. George, and all the while the subdued roar of
Niagara was rolling gently over the field.
Suddenly the American cannon and small arms lighted up
the scene with their angry glare, their voices drowning the
noise of the cataract. The red battalions were torn asunder,
and the hillside strewn with dead and dying men, but the line
closed up and advanced still more rapidly, their fire rivaling
that of the Americans, and both turning the night into deadly
day. Presently the assailants ceased firing and then with thun-
dering cheers and leveled bayonets rushed forward to the
charge. But the American grape and canister made terrible
havoc in their ranks, the musketry of Scott and Ripley mowed
them down by the score, and the sharp-cracking rifles of Por-
ter's volunteers did their work with deadly discrimination. More
and more the assailants wavered, and when the Americans in
turn charged bayonets, the whole British line fled at their
utmost speed. The regulars followed but a short distance,
being held in hand by their officers, who had no idea of plung-
ing through the darkness against a possible reserve. But the
volunteers chased the enemy down the slope and cai)tured a
considerable number of prisoners. Then the Americans
reformed their lines, and then again the murmur of the cataract
held sway over the field. Twice during the next hour the
British attempted to retake their cannon, and both times the
result was the same as that of the first effort. For two hours
after the Americans remained in line awaiting another onslaught
of the foe, but the latter made no further attempt. Having no
extra teams the victors were unable to take away the captured
guns, with one exception. Accordingly, with this single tro-
phy, with their o\\n wounded and with a hundred and sixty-
nine prisoners, including General Riall, the iVmericans at mid-
night returned to their encampment on the Chippewa. Their
loss was 171 killed, 449 wounded and 1 17 missing. I^oth l^rown
and Scott were wounded, the latter severely, and both were
removed to Buffalo.
The condition of the two armies is plainly shown by the
fact that the next day the enemy allowed Ripley to burn the
mills, barracks and bridges at Bridgewater without molestation.
I 111, i;.\rii,K OK coNjocKKrv ( ki;i;K. 91
The Americans then pursuetl their untroubled march to Vovt
Kric. On their arrixal the most of the xohmteers went lionie
havini;' served the remarkably loni^" time of three or four months.
Nevertheless they had done i^ood service and were entitled to
a rest accordin;4' to the views of volunteering;" then in voL;"ue.
The regulars had been reduced by various casualties to some
fifteen hundred men. The British, on the other hand, had
recei\-ed reinforcements, and felt themselves stroni; enough to
besiege the fort, if fort it might be called, which was rather a
partially intrenched encampment.
General Drummond's ami)- for two weeks steadily worked
their way toward the American defences at Fort Erie. These
consisted principally of two stone mess-houses and bastion
known as " Old Fort Erie," a short distance east of the river
bank, antl a natural mound half a mile south and near the lake
which was surmounted with breast-\\orks and cannon, and
called "Towson's batter}-."
Between the old fort and the batter\- ran a parapet, and
another from the old fort eastward to the river. On both the
north and west, a dense forest came within sixty rods of the
American works. The British erected batteries in the woods
on the north, each one farther south than its predecessor, and
then in the night chopped out openings through which their
cannon could play on our works. At this time the commander
at Fort Erie was in the habit of sending across a battalion of
regular riflemen every night to guard the bridge over Scaja-
quada creek, who returned each morning to the fort.
About the loth of August a heavy British force cro.ssed the
river at night at some point below the Scajaquada, and just
before daylight they attempted to force their way across the
latter stream. Their objective ])oint was doubtless the public
stores at Black Rock and Buffalo. Being opposed by the
riflemen before mentioned, under Major Lodowick Morgan,
there ensued a fight of some imi)ortance, of which old men
sometimes speak as the " l^attle of Conjockety Creek," but of
which I have found no printed record. Even the Buffalo
(hizctic of the da\' was silent regarding it, though it afterwards
alluded to Major Morgan as " The hero of Conjocket)-." The
planks of the bridge had been taken up and the riflemen lay in
92 DHUMMONl) REI'UI.SKl) THE THIRD TIMP:.
wait on the south side. When the enemy's column came up
Morgan's men opened a destructive fire. The EngHsh pressed
forward so boldly that some of them, when shot, fell into the
creek and were swept down the Niagara.
They were compelled to fall back, but again and again they
repeated the attempt, and every time they were repulsed with
loss. A body of militia, under Colonels Swift and Warren,
were placed on the right of the regulars, and prevented the
enemy from crossing farther up the creek.
Several deserters came over to our forces, having thrown
away their weapons and taken off their red coats, which they
carried rolled up under their arms. They reported the enemy's
force at seventeen hundred, but that was probably an exagger-
ation.
After a conflict lasting several hours, the enemy retreated,
having suffered severely in the fight. The Americans had
eight men wounded.
Early in the morning of the 15th of August, 18 14, the Eng-
lish attempted to carry Fort livic by storm, under cover of
darkness.
At half-past two o'clock a column of a thousand to fifteen
hundred men moved from the woods on the west against Tow-
son's Battery. Though received with a terrific fire they pressed
forward, but were at length stopped within a few )'ards of the
American lines. They retreated in confusion and no further
attempt was made at that point.
Notwithstanding the strength of this attack, it was partly in
the nature of a feint, for immediately afterwards two other
columns issued from the forest on the north. One sought to
force its way up along the river bank, but was easily repulsed.
The other, led by Lieutenant-Colonel Drummond, advanced
against the main bastion. It was defended by several heavy
guns and field-pieces, by the Ninth United States infantry, and
by one company each of New York and Pennsylvania volun-
teers. Received with a withering discharge of cannon and
musketiy, Drummond's right and left were driven back. His
center, however, ascended the parapet, but were finalK- repulsed
with dreadful carnage. Again Drummond led his men to the
charge, and again they were repulsed. A third time the
T.Rl riSII \AI,()K — DEATH OK I )kr M M( iM ). 93
unclaiintctl I'!,n<_;Hshmfn acKanccd o\'cr i^n'ound strewn thick
u ith the bodies of their brethren, in the face of flame from tlie
walls (^f the bastion, and a third time they were driven back
w ith terrible loss.
This would have satisfied most men of any nation, and one
cannot refrain from a tribute to Ent^lish valor of the most des-
perate kind, w hen he learns that Drummond again rallied his
men, led them a fourth time over that pathway of death,
mounted the parapet in spite of the volleying frames which
enveloped it, and actually captured the bastion at the point of
the bayonet.
Many American officers were killed in this terrible struggle.
Drummond was as fierce as he was brave, and was . frequently
heard crying to his men, " Give the damned Yankees no
quarter." But even in the moment of apparent victory he
met his fate — a shot from one of the last of retreatin^T Ameri-
cans laying him dead upon the ground. Reinforcements were
promptly sent to the endangered locality by Generals Ripley
and Porter. A detachment of riflemen attacked the British in
the bastion but were repulsed.
Another and larger force repeated the attack but also failed.
The Americans prepared for a third charge, and two batteries
were playing upon the heroic band of Britons.
Suddenl)- the whole scene was lighted up by a vast column
of flame, the earth shook to the water's edge, the ear was deaf-
ened by a fearful sound which re-echoed far over the river.
A large amount of cartridges stored in one of the mess-
houses adjoining the bastion had been reached by a cannon
ball and exploded. One instant the fortress, the forest, the river,
the dead, the dx'ing and the maddened li\ing were revealed
by that fearful glare ; the next all was enveloped in darknes.s,
while the shrieks of hundreds of Britons in more terrible a<Ton\'
than e\-en the soldier often suffers, pierced the murk}- and sul-
phurous air.
The Americans saw their opportunity and redoubled the fire
of their artiller)'. For a few moments the conquerors of the
bastion maintained their positions, but half their number,
including most of their officers, were killed or wounded, their
commander was slain, and the\- were da/ed and o\ erwiielmed
94 AMERICANS AflAIX VICTORIOUS.
by the calamity that had so unexpectedly befallen them. After
a few volleys they fled in utter confusion to the friendly forest.
As they went out of the bastion, the Americans dashed in,
snatching a hundred and eighty-six prisoners from the rear of
the flying foe. Besides these there remained on the ground
they had so valiantly contested, two hundred and twenty-one
English dead, and a hundred and seventy-four wounded, nearly
all in and around that single bastion. Besides these, there were
the wounded who were carried away by their comrades, includ-
ing nearly all who fell in the other two columns. The Ameri-
cans had twenty six killed and ninety-two wounded.
Seldom had there been a more gallant attack, and seldom a
more disastrous repulse. During the fight the most intense
anxiety prevailed on this side.
The tremendous cannonade a little after midnight told
plainly enough that an attack was being made. Nearly ever\-
human being who resided among the ruins of Buffalo and Black-
Rock, and many in the country around, were up and watching.
All expected that if the fort should be captured, the enemy
would immediately cross, and the horrors of the previous Win-
ter would be repeated. Many packed up and prepared for in-
stant flight. Then the explosion came, the shock startled even
the war-seasoned inhabitants of Buffalo. Some thought the
British had captured the fort and had blown it up, others im-
agined that the Americans had penetrated to the British camp
and blown that up ; and all awaited the coming of morn with
nerves strung to their utmost tension.
It was noon-day light when boats crossed the river from the
fort, and the news of another American victory was soon scat-
tered far and wide through the country.
A day or two afterwards the wounded prisoners wei'e sent to
the hospital at Williamsville, and the unwounded to the depot
of prisoners near Albany. Mr. William Hodge relates that
when the wagons filled with blistered, blackened men halted
near his father's house, the\' begged for liquor to drown their
pain, but some of the unhurt who marched on foot, were saucy
enough. Looking at the brick house rising on the ruins of the
former one, the)' declared they would burn it again within a year.
The)' could not, however, have been ver)' anxious to escape, for
(;knkka[. r.isowx kf.sumes command. 95
tlic}- were escorted b\- onl)' a \'er)- small i^^uard. Man\- of the
prisoners were Hijjjhlanders, of the Glen<,^arry regiment.
Having failed to carry the fort by assault, the Hritish settled
down to a regular siege.
Closer and closer their lines were drawn antl their batteries
erectetl, the dense forest affording every facilit)' iov uninter-
rupted api^roach. Reinforcements constantly arrived at the
I^nglish camp, wliilc not a solitar)' regular soldier was added
to the constantly diminishing force of the Americans.
B}- the latter part of August, their case had become so des-
perate that (jovernor Tompkins called out all the militia \\est
of the Genesee r// j/iasse, and ordered them to Buffalo. The}'
are said by Turner to have responded with great alacrity.
Arriving at Buffalo, the officers were first assembled and
General Porter called on them to volunteer to cross the river.
There was considerable hurrying back, but the General made
another speech, and under his stinging words most of the
officers volunteered.
The men were then called on to follow their example, and a
force of about fifteen hundred was raised.
The Forty-eighth regiment furnished one company. Colonel
Warren volunteered and crossed the river, but was sent back
with other supernumerary officers and placed in command of
the militia remaining at Buffalo.
The volunteers were conveyed across the river at night,
about the loth of September, and encamped along the lake
shore above Towson's battery, behind a sod of breast-work
hastily erected by themselves. They were commanded by
General Porter, who bivouacked in their midst, under whom
was Gen. Daniel Davis, of Le Roy. General J^rown had
resumed command of the whole American force.
At this time the enemy was divided into three brigades of
fourteen or fifteen hundred men, each one of which was kept
on duty in their batteries every three days, while the other two
remained at the main camp on a farm a mile and a half west of
the fort.
Immediately after the arrival of the volunteers, a plan was
concerted to break in on the enemy's operations b}' a sortie.
The British had openctl two batteries and were nearl)- read)-
96 MARCHING ON BA'rTF:RV NU.MHER THREE.
to unmask another still nearer and in a more dangerous posi-
tion. This was called battery " No. 3." the one next " No. 2,"
and the furthest one "No. i."
It was determined to make an attack on the 17th of Sep-
tember, before battery No. 3 could be completed.
On the 1 6th, Majors Fraser and Riddle, both of^cers of the
regular army acting as aides to General Porter, each followed by
a hundred men, fifty of each party being armed and fifty pro-
vided with axes, proceeded from the camp of the volunteers,
by a circuitous route through the woods to within a short dis-
tance of battery No. 3. Thence each detachment cut out
the underbrush so as to make a track back to camp over the
swampy ground, curving, when necessary, to avoid the most
miry places. The work was accomplished without the British
having the slightest suspicion of what was going on. This was
the most dif^cult part of the whole enterprise.
In the forenoon of the 17th the whole of the volunteers were
paraded, the enterprise was revealed to them, and a handbill
was read announcing the glorious victories won on Lake Cham-
plain and at Plattsburg a few days before. The news was jo}'-
fully received, and the sortie enthusiastically welcomed. The
volunteers not being uniformed, every one was required to lay
aside his hat or cap and wxar on his head a red handkerchief or
a piece of cloth which was furnished. Not an officer or man
wore any other head-gear except General Porter.
At noon that commander led forth the principal attacking
body from the volunteer camp. The advance consisted of two
hundred volunteers under Colonel Gibson. Behind them came
the column designed for storming the batteries, composed of
four hundred regulars followed by five hundred volunteers, all
commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Wood. These took the
right-hand track, cut out the day before. Another column of
nearly the same strength, mostly volunteers, under General
Davis, intended to hold the enemy's reinforcements in check and
co-operate in the attack, took the left-hand road. At the same
time a body of regulars under General Miller was concealed in
a ravine near the northwest corner of the intrenchments, pre-
pared to attack in front at the proper time. The rest of the
troops were held in reserx'c under General Riplc)-. Just after
CAPTURE ()!• THE THREE liATTERIES. 97
the main column startctl it bcL;'an to rain and continued to do
so throughout the afternoon. Tlie march was necessarily slow
along the swampy winding pathway, and had it not been for
the underbrushed tracks the columns would probably have lost
their way or been dela\x'd till nightfall.
At nearly 3 o'clock Porter's command arrived at the end of
the track within a few rods of battery No. 3, entirely unsus-
pected b)' its occupants. The final arrangements being made,
they moved on, and in a few moments emerged upon the
astonished workers and their guard. With tremendous cheer,
which was distinctly heard across the river, thoi men rushed
forward, and the whole force in the battery thoroughly sur-
prised and overwhelmed by numbers, at once surrendered
without hardly firing a shot. The attack was the signal for the
advance of Miller's regulars, who sprang up out of their ravine
and hurried forward, directing their steps toward battery No. 2.
Leaving a detachment to spike and dismount the captured can-
non, both of Porter's columns dashed forward toward the same
object, General Davis leading his volunters and co-operating
closely with Wood. They arrived at the same time as Miller.
They were received with a heavy fire, but the three commands
combined and carried the battery at the point of the bayonet.
Leaving another party to spike and dismount the cannon, the
united force pressed forward toward battery No. i. But by
this time the whole British army was alarmed and reinforce-
ments were rapidly arriving. Nevertheless, the Americans
attacked and captiu'ed battery No. I after a severe conflict.
How gallantly they were led is shown by the fact that all of
Porter's principal commanders were shot down — Gibson at bat-
tery No. 2 ; Wood while approaching No. i, and Davis while
gallantly mounting a parapet between the two batteries at the
head of his men. In the last struggle, too, General Porter him-
self was slightly wounded by a sword cut on his hand, and tem-
porarily taken prisoner, but was immediately secured b}' his
own men.
Of course in a sortie the assailants are not expected to hold
the conquered ground. The work in this case had been as
completely done as in any sortie ever made, and after battejy
No. I had been captured a retreat was ordered to the fort,
98 HONORS TO GENERAL PORTER.
where the victorious troops arri\ed just before sunset. The
loss of the Americans was sevent)'-nine killed and 214 wounded;
very few, if any, captured. Four hundred British were taken
prisoners, a large number killed and wounded, and what was
far more important, all the results of nearly two months' labor
were entirely overthrown.
So completely were their plans destro}'ed b)- this brilliant
assault that only four days afterwards General Drummond
raised the siege and retired down the Niagara. After the
enemy retreated the volunteers were dismissed with the thanks
of their commanders, having saved the American army from
losing its last hold on the western side of the Niagara.
The relief of Fort Erie was one of the most skillfully planned
and gallantly executed sorties ever made. Gen. Napier, the
celebrated British soldier and military historian, mentions it as
one of very few cases in which a single sortie had compelled
the raising of a siege.
Very high credit was given to General Porter, both for his
eloquence in engaging the volunteers and his skill in leading
them.
The press sounded his praises, the citizens of Batavia ten-
dered him a dinner, the governor breveted him a major-general,
and Congress voted him a gold medal, he being, I think, the
only ofificer of volunteers to whom that honor was awarded
during the war of 1812. The raising of the siege of P\~)rt Erie
was substantially the close of the war on the Niagara frontier.
A few unimportant skirmishes took place, but nothing that
need be recorded here.
All the troops except a small guard were withdrawn from
Fort Erie to Buffalo. It was known during the Winter that
commissioners were trying to negotiate a peace at Ghent, and
there was a universal desire for their success.
In this vicinity, at least, the people had had enough of the
glories of war. On the 15th of Januar\', 1S15, the news of the
victory of New Orleans was announced in an extra of the Buf-
falo Gazette, but although it occasioned general rejoicing, }'et
the delight was by no means so great as when, a week later, the
people of the ravaged frontier were informed of the signing of
the treaty of Ghent.
CLOSE OF TIIK WAR. 99
I'ost-ridcrs, as they dclivcrctl letters, doctors, as thev' visited
their patients, ministers, as they journej'ed to meet their back-
woods con<jre<^ations, spread everywhere the welcome news of
peace. General Nott, in his reminiscences, relates that the first
sermon in Sardinia was preached at his Jiouse by " Father
Spencer." early in 181 5. There was a large gatherint,r. The
people had heard that the good missionary had a newspaper
announcing the conclusion of peace, and the}' were, most of
them, probably more anxious to have their ho[)es in that respect
confirmed than for ought else.
h\'ither Spencer was not disposed to tantalize them, and im-
mediately on rising to begin the service, he took the paper
from his pocket, saying: "I bring you news of peace." He
then read the official announcement, and it may be presumed
that the gratified congregation afterwards listenqd all the more
earnestly to the news of divine peace, which it was the minis-
ter's especial province to deliver.
In a very brief time the glad tidings penetrated to the most
secluded cabins in the country, and all the people turned with
joyful anticipations to the half-suspended pursuits of peace-
ful life.
lOO ENTERING UPON THE HOLLAND PURCHASE.
CHAPTER XIV.
GENERAL PIONEER HISTORY,
THE EARLY SETTLERS.
As a rule, the pioneers of the Holland Purchase were men of
splendid pJiysiquc\ intelligent, self-reliant and possessed great
strength, courage and endurance, which stood them well in
hand in the herculean task they had in rescuing this fair
domain from a savage state They came of a noble race and
could trace tl^ieir lineage back to the pilgrims who landed on
Plymouth Rock, through the bloody times that tried men's
souls during the dark days of the Revolution. And they had
come here actuated in part by the same bold spirit that had
prompted their ancestors to leave the comfortable abodes of
civilization and to seek new homes in the Western world,
across three thousand miles of trackless ocean. They had left
the homes and scenes of their childhood and bid good-bye to
early associates and friends, turned their faces toward the
setting sun, and with their wives and little ones had started
forth on their long and weary journey towards their future
homes. P'or weeks and weeks they continued their course
with slow and toilsome progress, sometimes compelled to camp
in the wilderness, and cook and sleep beside some fallen tree.
And when at last arrived at their destination, within the dense
forests of the Holland Purchase, hundreds of miles away from
any city or large village, and without post offices or mails to
aid them in communicating \\\\.\\ their Plastern friends, the\'
selected lands and built their log cabins, without lumber or
nails, and entered upon a new mode of life. They had health,
strength, energy and perseverance, and soon the sound of their
axes and the crashing of falling trees were heard in every
direction. And as the great forest receded year by year before
their sturd}' blows, smiling fields of grass and grain appeared in
THE HOME OF THE I'lONEER. lOI
its stead. The loi^" cabins aiul lunels that they were com-
pelled at first to occupy, in due time gave place to commodi-
ous barns and comfortable dwellings.
And if the sons inherited the wisdom, courage and valor of
the sires, what shall be said of the daugliters? Endowed with
tile s[)irit and fortitude of the Spartan mothers, who. in times
of extremit}-, became trul\- heroic ; still possessing" the gentle-
ness, tender solicitude and undying love, that has ever distin-
guished the pure \\'oman from the sterner sex. They cheer-
fully shared all the toils, trials and dangers, incident to that
period, and they were the guardian angels that watched over
the pioneer's log cabin, ministering to him and his in sickness
and caring for their comforts in health. Their thrifty and
diligent hands, with wheel and distaff, supplied most all the
creature-comforts that were enjoyed in their humble homes.
And it was their province and mission to smooth the rugged
pathwa)' of progress ; commencing' in the great primeval forest
and in the lowly bark-covered cabins and carried forward step
by step and )'ear by year, up to its present state of luxury and
refinement, which many of them lived to enjoy. Those dear
old mothers! their useful li\es may have given them but few
opportunities for culture and accomplishments. They may
have know n but little of letters or of the sciences, but there
were two problems, that these sainted mothers had solved,
that proved a benison to those around them — i.e. a sweet accept-
ance of the life that is, and an unfaltering assurance of the life
to come. This rendered them cheerful at all times, and made
them a tower of strength in the darkest trials, and their toil-
worn hands have smoothed many a sufferer's d\-ing pillow,
and their plain manner of speech has sustained many a sinking
soul when called to meet " the hour and article of death."
The deeds of the mothers should be hallowed in memory
above all things else and ma)- (jod bless them ; for most of
them have fulfilled their mission ; and the wheels havx^ ceased
their turning, and for them the brittle thread on life's distaff has
been broken. But ne\er let the memory of them depart, in the
glitter and glow of modern days. Give them the warmest
place in your hearts, and whenever you breathe their names,
let it be in the hoh' and sacred dei)ths of affection.
I02 FORMATION OF COUNTIES AND TOWNS.
THE PIONEER SETTLER UPON THE HOLLAND PUR-
CHASE AND HIS PROGRESS.
" Through the deep wilderness, where scarce the sun
Can cast his darts, along the winding path
The Pioneer is treading. In his grasp
Is his keen ax, that wondrous instrument,
That like the talisman, transforms
Deserts to fields and cities. He has left
The home in which his early years were past,
And, led by hope, and full of restless strength.
Has plunged within the forest, there to plant
His destiny. Beside some rapid stream
He rears his log-built cabin. When the chains
Of Winter fetter Nature, and no sound
Disturbs the echoes of the dreary woods,
Save when some stem cracks sharply with the frost ;
Then merrily rings his ax, and tree on tree
Crash to earth ; and when the long keen night
Mantles the wilderness in solemn gloom.
He sits beside his ruddy hearth, and hears
The fierce wolf snarling at the cabin door,
Or through the lowly casement sees his eye
Gleam like a burning coal."
EARLV ORGANIZATION OF COUNTIES AND TOWNS.
All the Colony of New York west of the river countie.s, was
nominally a tract of Albany county up to 1772. In 1784,
Tryon county, of which Erie was nominally a part, was changed
to Montgomery. In 1789, the County of Ontario was erected
from Montgomery, including all west of Seneca lake — a territory
now comprising thirteen or foui"teen counties.
The Town of North Hampton covered all the Western part
of the State. In the Spring of 1802, the County of Genesee
was erected, comprising the whole of the State west of the
Genesee river, and of a line running south from the mouth of
the Canaseraga creek to the Pennsylvania line. The Town of
North Hampton was divided into four towns; one of them was
Batavia, which contained all of the Holland Purchase. The
county seat was fixed at Batavia, a village that was to be. In
1804, Batavia was divided into four towns. The first, second
and third ranges were called Batavia; the fourth, fifth and sixth
ranges were called Willink, and the seventh, eighth, ninth and
CONCORD AND OTHER TOWNS. IO3
tciitli raiii^cs were called Erie; the reniaiiuler of the I'urcha.sc
WcsJ was called Cliautauc]ua. These raii<(es were six inilcs
wide and running- from the Pennsv'lvania line north to Lake
Ontario, about one hundred miles in lent^th. March 11, i!So7,the
Counties of Niagara, Cattaraugus and Chautau(|ua were taken
from Genesee count}-.
In 1807, the Count)- of Niagara was divided into three towns.
All that pnvi north of the Tonawanda creek was called Cambria;
all the territor}- between the Tonawanda creek and the center
of the I^ufTalo Creek reservation was called Clarence; all
between the center of the Buffalo Creek reservation and the
Cattaraugus creek was called Willink.
March 20, 1812, the Town of Willink was divided into four
towns — Willink, Hamburg, Eden and Concord. The Town of
Willink then comprised the Towns of Aurora, Wales, Holland
and Colden. The Town of Hamburg comprised the present
Towns of Hamburg and East Hamburg. The To\\n of Eden
comprised the present Towns of Eden, Evans and Boston.
Concord comprised the present Towns of Concord, Sardinia,
Collins and North Collins. March 16, 1821, Concord was
divided into Concord, Collins and Sardinia. April 2, 1821,
Erie county \\as formed from Niagara, comprising all that part
of Niagara count)- K'i ng between the Tonaw^anda and Cattarau-
gus creeks. On the 24th day of November, 1852, the Town of
Shirley \\-as formed from Collins, and the next Spring it was
changed to North Collins.
I04
PIONEER SETTLERS
THE NAMES OF THE FIRST SETTLERS, THE Tl ME OF SETTLEMENT AND THE
TIME OFTHE ORGANIZATION OFTHE SEVERAL TOWNS IN ERIE COUNTY.
Name ok Town.
Buffalo . . . .
Clarence . . .
Amherst. . .
*Newstead .
Hamburg....
Boston
Evans
East Hamburg
Lancaster
Aurora
Tonawanda . . .
Wales
Holland
Concord
Collins
Eden
Cheektawaga
Sardinia ....
North Collins. .
Colden
Alden
1810
1810
Brandt
West Seneca. . .
Elma
1817
1826
1827
1829
Manila
Grand Island. . .
1789
1799
1801
1802
1803
1804
1804
1804
1804
1804
1805
1806
1807
1807
1807
1808
1808
1809
I81O
Names of the FujstSettlek.s in each
Respective Town in Ekie County.
King
Cornelius Winney
Asa Ransom
John Thompson
Peter Vandeventer
■i'Dydimus Kinne}'
Charles Johnson
Joel Harvey.
\ Ezekiel Smith, David Eddy )
( and others \
James and Amos Woodward.
Jabez Warren, Taber Earle )
and Henry Godfrey \
Alex. Logan, John
and John Hershey.
Oliver Pattengil and William )
Allen \
Arthur Humphrc}^ and Ab- I
ner Cumer \
Christopher Stone and John /
Albro (
Jacob Taylor and others of I
the Quaker Mission \
Benj., Joseph and Sam'l Tubbs
Apollus Hitchcock
Geo. Richmond and Ezra Nott
I Stephen Sisson, Abram
I Tucker s
i wick
Richard Buffom
Moses Fenno
Moses Tucker
Reuben Sackett
Taber Earle
Jerry and Joseph Carpenter. . .
Unknown
and Enos South-
C 5
> «
1810
1808
1818
1823
1812
1817
1821
1850
1833
1818
1836
1818
1818
1812
1821
1812
1839
1 82 I
1852
1827
1823
1839
1851
1857
1853
1852
* Organized as Erie ; changed to Ncwstead-, 1831.
t Dydiraus Kinney was the first while settler in the South Towns ; his house stood on Jere-
miah Pierce's farm, on the left hand as you go towards While's Corners, and northwest of
the orchard on a low ridge of land in the meadow.
i:.\Ki.\' lowN ()1'I1(i;ks. 105
rilK OLD TOWN OK CONCORD.
The original Town of Concord was orL;ani/.cd b\- tlu; legis-
lature March 20, 1812. It comprised the present towns of
Sardinia, Concord, Collins, North Collins and part of Brant.
It is to be regretted that there is no record of this town in
existence. The great fire that occurred in Spring\ille in the
Summer of 1868, destroyed the old town book, and the author
has to reh' upon his menior)' of the records made in this book.
and also the recollections of the old settlers. He is certain that
the first record was, that the town meeting was held at the house
of John Albro, in the Spring of 1812 ; that Thomas M. Barrett
was chosen Supervisor, Amaziah Ashman, Town Clerk,
Solomon Field, Collector, and Jonathan Townsend, Overseer
of the Poor. The town bounds remained unchanged up to
1821 ; and the place of holding the town meetings was subject
to the will of the electors. For four or five years these meet-
ings were held at Springville, but the author learns from talking
with some of the venerable men who have a di^itinct recollec-
tion of those times, that it was once held on Townsend Hill.
After a time, quite a spirit of dissatisfaction was manifested by
those living in the east and west parts of the town, for Spring-
ville and vicinity not only monopolized the place of holding
these meetings, but it enabled them to secure also, the most of
the important offices. This led to a fusion of the electors of
the east and west parts, and upon one occasion they rallied
their forces and \'Oted the town meeting to Taylor Hollow, in
the extreme west part of the town, and from thence it was
adjourned to Sardinia, near the east bounds of the town, for
the next year. The action of the electors in carrying these
extreme measures caused those living in the central part of the
town to consent to a division, which was soon after effected.
For the first eight consecutive years after the organization of
the town, there is no evidence that there was any other man
except Thomas M. Barrett, who held the ofifice of Supervisor.
The author, in looking o\'er the first records of the Town of
Collins, bearing date 1821, finds it recorded, that a committee was
appointed "to settle with Frederick Richmond, late Supervisor
of the town," so it appears, that he at least held the office one
year. During this time he learns that John Lanton, " Gen."
I06 THE TIDE OF IMMIGRxVTION.
Knox, " Dea." Russell, and Mr. Abbey held the important
office of Commissioner of Highways; and he also learns that
Harry Sears succeeded Fields as Collector. The Justices of
the Peace, were not elected by the people, but were appointed
by the authorities at Albany.
COMING INTO THE COUNTRY — LOG HOUSES AND DUTCH
CHIMNEYS.
Most of the early settlers in these towns came from the New
England states and the eastern part of the State of New York,
but few came from New Jersey or Pennsylvania. More in pro-
portion came from Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island and
Connecticut than from New Hampshire or Maine. The route
generally taken was through the Mohawk valley by Utica, Can-
andaigua, Avon and Batavia to Buffalo, then out here. Some
turned off near the Genesee river and came through on the
" Fig Tree Road," that passes through Wales, Aurora and Ham-
burg. Others turned off the main route near the Genesee and
came through by Pike and Arcade. Others again came by the
way of New York, across New Jersey and a corner of Pennsyl-
vania to the Susquehanna river, and by different routes made
their way here. Many came on foot, sometimes one alone and
sometimes two or more in compan}\ Some came with horses
and sleighs, or horses and wagons, but more came with oxen
and sleds, or oxen and wagons than any other way. It generally
took them about twenty-five days to come from the New Eng-
land states here.
" New-comers were always warmly welcomed b)' their prede-
ces.sors, partly, doubtless, from motives of kindness, and parth'
because each new arrival helped to redeem the forest from its
forbidding loneliness and add to the value of improx'cments
already made." If there were already a few settlers in the
locality, the emigrant's family was sheltered by one of them
until notice could be given of a
LOG RAISIN(;.
P'or log houses, the logs used were general!}- from eight to
eighteen inches in diameter and twelve, fourteen, si.xteen, eight-
een and twenty feet in length. It required the assistance of a
lUll.DlM. •nil'. 1.0(i CAIJIN. 107
ckjy.cii <ir more ahlc-hodicci men to put up the bod)' of such a
house, ami, at first, the country had to be scoured for many
miles to obtain that number (and sometimes half of that num-
ber had to suffice). " The hands '" were in\ited to come to
the raising;- on a specified da\' — the lo^s were cut in ad-
\ance — and were drawn to the desired spot by oxen and four
of the Iart;"est ones selectetl for the bottom logs. Four of the
most active and experienced men were chosen to cut the cor-
ners." The\- bet^an b)' cutting;" a saddle at the ends of the two
lo^q,s, a space tweKe to eii;hteen inches long, shaped like the
roof of a house. Notches to fit these saddles were cut near the
ends of two other loi;"s and then they w ere laid at right angles
upon the first two. The operation was repeated again and
again, the four axe men rising with tlie building and cutting
saddles on the top near the end of the side logs and cutting
notches in the end logs to fit them, as they were handed up to
them b\' their comrades. After the building was up five feet or
so, ropes or chains would be attached to the ends of the logs, and
the men on the building would pull while the others lifted or
pushed from below. And if they had no ropes or chains, the\'
sometimes would cut a bush ten or twelve feet high and form
a loop by withing the twigs together and slip it over the end
of the logs and pull on that. They also, sometimes, used what
was called a " horse," which was a crotched stick six feet or
more long with the crotch at the upper end, and strong pins
through the lower end to lift by.
Having arrived at the height of six or seven feet, notches
were cut on the top of the two top side logs and poles six or
seven inches in diameter laid across to serv^e as joists for the
chamber for the chamber floor. General!}' the building was
raised one, two or three tiers of logs higher than the chamber
floor. After the body of the house was raised to the required
height, sometimes rafters made of jjoles from the forest were
placed in position, and sometimes the gable ends were built up
with logs, with poles running lengthwise of the building and
about three feet apart, and fitted into them (the gables) for the
support of the roof. Most of the earliest roofs were made of elm
or other kinds of bark, laid rough side up, and held in its place by
the weight of poles resting on top of it and running lengthwase
I08 FIRE-l'LACES AND DUTCH CHIMNEYS.
of the building. Some roofs were made of " shakes, " that is,
rough shingles three or more feet long, generally made of white
ash, pine or oak. Another kind of roof was made by cutting
small-sized basswood logs the desired length and splitting them
through the center, and then digging out the inner side from
end to end. "trough fashion."' Then placing them on the roof
one-half of them with the hollowed side up. and the other half
with the hollowed side down and placed over the first in such a
manner that the water that fell on the rounding side of the top
ones would run into the grooves in the lower ones and from
there to the ground. A place for a door was then sawed out
and another for a window, and sometimes places for two win-
dows. A blanket frequently served for a door in the Summer
time the first year, and doors were sometimes made of plank or
boards split out of white ash or basswood and hewed down, and
hung on wooden hinges and held closed with a wooden latch
and catch, with a " latch-string hanging outside the door."
Sometimes they had one or more windows with four or six
lights of glass, but they were frequently compelled to use
greased paper as a substitute for glass. Floors were made of
"puncheons" split out of basswood logs and hewed down with
a narrow axe. Cook stoves had not then been invented, and
fire-places were universally used ; brick were not to be had. and
chimneys were made of stone, wood and mud. " Dutch chim-
neys " were the most common among the early settlers ; they
consisted of a stone back built up about six feet high, more or
less, and of about the same width. Instead of jams wooden
arms, either straight or curv-ing downwards, were fastened at
their lower ends into the logs on each side of the stone back,
about three feet from the floor, with their upper ends resting
against the beam overhead on which the chamber floor was
laid. On and from these arms the chimney was built up and
topped out with sticks and mortar, and when thoroughly plas-
tered from top to bottom was considered finished.
Some chimneys were built entirely of stone, and had jams to
the fire places. A pole called the " lug pole " was put into
and through all the early chimneys. It was placed directly
over the fire and five or six feet above the hearth, which was
made of flat stone. Sometimes a wooden hook from three to
4
PREPARING FOR THE FIRST CROP. 109
four feet long was hooked over the "lug pole," and which had one
or more notches near the lower end in which to hang the bails
of pots and kettles. And sometimes a chain would be used for
the same purpose, and sometimes families that could afford the
e.xpense would ha\e " trammels."' The\- were made of two
bars of iron, one thin and flat, and about two inches wide, with
the top end bent over in a half circle, so as to hook over the
"lug pole," and the remainder perforated with holes about half
an inch in diameter and two or three inches apart. The other
bar was about half an inch in diameter, with a hook at the
lower end. and an inch or two of the upper end bent at right
angles with the bod>' of the bar. and made to fit into the holes
in the flat bar so that the hook could be raised or lowered as
occasion required.
The cracks between the logs were generally chinked up with
three-cornered pieces of timber, split out of small basswood
trees, fitted in and plastered with mud both outside and inside.
Sometimes the cracks between the logs would be closed up
with moss gathered in the woods. Occasionally houses were
built with logs hewed on both sides before they were raised ;
these were called " block houses."
CLEARINi; I. AND, CHOPPING TIMBER, BURNIN(. BRUSH, LOG-
GIN(; AND LOGGING BEES.
After the pioneers had a house or shanty built, and had got
rigged up ready to commence housekeeping, the next task was
to clear some land. If the settler arrived very earh- in the
season he would be able, and generally did, clear off a small
piece in time to plant some corn and potatoes and sow some
turnips; but his greatest ambition was to get several acres
ready for Winter wheat in the Fall. To do this he worked hard,
early and late, unless interrupted b)- sickness. The first business
was to cut down the trees — in this man}- of the pioneers ac-
quired great skill : the}' would so cut and guide a tree as to
have it fall in most cases, exactly where the}- wanted it. In
cutting timber for the purpose of clearing land, several differ-
ent methods were practiced by the early settlers. One was to
cut down the trees, then trim out the tops, that is, cut off the
limbs and pile the brush into large heaps, then cut the bodies
110 BURNING A FALLOW.
up into lo^s of from twelve to twenty feet in length, depend-
ing upon the size of the trees. This method was generally
pursued when they intended to clear the land the same year.
Another method was to "windrow" the timber; this was
done by cutting all the trees on a strip of land four, live or six
rods in width so that their tops would all fall from both sides
of the strip into the center, and form a row the whole length of
the strip, while the bodies of the trees on the right hand and
left hand sides laid angling and at different angles with the
center of the row. After the trees were felled, the limbs on
the top side were generally cut off or lopped down. Windrows
were made parallel to each other and w^ere from four to six-
rods apart from center to center.
Another method of cutting timber for the purpose of clear-
ing land, was "slashing it down." This consisted simpl)' in
cutting down the trees and letting them fall in any direction
without trimming them out, or cutting up the bodies. Some-
times choppers when slashing timber down would cut what was
called a "drive" where the timber was thick and large, and the
lay of the land and the range of the trees was favorable. They
would commence at a certain point and cut all the trees partly
down for a considerable distance and sometimes over an extent
of several acres, and each successive tree was so cut that when
it fell it was so guided or drawn as surel}' to strike the next
intended tree, whether it stood straight ahead or sometimes to
the right or left. When all was ready the large tree, which for
its size and location had been selected for the "driver," was cut
and fell against the next tree and that against the second, and
the second against the third, and the third against the fourth,
and so on, until they all went thundering and crashing down
together.
After the timber on a piece of land had been cut down for
the purpose of clearing the land, and left to lay a considerable
time, it was called a " fallow," and when the brush was burned
it was called " burning a fallow." After the timber had lain a
sufficient length of time and the brush had become sufficientl}'
dry to satisf}' the owner, a day was selected when the weather
was favorable to set on fire and " burn the fallow." " Fallows"
were burned during a dry time, and on a day when the sun
J
CHOPJMN(; AXD L()(;(;iN<;. iii
shone bright, and i^encrally set from 12 to 2 o'clock V. M.
The}' wore iisuall}' set in several places about the same time ;
and presently the blaze would shoot up here and there in dif-
ferent parts all o\'er the fallow; and rapidly extendini^ and in-
creasini;" the flames would swa\' to and fro, and at times rise
nearl\- to the hei«^ht of the tallest trees ; the heat, the ^lare, the
crackling, the swaying, and the roar of the fierce and consum-
in<; flames, as witnessed at the burning' of a large "fallow"
])resented a grand and exciting scene.
Timber that was slashed or windrowed was left a year and
a half or two years or more, until it became very dry, before
the brush was burned. And sometimes the brush and timber
became so dry that when it was fired the brush was all burned
up, and a considerable portion of the timber, besides the soil
of the land being burned and materiall)' injured b)' the fire in
some instances.
After the brush had been burned on a piece of land where
the timber had been "slashed" or "windrowed" the bodies of
the trees had to be cut up the proper logging length before the
logging commenced. The bodies of the trees were generally
considerably seasoned and quite hard. A custom prevailed to
some extent with the choppers to " nigger off" the largest logs
while they were chopping up the smaller ones. It was done
in this way : Notches were cut at proper distances on top of
the large trees and places hollowed out, coals put on, a fire
started and sticks laid across at right angles with tlie log and
when the}' burned up other sticks of wood, brands or poles were
laid across, and renewed from time to time until the large logs
were burned through and off. After the fire got well started
it was not much trouble to keep it going, and a man could at-
tend to and "nigger off" twenty or thirty large logs while
he was chopping up the remaining smaller ones in the
\icinit}'.
After the brush had been burned and the trees cut into logs,
the next business in order was the logging. When the piece to
be logged was small and the pioneer owned a yoke of oxen, he
would hire or change works with two or three helpers, and if
he did //ot own a yoke of oxen he would hire or change works
with some man that did, and with two or more neighbors, and
ii2 THE LOGGING BEE.
they together would " log " about an acre a day. Sometimes
small pieces of land were so far cleared of timber as to produce
crops without the use of any team whatever. Frequently land
would be chopped and cleared by the job at a specified price
per acre. Jobs of from five to ten acres were frequently let.
and jobs of fifteen or twenty acres were let less frequently, and
occasionally, but not often, jobs of from thirty to forty acres
were cleared.
In pioneer times the practice of having "logging bees" was
quite common. When a large tract was to be logged, the
settlers for several miles around were invited to a " bee." At the
appointed time^from fifteen to thirty men would be present.
About half a dozen would bring ox teams and the balance
would be provided with hand-spikes or cant-hooks. To do the
business up properly and expeditiously it required three or four
hand-spike men to each team.
The owner of the land, or some other experienced man,
would select places to build the different heaps, and the work
began and the bee commenced.
The logs were rapidly drawn or " snaked " alongside the
heap, and then the hand-spike men quickly rolled them to the
proper place. Another and another was snaked up in rapid
succession, the handspike men being always ready to unhitch it
if it caught against a root or stump. As it tore along the
ground, the black dust flew up in every direction. Soon every
man was covered with a black coat of coal-dust and soot,
involving clothes, hands and face in " outer darkness." But
the work went on still more rapidly. The several gangs caught
the spirit of rivalry, and each strove to make the quickest trips
and the largest pile. The oxen would sometimes get as excited
as the men, and would " snake " their loads into place with
ever-increasing energy. Teams that understood their business
would ' stand quiet while the chain was being hitched, then
spring with all their might, taking a bee-line to the log heap^
and halt when they came to the right spot. Faster and faster
sped the men and teams to and fro, harder strained the hand-
spike men to increase the pile, higher flew the clouds of dust
and soot, reckless of danger, men sprang in front of rolling logs
PROCESS OF MAKINO SUGAR. [I3
or boiiiulcd over them as the}- went \\hirHn<^ amoiii;" the stumps.
Accidents sometimes happened, but it was a wonder that the
number was not increased tenfold.
As the day draws to a close a thick cloud covers the field,
through which are seen a host of sooty forms, four-legged ones
with horns, and two-legged ones with hand-spikes, pulling, run-
ning, lifting and shouting, until night descends, and the tired, yet
still excited laborers clothed in blackness, return to their homes.
If the weather was favorable, the log heaps were frequently
set on fire that evening, and, within a few hours, the thirty or
forty brightly blazing piles glimmered in the darkness and illu-
minated the heavens similar to the burning buildings of a vil-
lage or city. If left alone while burning the heaps would all
burn out in the center, leaving some parts of logs and brands
at the sides and ends that would not burn up, so it was neces-
.sary for men to go around and " put up " the heaps, that is, roll
the logs in together and throw on the brands. After the several
heaps had burned all they would, there would still be a fe\v
brands remaining, and the " fallow " had to be " branded up."
and the)' were drawn from all parts of the fallow into one or
more places and re-piled and set on fire and kept burning until
entirely consumed.
SUGAR-MAKING.
The very earliest settler followed the practice of making
more or less sugar every spring. All over the country grew the
sugar-maple and there was hardly a lot large enough for a farm
on which there was not a "sugar bush." The first thing the
pioneer had to do when preparing for sugar-making was to make
a lot of " sap-troughs," they were generally made of cucumber,
basswood, ash, butternut or cherry timber. Trees from twelve
to eighteen inches in diameter were cut down and logs from
two and a half to three feet in length cut off, and split
open through the center, then the inside portion was dug out,
leaving the sides and bottom an inch or an inch and a half
thick, and the ends two or three inches thick and each trough
large enough to hold from one to two pails full of sap. " Store
troughs," for storing sap were generally made from large cu-
cumber trees, from two to three feet in diameter and from
7
114
GATHERIN(; THE SAP.
twelve to twent}' feet in length, and it required from one to
three to each " sugar bush." Trees were tapped b)' cutting a
notch in the side of the tree inclining downwards and inwards
with a narrow axe and drix'ing a wooden spout about a foot
long into an orifice made by a tapping gauge, just below the
lower end of the notch. The sap was boiled b\- the early set-
tlers sometimes in cauldron kettles, but mostly in kettles hold-
ing fi\^e pails or three j^ails, and of smaller size generally made
of iron, but sometimes of brass. The boiling place was rigged
b}' setting two posts into the ground ten or tweh'e feet apart
SnCAR-MAKINC.
and se\-en or eight feet high with crotches at the top, and la\--
ing a strong pole into the crotches from one post to the other,
then hanging chains to the pole or hanging on large wooden
hooks with notches cut near the lower ends, in which to hang
the kettle bails. Sometimes a half dozen or more kettles of
different sizes would hang in a row, with a large log ten or'
twelve feet long, rolled up on the back side, and another on the
front side until the)' touched or nearh- touched the kettles,
then fine split wood was placed under and around the kettles
and a fire started, and shorth- the boiling would commence.
CLOSE OF THE SUGAR SEASON. II5
The sap was " gathered " or brought to the boiUng place in sap
buckets carried by the aid of a sap-yoke, wliich was made to fit
the neck and shoulders of the person carrying it.
Sugar-making sometimes commenced when the snow was two
feet deep in the woods, and then gathering sap with a sap-
)'oke was a \'ery laborious and difficult job. Sometimes there
would be a crust on the snow in the morning and the sap-
gatherer would start out fort)' or fift\' rods and fill his buckets
and walk carefulK' and slow towards the boiling place on the
crust, when sutidenl)' one foot would break through and go
down to the ground in a twinkling and the sap would fly in
ever)' direction, and give the bearer a wetting down.
Such accidents happened quite frequently, and it is feared
that in some instances the)' might have called forth exclama-
tions that would hardly be proper to repeat in a Sabbath School
or print in a book.
After fifteen or twent)' v'ears from the time of the first set-
tlement, wooden sap-buckets began to be used in place of
troughs ; and the number of cauldron kettles was increased,
and trees began to be tapped with a small auger or bit instead
of an axe, and the sap began to be gathered with a team instead
of a sap-yoke.
The glory of sugar-making was in the great bush, where
hundreds of trees were tapped, where a shant)- was erected,
where the sap was brought to the central fires in barrels or
casks on ox-sleds, where cauldron and smaller kettles boiled
and bubbled night and day, where, after a sufficient quantit)'
had been " syruped down " a day was set to " sugar off." When
the boys and girls and young men and maidens would gather
in, and with dishes and spoons or a flattened stick,
" Would taste and eat, and lap and lick,"
and if any part of a snow bauK rcmanicd in striking distance,
chunks of it were procured and the warm sugar spread on and
made into wax and then eaten.
About thirty or forty years ago, large flat-bottomed sap-pans,
with low sides and made of sheet iron, and set in arches, began
to be used for boiling sap. And about the same time tin
ii6
THE FIRST WELLS — THEIR FIXTURES.
buckets began to take the place of wooden buckets and
troughs for catching sap, and large tubs were made and used for
storing it, instead of store "troughs."
PIONEER WELLS.
The early settlers were n(^t alwa\'s successful in finding a
location for their cabins near a spring, and in such instances a
well had to be dug, which like almost everything else was done
by the proprietor himself, with the aid of his boys if he had
any large enough, or a neighbor, to haul up the dirt. Its
depth of course depended on the location of water, but that
was generally to be found in abundant quantity, and of good
PIONEER WELL.
quality at from ten to thirt}- feet, but occasionalh' a well had
to be dug to the depth of forty or fifty feet. Plent\' of stone of
good quality was to be found all over the country; and the
pioneers here were not compelled to do what the pioneers of
some parts of the western country have been ; to stone up their
wells with Cottonwood or other plank.
The well being dug and stoned up, it was completed for use
by a superstructure, then almost uiuxcrsal, but is now almost
entirely a thing of the past. A post ten <~>r twehe inches in
diameter and some ten feet high, with a crotched top was set
in the ground a few feet from the well. On a stout pin run-
ning through both arms of the crotch, was hung a heavy pole
i
WINDLASSES AND I'UMI'S INTRODUCED. 11/
or "sweep," often twent)' feet or more lon^r. the lar^^er end
resting on the <;rouncl. the smaller end rising in air, directly over
the well. To this was attached a smaller pole, reachin<^ to the
top of the well ; at the lower end of this pole huni;" the bucket,
the veritable " old oaken bucket, that huny; in the well," and
the process of drawini;- water consistetl in takintr lu)ld of the
small "well-pole" antl pulliiii;' down the small end of the
"sweep" till the bucket struck the water and was filled, and
then letting;" the butt end pull it out with some assistance. A
board curb about three feet square and nearK' the same heiL,dU
was placed around the top of the w ell to pre\ent children antl
others from fallint^- in.
The whole formed, for a lons^' time, a picturescjue antl far-
seen addition to nearl)- every dooryard in this section of coun-
tr\-. Once in a L;reat while some wealth}' citizen would have a
windlass ft)r raisin<;- water, but for over a tpiarter of a century
after the first settlements, a farmer nexer thought of having a
pump. St)metimes there was no well-sweep erected, but the
water was drawn up by hand with a pail, and a small pole with
a crotch or hook on the lower end. And st)metimes it was
drawn up with a pail and rope. At a later date water was
sometimes raised with a long rope running over a pulley with a
bucket attachetl to each end, and when one bucket came up
the other went down. At the present time water is nearl)' all
raised from wells b\' pumps of diflerent kinds.
THE OLD OAKEN BL'CKET.
How dear to my heart are the scenes of my childhood !
When fond recollection presents them to view ;
The orchard, the meadow, the diep-tangled wild-wood,
And every loved spot which my mfancy knew;
The wide-spreading pond and the mill that stood by it
The bridge, and the rock where the cataract fell.
The col of my father, the dairy house nigh it,
And e'en the rude bucket which hung in the well;
The old oaken bucket — the iron-bound bucket —
The moss-covet 'd bucket which hung in the well.
That moss-covered vessel I hail as a treasure —
For often at noon, when return'd from the field,
I found it the source of an exquisite pleasure.
The purest snd sweetest that nature can yield.
How ardent I seized it with hands that were glowing,
Il8 THE OLD OAKEN BUCKET.
And quick to the white-pebbled bottom it fell :
Then soon, with the emblem of truth overfiowing.
And dripping with coolness, it rose from the well;
The old oaken bucket — the iron-bound bucket —
The moss-cover'd bucket arose from the well
How sweet from the green, mossy brim to receive it.
As poised on the curb it inclined to my lipsl
Not a full, blushing goblet could tempt me to leave "it,
Though filled with the nectar that Jupiter sips.
And now, far removed from the loved situation.
The tear of regret will intrusively swell.
As fancy reverts to my father's plantation.
And sighs for the bucket which hangs in the well;
The old oaken bucket — the iron-bound bucket —
The moss-cover'd bucket which hangs in the well.
I'lONEER EEXCIN(;.
As the pioneer had more or less stock when he commenced
growing crops, some sort of fence was required. Probably the
records of ex^ery town organized in the Holland Purchase, down
to 1850, would show that at its first town meeting an ordinance
Avas passed, providing that horses and horned cattle should be
free commoners. Hogs, it was usually voted, should not be
free commoners ; while sheep held an intermediate position,
being sometimes allowed the liberty of the road, and some-
times doomed to the seclusion of the pasture. These ordi-
nances were changed from time to time as circumstances
seemed to require. The fence that was constructed the easiest
and cheapest by the pioneers and one that was frequently used
was a brush fence, or a "slash fence." It was made b\' felling
trees in together in a line in the desired direction. Where the
timber was thick and the trees large a brush fence could be
made that wt)u1c1 answer a good purpose for two or three
years. Another style of fence used was a log fence, which was
made by laying the logs one above the other in a line with the
ends lapping by each other, and resting upon sticks four to six-
inches in diameter, and three or four feet long, laid cross-wa\s
under the ends of each tier of logs. Log fence \\-as sometimes
made b}' cutting logs the proper length and la\'ing them after
the fashion of the common crooked rail fence. But as settle-
ments increased, the crooked rail fence or the " Virginia rail
RAII., i;0.\Rr) AM) WIRF. FENCES. II9
fence," became the standanl protection for the L;"ro\\inn[ crops.
Rail spHttin_<( constituted an important part of the pioneer's
work. Equipped with ax, beetle and wedi^es, he would spend
weeks and months in transforminL;' the noble ash and cherr\-
into rails twehe feet loni;.
In the Spring; these were laid in fence, the bi^yest at the
bottom, one end of each rail below and the other abo\e, and
each " lengtli " of fence formin^^ an obtuse antj^le with that on
eitlier side. Four and a half feet was the usual height pre-
scribed b\' the town ordinances, but the farmer's standard of
efTicienc)' was a seven-rail fence, staked and ridered. Two
stout stakes were driven into the ground and crossed above the
sixth rail, at each corner, while on the crotch thus formed, was
laid a large rail, serving to add to the height and to keep the
others in place. Such a fence would (^ften reach the height of
six feet. This fence, somewhat modified, forms to this da)' a
considerable portion of the fence on man\- farms in the south
part of the county ; but the adoption of other styles of fence
and the scarcity of timber is fast driving the rail splitter and
his occupation from the field (or rather from the forest). The
kinds of timber from which rails were made, were chestnut,
oak, cherry, white ash, black ash, pine, hemlock, elm, basswood,
and sometimes beech and maple.
About 1830, board fences began to come into use; they were
generally made of boards sixteen feet long and six or eight
inches wide. The posts were six and one-half or seven feet
long, and set in the ground ab(jut eight feet apart, and the
boards nailed on. I'osts were sometimes made from small
trees hewed on one side, sometimes the\' were sawed, anci
sometimes s])lit out. The kind of timber used for posts was
generally cedar, oak, hemlock, cherry, chestnut and red beech.
.Another kind of fence was made of posts and rails; rails being
used instead of boards. Holes were mortised through the
posts and the ends of the rails fitted in.
Within the last few years wire fence has been introduced and
used to some extent. Posts are set in the ground and the wire
strung from post to post and fastened. Wire fence is made of
plain and barbed wire. The amount of barbed wire fence in
use is being increased considerabh- at the j)resent time. Cattle,
I20 THE OLD-FASHIOXEl) BARNS.
horses, and other domestic animals are not now allowed by law
to run loose and feed aloni;" the highways, consequenth' fences
along the roads in front of meadows and cultivated fields are
frequently dispensed with.
FKA.Mt: BARNS.
After the pioneer had built his log house and had a piece of
land cleared and fenced, the next thing he needed was a barn.
Log barns were sometimes built but it was difficult to make
them large enough to store any considerable amount of wheat,
oats, rye and hay, and frame barns were generalh' built as soon
as lumber could be procured, anywhere in reasonable distance,
to enclose them.
Plenty of excellent timber was growing in the forest near b\',
and was quickly " got out," that is, cut down, scored and hewed
by the pioneer and his boys or hired help. The kinds of tim-
ber used in barn frames were generally rock elm, cherr}\ red
beech, ash, cucumber and pine. The timber was draw n on the
spot, and framed, and raised, and enclosed with hemlock or pine
boards, all running up and down.
There are several pioneer barns still standing and in use that
are more than sixty-five years old and the frames are "just as
good as new%" the beams in which are fourteen inches deep
and twelve inches thick, and the size of the sills and posts and
other timbers are in proportion. They are still covered with
the same old boards that first enclosed them, which are held on
by the same nails first driven. These barns were generally
forty feet long and thirty feet wide with posts from fourteen
. to sixteen feet high, and the roof put on with a " quar-
ter pitch." They were nearh' all constructed after the same pat-
tern, with a threshing floor and drive-wa\' near the center run-
ning crosswise of the building, being generalh^ twelve feet wide
by thirty long, with a stable at one end from ten to twelve feet
wide and thirty feet long, and about seven feet high, with a
scaffold overhead for grain, and on the other side of the thresh-
ing-floor was a bay, sixteen or eighteen feet wide and thirty feet
long, used for storing ha)-. In those days, horse-forks had not
been invented, and hay and grain were pitched on and off by
hand-forks, and when the barn was nearly full it had to be
noUSKlIolJ) KU RN I ri'KK, KTC. 121
])itchctl up ()\cr the " bi^ beam," which was about twelve feet
abo\e the floor.
A ii^c'At inan\' of those old-fashioned barns are still standin<r
and in use, but w itliin the last twenty-five years — since dairying
has l:)econie the princi[)al business of the farmers here and man\'
of the farms have been enlarged, and the number of cows kei)t
has been s^reatly increased — new and lar<^er barns have been
built, some of them one hundred feet loni;" and fort}' feet wide:
large enough to stable fifty to one hundred cows, and to hold
fodder enough to Winter them. The old-fashioned barns were
single-boarded, but barns built now are generalh- double boarded
or battened.
PRIMITIVE HOUSEHOLD FURNITURE AM) COOKING UTENSILS.
THE OVEN — THE OPEN EIRE-PLACE — THE OLD KITCHEN.
Household furniture was oftentimes limited as to variety, and
all told would show but a meager invoice. The first, an indis-
pensable article, was bed and bedding. Cooking utensils were
next in order, and these were at first chiefly such as the family
brought with them, with such additions as the skill and resources
of the head of the family could improvise. Beds and bedding
consisted of one or more feather beds and straw ticks filled with
straw, husks or fine boughs, with such covering as the family
means would permit. In many cases the feather bed was want-
ing and the straw tick filled with straw, husks or the boughs
of hemlock or pine were substituted, and in some cases the
straw ticks were wanting. In such a case the boughs were
skillfull}- prepared and spread in some convenient locality that
the tenement would permit. Often times the sleeping room for
the younger members of the family was located in the loft or
upper story of the house, and access was had by means of a
ladder. This upper lodging room was enjoyed only by those
whose building was high enough between the floors and roof.
Sometimes some other or less expensive room was provided.
The trundle bed was in frequent use, and when not being used
was pushed under the bed occupied b}' the older members of
the famil}-. Bedsteads were of various patterns; small poles
were cut of suitable length for the purpose, and an axe and
auger in skilful hands did the work. Cooking utensils were
122 DOi\[ESTIC LMl'ROVE-MEX'lS.
limited in numbers. The " Johnnx'-cake board '" was a board
about ^tw'o feet lonj^ and from ei^ht to ten inches in width and
about one and one-fourtli or one and one-lialf inches in thick-
ness spHt out of some hard wood, generally white ash, and
planed smooth, set up obliquely before the fire. On this the
dough, which had been mixed ver\' thick so that it would sta}-
on, was spread and kept there until it baked sufficiently. There
were cast-iron kettles of \arious kinds with legs three inches in
length, the tea kettle, the spider with three legs, to keep the
bottom above the ashes when set upon the coals on the heartli,
sometimes the long handled frying pan and the iron bake ket-
tle. This kettle when in use was placed on a bed of coals and
coals piled on the iron cover, did the family baking. Some-
times when the weather permitted a hole was dug in the ground
out of doors and a fire made in it. When the ground was
properly heated the coals and ashes were removed in part and
the kettle with its contents placed therein and hot ct:)als piled
upon the co\'er, and in due time the baking was done. Some-
times a stone oven was built out of doors, and this became a
favorite family institution. After brick could be liad they were
built of this material, and sometimes tliey would be used in
common by the near neighbors. Other houseliold utensils
were of similar primitive patterns. Wooden dishes, bowls
and plates of rude construction were often used and some"
times pewter plates, basins and platters. Chairs and tables were
of various patterns. A seat made of boards with a high back
some fi\'e or six feet long and called a " settle," was used
frequently for children. Shelves arranged along the walls
of the house performed the work of cupboards, closets aiul
bureaus. And sometimes, where there was no stand, the
old famih' Hible ku' on the shelf. Hut as the years went by
the bus\' hands of the pioneer tolci upon his surroundings.
Broad and fertile fields took the place of j^atches. and large
frame barns that were burdened from foundation to ricige-pole
with the products of the soil had supplanted the log hovels.
Meantime the good wife's thrifty hands had not been idle_
The flock of geese that she had reared and cared for, had sup-
plied her with the materials for several "spare beds," and the
loom and wheel had been the means of her laying up a goodh'
i
'I'liK L().\(i wixiKR i:\ K\i.\(;s. 123
store of woolens and linens to furnish a nioi'e comfortable
abode.
Sixty )'ears a_n"o frame houses be^an to take the ])lace of tile
log ones. In structure the}' differed l)ut little from those of
to-da\' — sa\e in one feature — e\"er\- main room in the house
whether parlor, sitting-room or kitchen, was supplied with an
open fire-place. That in the kitchen was much lari^er and
alwa\'s so arrans^ed that it contained a brick o\en in one of the
jambs. This o\'en was used as often as once a week to do the
family bakintjj, and around the kitchen fire, usually, the famih-
])assed the lonq; winter evenin_<^^s. The children in readinij; or con-
ninij lessons that must be recited to the district pedai^ot^ue the
"followini^ day. in peelini^ beech nuts or roastinL( chestnuts in the
embers, or crackiuL;' butternuts in the corner.
Perhaps an elder member of the famih' would read aloud
"Tales of the Arabian Ni<;'hts,"" "Thaddeus of Warsaw," or
the fate of ])ot)r " Charlotte Temple." But change, inexorable
change is stamped on e\-er}'thing that pertains to kitclien life
of 60 years ago. The range and cook sto\e ha\'e supplanted
the fire place of our father's time, with its rudd}' and welcome
cheer, and in its banishment vanished many of the fondest
joys that belong to childhood's home anci years. The good
wife's household burdens may have been greatly ameliorated by
the new order of things, but when modern improvement
invaded the old-fashioned kitchen, and banished the " ingle
side," we felt it to be sacrilege, and as a descendant of the pio-
neers, we feel called upon to earnestly protest against the
change. Think of listening to '• folk-lore," or fair\' tales b)-
the side of a coal stove, or playing "blind man's buff," and
"hunt the slip|)er" around a range. No. we say it, and with-
out fear of contradiction, that when the fireplace was banished
from (Hir yXmerican homes, one of its sacred and most endear-
ing altars was destroyed. The old fireplace with its endearing
associations has attuned many a lyre, and poets have sung its
praises. No fool of a poet ever attempted to immortalize a
coal stove or cooking range in verse; nor ever will. Coal
and cast-iron are too practical and onl\' used to "save fuel."
We are not in enmit}' to the cook sto\-e in its proper place, but
the family sitting-room should be supplied with an open fire.
124 THE DYE-HOUSE OF EARLY Tr^rES.
cither of wood or coal. It is far healthier and a thousand
times pleasanter.
(ARDINO. SI'INXIXO AND WEAYINCi.
The first process in manufacturing wool into cloth, after
proper cleansing, was to pick and card it, or prepare it for
spinning. This work had to be performed by hand for there
were no carding-machines in operation at the time we speak of.
Hand-cards were of simple construction ; similar in shape to
the horse-card of the present day, only larger and of finer wire.
Two cards were required, a right and left, and the wool was
worked or manipulated between these into rolls. The mother,
or the grandmother, or the maiden aunt generally performed
this duty, and these rolls were spun into threads on the "big
wheel." After which the )'arn was reeled from the spindle into
skeins, again scoured, and it was ready for coloring. The
domestic colors were of different shades. If " sheep's grey,"
the color was obtained b\' taking two fleeces of white wool and
mixing it \\'ith one fleece of black. If brown was desired, it
was obtained by boiling the yarn in a solution of butternut
bark, copperas and alum. If purple, Nicaraugua wood obtained
at the store entered largeh- into the composition of the dye.
If blue, it was immersed in " }'e " ancient dye-tub, and was
called coloring " indigo blue." What juvenile of those days
can ever forget the odors that arose when the process of wring-
ing out the }'arn was going on. Madder red was one of the
favorite colors, a color that was more or less worn by the
famih' during the winter. The materials for producing this
color had to be obtained at the village store. Flannel cloth of
different colors, wo\'en after the manner of " Scotch plaid,"
was much worn b\' women and girls. The noise of the spin-
ning wheels would commence in early fall, and its low , busy,
humming drone would be heard far into the Winter. A mother
or an elder sister's bus\' feet usualh- trod to and fro to its music,
and generally her voice in "Silver Street," or "Camden," or some
other of those dear old melodies of the olden time would
accompan\' it. .Vh ! ye boys and girls w ith siKer locks, who
number the seasons that have come and gone to \'ou in the
sixties, at the mention of thi.s, do not your thougiits turn back
i
126 THE OLl) SPINNINC; WHEEL.
through the great gap of years to that fairy-lancl, "mother's
kitchen, and her spinning-wheel." and do not the thoughts that
linger around the old open fire-place, the glow of the embers,
and the giant shadows of the revoK'ing wheel upon the wall
on those long Winter excnings, burn brighter in memory than
aught else. This labor, like all the handicraft performed about
the household in those days, was long and tedious. Just imagine
the countless number of steps that would be required to form
the warp and woof for ninety or one hundred yards of flannel,
drawn out at a single thread at a time. Ikit this was the only
way the pioneer mothers had of protecting those who were
dear and near to her from Winter's chilling reign, and the
spinning was not the only work that had to be performed
before it ^\■as ready for use. The yarn must be reeled from
the spindle — the operator holding the thread with one hand
while the other turned the reel, and the bus}- brain numbered
the revolutions into "knots" and "skeins." The warj) was
then spooled on the " quill wheel," and the si)0()ls were placed
in the " scam," and the \'arn warped onto the " bars." From
here the warp was wound or beamed onto the beam and then
passed through the harnesses and then through the reed. The
woof or filling was quilled on the same little w heels into bob-
bins or quills, and was then read}- for the shuttle and the
weaver. I^^rom fort}- to fift}' }'ari,ls was the custt)mar}' length
of the webs. Perhaps the same hands that picked the wool
performed the rest of the labor, and the fabric was termed
" home-made," or " home-spun," a definition literally true.
THE OLD SPINNING WHEEL.
Broken, dismantled ! would that it were mine :
I would not keep it in that dusty nook,
Where tangled cobwebs cross and interwine,
And grim old spiders from their corners look.
From distaff, band and polished rim, ere hung
The dusty meshes. Black the spindle is,
Crooked and rusty — a dead, silent tongue.
That once made whirring music — there it lies.
Oh. dear to me is this forsaken thing !
1 gaze upon it and my eyes grow dim ;
For I can see my mother, hear her sing,
As winds the shining thread and whirls the rim.
IHK FI.AX IM>rS'Ik\. 127
So sweet she sang ! her youngest on her knee —
Now a warble, now some fine old hyiin.
Sublime, exultant, full of victory.
Triumphant as the songs of seraphim.
Sweet toiler 1 through her life of crowded care,
While grief came oft, and pain and weariness
Till swelled the anthem, still was breathed the prayer,
Till death came clasping with his cold caress.
She sings no more ; beside the chimney wide
No more she spins. Years come and go ;
Above her grave upon the lone hill side
The snow drifts lie, the summer grasses grow.
RAISIN(;, DRESSING AND Sl'INNIN(; I l.AX.
Flax was an indispensible necessity to the pioneer, and its
culti\ation was observed by all. This commodit)' was never
raised for commerce or barter b\' the pioneer, but its uses were
purely domestic, suppl}'ing all the sewinj^' thread and it took the
place of cotton for all purposes that this staple article is used
in to-da\'. It furnished a g'ood share of the summer clothini.>'
of the famil}-, and entered largely into the comforts and con-
veniences of the household. Its cultivation was simple and
easN', and required no more attention than the raising of oats or
wheat, or the rest of the cereals sa\e in its harx'est. Instead of
being reaped it was pulled up, the dirt shook out of the roots,
and laid in " ga\els." When sufficiently dry it was bcnmd into
bundles and "shocked," where it would remain until perfecth-
cured. Then it would pass to the threshing floor and be sub-
ject to a sex'ere "head-beating" that removed all the seeds
from the "bell" or "heads." After this it was taken to some
convenient grass plot and spread upon the ground in swaths
and left to the action of the elements until the wood\- portion
of the stalks had become thoroughh* rotten and brittle. Then
again it was bound into bundles and taken to the barn where it
was ready for the brake. By the aid of this implement the
operator would commence and continue the breaking process
until the wooden substance of the stalk was broken or loosened
from the outside fiber or bark. After passing through this
process it is "swingled," b\' taking as much as you can conven-
iently hold in the hand, hanging it across the sharp edge of a
board fixed for the [Hirpose, while with the other hand you beat
128 ACRICULTUKAL IMl'LEMKXTS.
it with a wooden knife some two feet long, this is done to
remov^e all the " shieves." After it has been thoroughly
swingled, it is taken to the " hetchel," where the silken fibers
of the flax is combed into " hanks," with the same ease that
one of our modern belle combs out her " switch," and this flax
is ready for the " distaff." This is a very simple affair, gener-
ally cur. from the top of a little maple, not over half an inch in
diameter with four little protruding branches, which are bent
together and fastened at the top. This distaff is set in a socket,
which allows it to turn, the flax is loosely bound around, a few
of the fibers are attached to the spindle of the little wheel, the
foot is placed upon the treadle and the spinning has com-
menced, the thread that runs through the flyers to the spindle
turns the distaff and supplies the spindle with flax. The tow
was carded and spun as you would wool, on a big wheel.
THE HULL PLOW AND CROTCH DRAG.
In pioneer days, farming implements were of rude construc-
tion and most of their parts were the works of the farmer's
hands. The " bull plow" that was in common use sixty years
ago was made mostly of wood. The plow-share and land-side
were made b}' the blacksmith out of wrought iron, with the
point laid with steel and all in one section. The mold-board
was of wood and split out of a winding log or tree, and worked
clown to about one and one-half inches in thickness, and in size
and shape similar to the mold-boards of cast-iron plows. The
crotch-drag was almost entirely a natural production, and a
description of which may be found in the article on milling,
was used, only this drag must be furnished with nine or eleven
teeth, some twelve inches in length and one inch in diameter.
The capital " A " will give a good idea of this drag. One of
the teeth is set in the apex, or point, where the draught is
attached while each right and left arm is pierced by an equal
number of teeth, which were of steel or iron.
The author, then a lad of some dozen years, has a \i\'id
recollection of the practical workings of this drag upon a
newl)'-burned fallow: how il would jerk and tip, hop and skip
along until it would find something to fasten upon, when things
would be brought up standing; then there would be a season
'JHE .\E\VLV-CLEAR1£1) [.AND. \ 2i)
of tugging and liftiiiL; <ind hallowing, and the drag would be
tided over the obstacle only to be lifted again and again to
clear its teeth of roots, sods or brush, or to remove it again
from its anchorage on some treacherous root or stum]). In a
few years the plowing of his ground must be performed, and
that was a task which, to be full)' appreciated, one must ha\'e
had some practical experience, great patience, forbearance, and
an unfaltering faith in a bountiful Providence. Oh. )'e modern
tillers of the soil who ride at careless ease upon your improved
" sulky plows," could you ha\e witnessed the breaking of this
self-same sod by '' Old (jrimes " sixty or seventy years ago
with that same old " bull plow ," all your fine-spun theories of
scientific farming and performing this work b\' inanimate force
w ould ha\e departed as " \-anishes the dew before morning's
sun !" And could \ou have heard the language employed b\'
" Old Grimes " w hen that plow anchored under the big roots
of a stump and he undertook to "gee" "them" steers and
the\' " hawed," and in doing so, traveled on one of his corns, we
fear that your faith in the native goodness of that old gentle-
man would liave been terribK' shaken. Instances of the remark-
able patience of Job under trying circumstances are given but
it is not recorded anywhere that he ever dragged with a " crotch
drag " or plowed with a bull plow among the roots and stumps
on a newh'-cleared piece of land.
" He that by his plow would thrive
llimself must either hold or drive,"
Is an adage that t(j-day wi)uld be questionable, but the pioneer
not onl)- was comjielled to //<>M, but it was ///_if, ///'/, p//s/i and
/>//// until e\er\' bone had its own ])eculiar ache. There are
very few to-da\' who look upon the practical working of the
machinerx' now employed in farming who ha\e any just con-
ception of the toils, trials and hardships that w ere endured b)-
the pioneers who (icvotcd tluir lives to making the countr)- what
it now is.
MILLINC;.
The first mill south of the reservation was built by Daniel
Smith in 1805. It was of rude construction, built of logs
8
I30
ADVENT OF THE CiRIST MILL.
with wooden gearing and had a capacity of grinding only
from five to six bushels of corn per day. This mill was located
on a small stream in the Town of East Hamburg. The follow-
ing year, John Cummings erected a grist mill on the Eighteen-
Mile creek, a mile or so below Water Valley, in the Town of
Hamburg. This was the first mill built, that did a general
business of grinding, south of the Reservation.
In 1809, Joseph Yaw built a grist mill in the town of Boston.
In 1812, Jacob Taylor erected another at Taylor Hollow, in
the town of Collins, and in 18 14 Benjamin Gardner built one
in S.pringville. These mills supplied the pioneers for a few
years with the necessary material for bread, and the task of
doing the family milling was no slight one. The roads were
GOINi; TO MILL.
but little better than a bridle path, and sometimes three days
would be consumed in coming and going where the pioneer
lived remote. The task was performed in various ways. When
the distance would allow, the head of the family would sling a
grist across one shoulder, and by occasionally resting and shift-
ing it was transported in this way; or again the grist would be
placed upon the back of a horse and a boy set upon this and
sent to mill ; sometimes several boys would come to the same
mill in this way on the same day, but more often where the
distance was of any consideration, the " drag" was used. This
conveyance was almost a natural production and called but little
skill in its construction.
The first to be done was to select a tree that threw out two
main branches, seven to eight inches in diameter and as many
CLOTHINC ()]•■ TllK l'I().\Ki:i<. I3I
tcct in length. These branches formed a " dra^;," or the letter
V. Now champer the under side of the "drai^" at tlie nose,
where the draft is to be attached, upwards and to a point.
This gives it the shape of a sled runner and allows it to slide
over all obstacles without hindrance. Across the top of the
dray place split planks and fasten them; aflix two stakes at
the rear to prexent the load from slipping off and you have it.
This could be used in all seasons and was niuch more conveni-
ent than the ox sled where the ways were different. On this
the grist was put. the oxen attached, and the jMoneer set out
for the mill, almost through an unbroken wilderness. If tlie
distance was great, rations for himself and team would be
carried. Sometimes the drag would carr}- grists for the entire
neighborhood and the milling would be done by turns.
THE MANUFACTURE OF CLOTHINC;, BOOTS AND SHOES.
A marked change has taken place in everything that apper-
tains to the production of wearing apparel. Such a thing as
ready-made clothing, or even boots and shoes was unknown sixt}'
or seventy years ago. The good housewife received the cloth
for the Winter's clothing (mostly, perhaps, the work of her own
hands) from the fuller and dresser, and then she was ready for the
tailoress, who came and remained until the garments for the
family were cut and made. Their services were always in good
demand during Fall and early Winter. These sewing girls (usu-
ally two worked in company) would cut and fit and ba.ste and
prepare, and then push forward the garments to final completion.
They passed from home to home, and comfort and good cheer
was sure to accompany them. The very nature of their calling
afforded them opjjortunities of becoming well qualified to con-
verse on all subjects of general interest, and rendered them
agreeable and interesting compan\% and their advent in the
family, was hailed, more especialh' by the younger members,
with feelings akin to gratitude; for perhaps it was their skilled
fingers that were to improvise for the first time " those pants,"
and " that roundabout"with caudal appendage, that makes ever\-
bo\- feel that he has reached a certain stage where his impor-
tance is recognized and acknowledged.
Pants and vests were made up for all the male, members of
132 BOOTS AND SHOES FOR THE WINTER.
the family old enough to wear them, and for the father and
young men, these were fashioned according to the prevailing
styles, " cutaways," or else high collared, straight bodied, or
swallow-tailed coats, " all buttoned down before," with metal
buttons which perhaps had done service for several years on
one or more preceding coats. The boys were all provided
with roundabouts of fulled cloth or Linsey-Wolsc}', and fre-
quently with cloth caps of various styles made at home.
And it was the custom in early times to have the itinerant
shoemaker visit the pioneer homes and there to remain and
labor until the family were supplied with boots and shoes.
Generally the pioneer furnished his home for the Winter with
beef of his own raising, and the skins of the animals were usually
taken to the tanner and made into leather upon shares, and fur-
nished the family with boots and shoes. The luxury of wearing
boots was not often indulged in by the boys, but a compromise
was effected and high shoes with knit leggings sufficed for all
occasions, and when attired in these with " roundabout " and
pants to correspond, there was just about as much importance
done up in the small boy of sixty ot seventy years ago as
there is to-day.
The women and girls were supplied with boots make of calf
skin, while boots and shoes for men and boys were made of
cow-hide Sometimes the boots and shoes for the family would
not be made up until after the snow had covered the ground
for several weeks, and a few instances are mentioned when boys
had neither boots or shoes and went without either all Winter,
and even attended school barefooted.
MAKING BLACK SALTS.
In the early settlement of the Holland Purchase, as Western
New York was called, " black salts " was one of the valuable
productions of this portion of the country. As it was for the
most part heavily timbered and the necessity of clearing up the
land for farming purposes furnished wood ashes in abundance.
These ashes were either sold at the ashery and there converted
into potash or were worked up by the owners and made into
"black salts." The ashes were carefully housed, protected from
the wet and put into leaches, made in various ways as the
11
THE BLACK SALTS TRADE.
133
means at the command of the owner's permitted. By a con-
tinuous hberal wetting with water soon the lye began to run,
which was boiled down in iron kettles until it became a mass of
black salts, which had a cash value at the nearest point where an
ashery was located. The money thus obtained was very largely
the only resources from which money could be had by the
early settlers. And not only in the clearing of the farms was
black salts manufactured, but very often, when other employ-
ment was wanting, the new-comer, the mechanic and others, who
MAKING BLACK SALTS.
were not otherwise employed, would go to the nearest un-.
claimed land, cut and burn timber for the ashes it would pro-
duce and make black salts. The ashes from the elm were the
best, sugar maple, beech, birch and other hard wood were next,
while hemlock, pine and other soft wood was nearly useless.
Black salts were manufactured into "pearl ash;" the ashes pur-
chased at the ashery were manufactured into potash, which
were commodities for export and enter largely into the numer-
ous preparations of potash in use for medical and mechanical
purposes at the present da\'. There was a great deal of laborious
134 THE MIRTHFUL HUSKING BEES.
work about this industr}\ as it took twenty bushels of ashes
to produce lOO pounds of salts, and these when hauled to the
market would bring only about $2.50 or at the highest $3.00
per cwt. Great care had to be used in boiling or evaporating
this lye to the proper consistency lest it should be burned,
but, as we said before, it was about the only industry that sold
for cash and early pioneers were compelled to lay by a little
money to satisfy the demands of the tax gatherer.
HUSKINC BEES, APPLE BEES AND QUILTINGS.
When the ripened corn had been cut and marshalled into
shocks, "husking bees" were common to the season. These
gatherings like the other "bees" of pioneer days, were when
the work performed was paramount, and when the honest,
hearty good will of the participants entered largely into the
joy of the occasion. These gatherings were participated in by
nearly all. If the corn was to be husked in the field, prepara-
tion would be made by drawing all the shocks that stood con-
veniently near, around one common center. This formed the
buskers' arena, and here they would assemble upon some moon-
lit night designated, and strip the yellow corn of its covering;,
meanwhile stories would be told, farming discussed and songs
sung. After husking a sufficient amount the host would invite
his guests to the house, where a collation awaited their coming,
consisting of pumpkin pies, doughnuts, cider and cheese.
After doing ample justice to these refreshments, the fragments
would be picked up, chairs and tables would disappear, the en-
livening strains of a violin would fall upon the ear, perhaps in
the " Monnie Musk " or the " Opera Reel." As by instinct, a
new life seemed to possess the buskers: the old forgot their
years and the weary their toils; partners were chosen; two
columns stood facing across the old kitchen floor that were soon
keeping step and time to those grand old melodies, and which
would be kept up until near the hour of morning. If the
husking was to be done indoors, the great threshing floor would
be filled to overflowing with shocks of corn. Chairs would be
furnished the aged and punij:)kins sufficed for seats for the
young, and the work would go on as " merry as a marriage
ell," until the floor was cleared of its burden of shocks, and in
APPLK BEES AND QUII/riNGS. 1 35
tlicir place was a heap of <^oIden cc^rii. The (jld-fashioned tin
hmterns were arran<^cd along the great swing beam, and fur-
nished the workers with light.
One of the first things that occupied the attention of the
pioneer here was the planting of an orchard ; in a few years
these orchards yielded an abundance, and " apple bees " were
in order, and, like the huskings, they brought out a full house.
The fruit would be stored conveniently near and brought into
the old kitchen by the basketful, where an active, busy scene
would be witnessed — some paring, some quartering and coring,
some stringing and all talking, laughing and enjoying them-
selves. Paring machines were not known, and this work was
done with a knife the same as you would pare potatoes to-day.
There is nothing but the stringing that needs an explanation.
The stringer was armed with a long needle, most generally
improvised out of a knitting needle, with an eye large enough
to carry a strong string of linen twine. The needle was held
in the right hand and the quarters were placed upon its sharp
point with the left, and when it was full it was drawn through
the apples, leaving them upon the string as you would string
beads. This operation had to be repeated until the string was
full ; then the ends were tied and it was ready to be hung up to
dry. Most generally this work would continue until the walls
or ceiling of the old kitchen were deeply festooned with the
drying fruit. Then would follow the repast to be closed with
playing or dancing and sometimes both.
Quiltings were fashionable at all times, and differed but ver\-
little from the rest of the merry makings save in this : the mat-
rons and maidens would most generally meet in the afternoon
and the "quilt" would be finished and taken from the frames
before the swains put in an appearance. When this was the
case the dance would commence at early candle light and be
continued for three or four hours; then an intermission of half
an hour or so for rest and refreshments ; the latter would be
passed around, and again on would go the dances, sometimes
closing at midnight and sometimes not until the "dawning of
the day." Sometimes these quiltings forestalled a wedding,
and many of the spectacle-wearing grandamesof this age, though
for them the nightingale's song of love ceased long ago, and
1.0 THE I'RIMITIVE SCHOOL-HOUSES.
the flowers of }'Outh have faded and been swept awa}- , \'et with
them still lingers some of the bright hopes of their sweet
maiden years, and they will pause and ponder with fond recol-
lection at the mere mention of these " merry-makings."
SCHOOLS.
It is a credit that is due to the earl)- pioneer to say that he
realized the benefits to be derived from an education that has
been of vast importance to the succeeding generations, for
whenever there were scholars enough to form a class a school
was organized, a teacher secured and the Summers and Winters
were devoted by the young to acquiring an education. This
was the case in the earliest days of the settlement, and before a
saw-mill had been built. Sometimes the pioneer's humble
abode contained more space than was actually needed b)' tlie
famih', and this was used as a school room. Sometimes the
log barn sufficed for the Summer's term, and sometimes several
terms would be taught in this way before the building cf a
school house or the organization of a school district, and per-
haps in good time a central site would be secured, a day named
when the whole neighborhood would turn out and the body of
a log school house would rise, as by magic, and another day
would witness the covering, and perhaps the labor of another
day would be all that was required to fit it for occupation.
Generally egre.ss was had at one end, while the stick chimne)'
and Dutch fire-place occupied the other. Two or three single
windows (according to the size of the room) on a side admitted
the light ; a single row of desks was arranged along the walls
with benches to correspond. These were occupied by the
older or more advanced scholars, while the inner circle was
occupied by the juveniles on benches to correspond. Perhaps
some patron would supply the teacher with a splint-bottomed
chair, and he or she would keep ward and watch over the
"young idea" from the center of the room.
These teachers were supposed to be proficient in the com-
mon English branches and most all that our venerable ances-
tors knew of these rudiments were acquired in these log school-
rooms.
At times more pains would be taken in the erection of these
KARLV SCHOOL RECORDS. I 37
buil(liiiq;s. Tlic lo^s that were to form the walls were squared
to the desired thickness by scoriiiL;- and hewini^, and when care
was used in jilaciiii;" them into the walls they formed a very
comfortable and substantial building". These were termed
"block houses," and when adorned with brick chimne)'s and
double windows they were cjuite imposin^^ in appearance and
spoke well of the public si)irit and liberality of the patrons.
Just as sooji as sawed lumber could be i)rocured the log school
house was supplanted by the framed one. Those differed but
very little from those of the present, save in the modern im-
provements that ha\-e been made b\- the introduction of the
box stox'c in heatint;" and the patent desks and benches now-
used in the most ot our schools.
The uliool fund at the time we s|)eak w as but a mere pit-
tance, being less than thirt}'-seven cents per scholar, and most
of the teachers' wages were raised by a rate-bill. The teachers
were also required to board around among the patrons of the
school, and the amount of board was regulated by the number
of scholars sent by the several families, and the wood was also
furnished for the school by the patrons in the same manner.
Unfortunateh' we have no records that extend farther back
than 1832-3, and this record is not only worthy of preserva-
tion, as a period in the history of our schools, but it gives us a
true idea of the character and ability of the inen who were the
prominent actors of half a century ago. \V'e give the report
vcrbati}>L, dated I<S33 :
" To the Commissioners of Common Schools of the Town of
Concord: We the trustees of school district number five in
said town in conformity with the statutes for the support of
common schools, do certif\- and report. That the whole time
any school has been kept in our district during the \'ear
ending on the date hereof, and since the date of the last
report, such schools has been kept by teachers duly appointed
and approved in all respects according to law, is seven
months, that the amount of money received in our district
from the commissioners of common schools during the said
year and since said last report is tii<cnty-)ii)ic dollars and fifteen
cents, and that the same has been expended in paying the
wages of teachers, who were duly appointed and approved
i^S
REPORT OF SCHOOr. TRUSTEES.
in all respects according to law. That the number of children
taught in said district during said year and since said last report
is ninety.
" And that the number of children residing in our district on
the first day of Januar}% instant, who are over five and under
sixteen years of age is s ev c tit y -nine, and that the names of the
parents or other persons with whom such children respectively
reside and the number residing with each are as follows, viz.:
NAMES OF PATRONS, NUMBER OF SCHOLARS AND AMOUNT OF
WOOD FURNISHED.
Calvin Blake
Abiel Blodgett. . .
Sylvester Russell . .
Phineas Scott
Enoch Sinclear . . .
— Green
Amasa Loveridge.
James Anthony . . .
George A. Stewart
Jarvis Thompson. .
Orrin Loveridge. .
John House
Harry House
James Flemings..
3
3 !
2 !
4 ii
2 i
2 I
3 i
2
4 |i'
3 ; ;
2
2
4 |i
3 •
Va cord
Ebenezer Blake . . 6
Benjamin Fay. ... 3
Amos Stanbro. . . 5
Ebenezer Ferrin.. 4 i
Printis Stanbro. ..41
Ephram A. Briggs 4 i
Noah Townsend. . i
Constant Trevitt. . 2
Asa Phillips, Jr. . . i
Barzilla Briggs. . . i
Isaac Russell 2
Amasiah Ashman., 4 li
Samuel Twichell.. I 2 I
Metzgar i
!79l
13^ cords
3/ "
" And we further report that our school has been visited by
the Inspector of Common Schools during the year preceding
this report twice, and that the sum paid for teachers' wages
over and above the public moneys apportioned to said district
during the same year amounts to $35.00.
" Dated at Concord the first day of January, in the year of
our Lord one thousand eieht hundred and thirt\--three.
Benjamin Fav, j
Enoch Sinclear, - Trustees.
Amasiah Ashman. \
Noah Townsend, Clerk."
INNOCENT PASTIMES OF LONG A(;o. 1 39
THE SPELLING SCIIOOF,.
There is not one scholar of fifty or sixt\- \'ears ago Hving
to-day but what has a \'ivid recollection of the " spelling
school," and though it was a " long spell " ago, and many a sad
"spell" since then has cast its shadows over the hearts of
scholars and teachers, still these lines will bring to memory one
of the brightest "spells" on life's pathway.
Word had been given out a week or so beforehand. The
invitation was made general, not only to those who belonged
t(^ the district, but those of other districts were welcomed, and
their presence was sure to add greater interest to the occasion.
The elder scholars in several households had been requested to
bring candles to give light while some of the older girls would
stay over to give the school-house an extra sweeping, and to
see also that the fire was kept brightly burning. Their busy
hands were never idle, — the door, the windows and the walls
of the room would be deeply festooned with evergreens that
grew abundant and near, and when the room was all ablaze
with light from the great open fire, and the burning candles
fixed all along the walls, the sight, to the youthful imagination,
was truly enchanting. Then, as the appointed time drew near
and the scholars began to assemble, some on foot and some on
sleds and sleighs, what shouts of joy would greet the ear as
these vehicles drew up to the door and turned out their loads
of happy, merry-hearted boys and girls. These sleds and
sleighs were great institutions of their time, and they performed
an important part in the Winter's merry-makings. Like the
omnibus, there was always room for one more, and upon these
occasions the great box would be filled with clean, bri"-ht
straw, and then they would start out and gather them in as
they passed from house to house until they had reached their
destination. Perhaps the driver wielded an ox gad and the
pace was slow, but it was free from danger and full of innocent
fun. In good time all would be assembled before the great
log fire. Hats and hoods, capes and cloaks, would be placed
upon shelves or hung upon the wall, and after all had become
sufificiently warm, the teacher would step to the desk, the
laughing and talking would cease. Two of the best spellers
were generally selected to choose sides. " Cuts " were drawn
I40 FRIENDSHIPS FORMED AT 'SPELLING SCHOOL.
for the first choice, and the choosers would take their places
on the opposite sides of the room face to face. Then the one
who had won first choice would call out the name of a favorite
speller, and he or she would be marshalled on that side, and
likewise the second choice would be made by the other chooser,
and this alternate choosing would go on until ever}^one
present had been invited to take a part, and two long columns
sat facing each other.
Now some of the spectators present would be chosen to keep
" tally." The master would step to the head, with book in
one hand and candle in the other, a word would be pronounced
to the right, then to the left, and so on, until everyone in the
lines had spelled in turn. A word missed by a speller on the
right, and passed to the left and corrected, was scored a point
for the left. A word missed by a speller on the left, and
passed to the right and corrected, was scored a point for the
right. A word missed on the left, passed to the right and
missed again, and passed back and corrected, was termed
saved and no score made, and vice versa.
What a conflict of emotions filled the hearts of those young
spellers as the words were dealt out right and left. How when
the words grew hard there might have been a little blue-eyed
divinity in pink frock and cheeks in that row of spellers, that
made your boyish heart tremble every time she undertook to
wrestle with a hard word. How you longed to be by her side,
if only to prompt her, for you know there were friendships
formed at those spelling-schools of fifty and sixty years ago
that burn brightl}- to-day, and will continue to burn until the
hands are folded across the peaceful breast, and you feel that
life's brightest spell for you has gone, when these same loving
blue eyes are forever closed.
As the spelling began at " Baker " to give the younger ones
a chance, nearly half the evening has gone. The book is closed
and fifteen minutes are given for intermission, when all is fun
and frolic. Fhe master would snuff the candles and brand up
the fire, aiid at times he too would enter into the merry-mak-
ings. The fifteen minutes are up and teacher and scholars
again take their places, and two more scholars, perhaps
\'ounger. are selected t<^ choose up, and the same programme
i
CONCLUSION OF TIIK SI'KI.I,I\(; MAICFl. I4I
is carried out as before, aiul should it be your fate to be clioseii
next to " your girl," the enjo)"nieiit of the occasion would be
i^reatl)- heightened.
The teacher is perhaps assisted b\- a teacher from some
neighboring school ; or perhaps b}- some competent citizen of
the district present ; or by some one of the more advanced
scliolars, and the spelling would proceed for a while as before,
and the evening's exercises would be brought to a cU^se
by " spelling down."' The. teacher recjuests the school to
rise, and then the spelling proceeds as before, from right
to left, and from left to right, with this difTerence, that
when a scholar missed a wf)rd, they took their seats, and
those only who remained standing continued to spell. The
words simple at first grew harder and harder, and these spellers
go down as grass falls before the mower's scythe, and as the
ranks of the spellers decrease, the interest in the contest
increases ; and so close was the attention, and so great the
interest, that the falling of a pin might have been heard, and
even the trembling limbs and voices of the spellers added
more and more to the intense interest of the occasion. The
master has exhausted all the hard words in the common les-
sons ; the tallow candles burn low; the younger scholars stretch
and yawn in their drowsiness, and the master's voice has a
wear}' husky tone, still the gladiators keep their places. Then
the master closes his book and drops his head as if about
to retire x'anquished, but he was only preparing strateg)' and
he pronounces out a word not found in the spelling-book. The
speller is taken by surprise, and he spells out the word with
trembling and fear. " Next ! " cries the master in a defiant
tone. There is a longer pause ere the next speller attempts
for the letters have got mixed up in the brain and confidence
has fled ; then the word is hesitatingly drawled out. "Wrong ! "
cries the master with nuich relief, as he correctl}- renders the
word. Then school is dismissed and there is a hurrying to and
fro for the wrappings, candles are taken from the walls and
blown out. the sleds and sleighs are read)' at the door to
receive their loads of merry, happy-hearted boys and girls. A
few of the larger lads and lassies linger around the flickering,
dying embers; then the master or some one who has it in
142 thp: sickle and hand-scythe.
charge, covers with ashes the great bed of coals, that will keep
for the morrow's fire, and almost total darkness reigns. Then
there is a low, whispering consultation b}^ the lingerers, and
the shouting waiting loads at the door are told to move on
by these same lingerers as they choose to walk, and the old
school-house that stood on the hill is left to the silent watches
of the night.
REAPING WITH A SICKLE, THRESHING WITH A FLAIL AND
CLEANING GRAIN WITH A HAND FAN.
When the country was first settled farming in its various
branches was conducted in a primitive manner. The machinery
now in use was then unknown, and had it been it would
have been of but very little use to the pioneers, whose fields
were covered with great stumps that required years to decay.
The sickle that had been in use from time immemorial, for
Ruth gleaned in the fields of Boaz after the reapers a thousand
years or more before the Christian era, made its appearance
here with the landing of the pilgrim fathers, and its use had
been indispensable until some "Yankee genius" invented the
hand-scythe or cradle, with bended snath and wooden fingers.
So the sickle here was used by the pioneer fathers to cut all
small or sown grain, such as wheat, oats, barley or rye. It was
similar in construction to the one now in use for cutting grass
from shrubbery, only it carried a fine serrated edge, made by
finely ribbing the lower side of the blade similar to one side of
a mill-file, and only grinding or sharpening it upon the smooth
or upper side.
The skillful reaper would thrust this implement into the grain
with the right hand, which did the most of the gathering ; then
with a dextrous movement of the left, the grain would be'
held bv the thumb and forefinger, the three remaining fingers
falling upon the back of the blade, holding it to its work, while
the implement would be drawn by a quick motion upwards
and to the right and the work was accomplished. Great care
had to be exercised in the use of this implement, for its fine
serrated edge was as keen as a razor's blade, and the novice was
almost certain to receive an ugh- gash on the fingers or ball of
the left hand. The cut grain would be laid to the right rear in
THE RAIM'INC ()¥ THK II. All.. 1 43
" gavels," and these would be bound in bundles and " shocked."
A skillful reaper would cut from a half to an acre per day, and
would handle his sickle with as much dexterit}- as the mower
could swini^ his bended snath.
The threshini^ was chiefly done with a flail upon a threshing
fltior. Wlien the farmers had progressed so far in affluence as
to be able to build a barn, this floor was the main one in the
building. If otherwise, this floor was constructed out of doors
by placing "sleepers" on the ground and covering these with
two-inch plank, the grain stacked conveniently near and the
grain beaten from the chaff and straw with flails. A diligent
man could thresh from twenty to twenty-five bushels of oats
per day, and from eight to ten bushels of wheat, and it might
have been laborious, but it was not an unpleasant occupation
in the cold days of winter where it was performed indoors.
The big barn floor would be made perfectly clean by a free use
of the splint broom; a flooring would be thrown from the scaf-
fold, consisting most generally of twenty-four bundles, these
placed in two swaths across the floor, with the heads of the
grain resting together; then the threshers, for company's sake,
generally two, would step to one end of the flooring, and the
work would begin, one to advance and the other to retreat
across the grain to the alternate music of the flails. Then the
grain would be turned over and another advance and retreat
had across the grain and this flooring was finished. Then
the straw^ was gathered up and the grain carefully shaken from
it, and bound into bundles, the threshed-out grain pushed to
one side and the threshers were ready for another flooring.
Most generally the threshing season would begin at the com-
mencement of cold weather, and would be continued far into
the winter, and the alternate rapping, rapping, rapping of the
flails heard throughout the land from early dawn until evening,
was not disagreeable to the ear, but rather pleasing. Here we
wish to diverge a little and then we are done with threshing.
In these times men would follow some calling and make a
specialty of it, such as "chopping," "logging" or "threshing."
A man b\- the name of Carr, and an original of the times,
moved into the settlement in indigent circumstances. He pro-
fessed to be a great thresher, and talked a great deal of what
J44 CLEANING GRAIN WITH THE HAND-FAN.
he was able to accomplish in this peculiar line. Finally he
took a job of " Square " Frye to thresh out sex-eral hundred
bushels of grain. The first day Carr"s efforts, when measured
up, were very meager, being onh' about one-third what an}-
active man would hax'e accomplished in the same time, and
this fell so far short of Carr's professions and the "'Square's"
expectations that there might have been something said. How-
ever Carr, at the supper table that night, all of a sudden,
dropped his knife and fork, and looking the old man in the face
said, " ' Square,' you need have no fears about my not being
able to thresh your grain ; I shall do a great deal better to-mor-
row, for I have got the hang of your barn." This excited the
old man to a hearty laugh, and ever after if he undertook a task
that did not savor of success, he would always say to those
about him, " Wait until I get the hang of the barn."
As the grain has been cut and threshed, it must be separated
from the chaff by "winnowing" in the wind. This was done
by a "hand-fan," an implement, semi-circular in shape, bottom
composed of thin, light wood, with sides of same material,
about eight inches high. The shape of this fan would be similar
to a large semi-circular dustpan, made of wood, with the handles
on the sides. The operator filled the fan with the grain to be
cleaned, and stood with his back to the wind. Then by a
quick and skillful movement of the fan, the grain would be
thrown into the air, the light chaff caught by the wind and
carried away while the grain would fall back again into the fan,
to have the operation repeated until it was free from all chaff.
A skillful man would clean from thirt)- to fort}' bushels ot
grain per da}- in this manner.
MIMTIA IRAINTNCi.
Although the year 1776 had been numbered v\ ith the [)ast.
and most of the active participants in the stirring events ot
that period in our nation's history-, rested from their toils
" where heaves the turf in man}' a mouldering heap." still that
spirit which formed a lodgment in the hearts of the ]\iritan
Fathers had been transmitted to their descendants, and not onl}-
this, but the Statutes of the State made it imperative on ever}-
male citizen who had attained the age of eighteen years, and
MIIITAKV KECJULATIONS. 145
who was of sound boil}' aiul mind lo do niilitar\' duty until
he had reached the ai^e of forty-five. This law was strictly
enforced and there was no way of evading it unless prevented
by some temporar\- sicknes... The law required that the rank
and file should drill two days in each year. These " drills "
were termed traininy;s, and were held in June and September.
The former was termed comixun- training;-, when only the mem-
bers of eacli individual compan)' a.ssembled and were instructed
in the manual of arms, or the science of war, by the captain,
or his under officers. The latter, or that held in September,
was termed General Training, or more properly General
Muster, when the companies of one or more Regiments, would
assemble upon one common parade ground, and where they
would be under the command of some field officer, accompan-
ied by a full staff.
Aside from these drills there was another drill held by the
officers and musicians in the month of August, and continued
for two days. This was termed an "officer's drill," and most
always the occasion would be honored by the presence of a
Colonel, who with all the rest would appear in full dress, and
as may be readily inferred, this band of plumed heroes were
much ob-served by all the small boys wdio were out in full
attendance. But the day of all others for Young America, and
those who loved the pomp and circumstance of glorious war,
was general muster. The ear-piercing fife and the spirit-stirring
drum would call the a.ssembled hosts to order. Then there
would be a hurrying to and fro on prancing steeds, who at the
sound of fife and drum seemed to possess the military .spirit
and zeal of the occasion, and would proudly keep step and
time to the martial strains, as rank upon rank was being formed
in line Then the officer in com.mand accompanied by his staff
would take charge of the field, and the troops would be drilled
in the manual of arms. These officers would be mounted on
richly caparisoned horses. Their bright uniforms were tasty,
and made of the most costly material ; their flashing sabers
hung from silken sashes; their heavy plumed caps and the
shimmer of their epaulets, reminded one of the splendor of
Oriental pageantry.
Sometime during the da)' the troops would be marshaled into
9
146 ATHLETIC SPORTS — SNOW SHOES.
line where the}- would be reviewed by the Brigade Inspector,
whose duty was to give to each soldier's arms, a personal
inspection.
The day would close with a solemn invocation to the Lord
of Hosts. The troops would be formed into a hollow square,
with the commanding officers and staff in the center, dis-
mounted. Then the Regimental Chaplain would step forth,
arms would be brought to rest and heads uncovered, while the}'
attentively listened to the brief religious exercises, and the
order w^ould be given to break ranks.
WRESTLIN(i.
In early times, the }'oung men at the most of the gatherings
indulged more or less in athletic sports, such as jumping, run-
ning and wrestling. Wrestling was the favorite, as it displayed
the skill, strength and agility of the contestants. A ring would
be formed and two of these modern gladiators would step in.
" Collar and elbow" or " square hold " was the favorite, and a
very exciting and spirited contest would be witnessed, until
one or the other had won a fall, then it was the dut}- of the
defeated to select some wrestler from those present to take his
place in the ring, and the sport would continue, and, as 'before
stated, the result depended on the strength, skill and agility of
the contestants. It has been known for one of these to enter
the ring and by his own personal prowess vanquish all com-
petitors. In such an event, he was accorded the champion, an
honor he had to maintain in all future rings and against all
aspiring competitors.
SNOW SHOES.
Hard as it was and rough as it ma}- appear to us of the pre-
sent day, the life of the pioneer during the long drear}- Winter
was not w-ithout its attractions. The log house had been made
comfortable b\' chinking it with moss and mud. and the great
open Dutch fire-place always lent its welcome cheer. If the
weather was severe the great forests shielded his abode from
the chilling winds that blow now so keenly from the North.
If his larder was supplied with a plenty of breadstuff, an exist-
ance more conducive to robustness, more free from artificial
worries and more hostile to disease in all its forms, cannot be
THE MERRY, OLD-FASIirONED DAN'CES.
^^7
conceived, and it was not witliout its creature comforts either.
What if the Winters w ere loni^ and the snows were deep, his
wood pile was near and in abundance. An liour's chopping or
thereabouts suppHed his stock with plenty of "browse." and if
his store of meat was ji^ettiui^ low, he knew tlie range of the
deer, and deep as the snow was he could reach them on his
trust}' " snow-shoes." These shoes were an indispensable arti-
cle to the earh' pioneer, and were made b\' bendin_L( two sticks
of any strong, fje.xible wood, about half an inch in thickness
and five feet long, as you would shape an ox-bow, by bringing
the ends together and firmh- fastening them. Two of these
formed the skeleton work for a right and left shoe. The skele-
tons were fineh' interlaced with strings of " moose wood." elm
bark, or more often the rawhide of the deer, in ever\- direction.
SNOW SHOES.
Straps were affixed in the center of these shoes similar to those
on skates, and the}' \\'ere read}' for use. These shoes brought
over three superficial feet of surface to the }-ielding snow, and
they enabled the hunter to trax'cl wherex'er he willed without
sinking: man}- times with his trust}- rifle across one shoulder
a deer across the other.
DAXCIXC.
Dancing in early times was a favorite pastime and was more
or less indulged in by old and young. Frequently during the
Winter, as the shadows of cx'ening deepened the gloom of the
forest, a sound of merriment would be heard at the home of
one of the settlers, perhaps on the occasion of a quilting or
148 THE"MONNIE MUSK " AND "SCOTCH REEL."
wedding, that would be kept up until near the hour of morn-
ing. There was a great deal of innocent hearty enjoyment in
one of these old fashioned dances. The old fashioned tunes
were rich in melody and the figures, though not so intricate as
some of the modern dances, yet they were more graceful, and,
perhaps, some might say, moral. The exercises frequently would
begin with the " monnie musk " and close with the " Scotch reel "
or " hunt the squirrel," where all could join in the dance. The
mode of traveling during the Winter through the woods, was
with ox team and sled and horses and sleigh, reference to this
has been made in another place, while in Summer, riding horse
back was common upon such occasions. The saddles of those
times most always had a " pillion," or padded cushion afifixed
to the rear of the seat. The rider would mount and if a part-
ner was to bear him company she took a seat in the rear upon
the " pillion " and away they would gallop through the woods
and "o'er hill and dale," withthegrace and ease of the ancient
cavaliers. Buggies were entirely unknown in those days. If
the occasion was a public dance, upon a holiday, the young
men would assemble three or four weeks previous and choose
three managers, whose duty was to make all the arrangements.
They issued the cards of invitation and no one was entitled to
join the dance unless formally invited. These managers con-
ducted the exercises in every respect ; secured the music, and,
if wines or liquors were to be used, they also obtained these
and fixed the price of admission. The dancing generally com-
menced sometimes in the afternoon and continued until near
morning. The landlord's duty was to furnish supper and a
hall and to see that the teams were properly cared for. The
friendliness and hearty good will existing among the families
of the early settlers added greatly to the interest and enjoy-
ment of the old fashioned pioneer dances.
THE GREAT WOLF HUNT OF 183O.
One of the greatest annoyances to the early settlers, and that
which occupied his night thoughts with the gravest concern,
was the depredations of the wolf upon the sheep fold. These
depredations were always to be found where deer and other game
abounded, and when impelled b}- the pangs of hunger, the
I
WOLVES AMONG THE SHEEP. I49
blood}- instinct of the cowardly animal was brought out in all
ferocity and a pack of them became a dangerous foe to man or
beast. They usually betook themselves to the fastness of some
great forest, where they would lay concealed until night had
drawn her sable curtain and then they would sally forth, and
woe unto the luckless farmer who had neglected to have his
sheep safe in the fold — for a bloody field of carnage would meet
his gaze the next morning — sheep with their throats torn open,
sheep with their sides bitten through, their vitals laid bare, and
their entrails dragging upon the ground ; some dead and some
in the last agonies of dissolution. This particular field might
be but a small part of the bloody work done that night, and
the day would perhaps bring the news that the floocks for
miles around had suffered from these same blood-thirst}' fleet-
footed marauders. Of course, this general slaughter of the
flocks aroused a just indignation in the breasts of the farmers,
and, on this particular occasion (1830), it was resolved upon to
turn out and surround them in their lair. Their retreat was
known to be in the west woods, a tract of land lying west and
northwest of Morton's Corners, some three miles square, extend-
ing north and south from the Morton's Corners road that leads
due west into Collins, to the old Genesee road three miles
north, and thence running west on these respective roads about
three miles, making an unbroken wilderness of about twelve
miles in circumference. This tract embraced the Reaver Mead-
ows and all that now known as New Michigan, which was at
that time very densel}- timbered. A day was designated and
word sent to the people of Concord, Collins and North Collins,
and they did not require a second bidding, but at the time
named, came flocking in b}' the scores. Leaders were chosen,
the territory in question surrounded, and the siege began from
all quarters, the objective point being the Beaver Meadow.
The lines were formed and those who carried arms were placed
in shooting range of each other. Horns were used as signals
and cow bells indicated the line of march, and every inch of
the ground was carefully patrolled, but for some cause no wolf
scalp was secured. The onl}- man that secured any trophy
that day was Windsor King. The noise startled a big buck
and he undertook to run the guard, but was " caught on the
1^0 DRIVING STOCK TO MARKET.
fly" and killed dead by King's unerring aim. It was claimed
by some that the wolves ran the guard on the south side and
made good their escape into the Otto woods. Be this as it
may, there was something at that time that gave them a terri-
ble fright tor they have never disturbed the flocks here since.
As to the numbers that were present at this hunt it has been
variously estimated, but it is safe to say that there were between
five and six hundred. The author, then twelve years of age,
was there.
DROVES AND DROVERS.
It is not more than thirty-five or forty years ago, since our
highways and thoroughfares used to teem with great herds of
horses, cattle, sheep and hogs. These " droves," as they were
usually termed, were mostl}' bred west of here and were
bought up by the local and eastern dealer, and driven hun-
dreds of miles to market, weeks being consumed on the way.
Of those who drove from this town we remember the names
of Augustus G. Elliott, John Van Pelt, Seth W. Godard, Geo.
Richmond and Aimer White, &c. At times as high as two or
three hundred head of cattle would be contained in one drove and
would require the assistance of three or four men to take charge
of them. Usually the proprietor would be mounted and as
the day waned he would gallop in advance and look out for a
stopping place for the night. The most favorable times for
"driving" was after the haying season had passed, as the
" rowen " or " aftermath " on the meadows, afforded the travel-
worn stock a fresh and bountiful repast for the night. Fifteen
and twenty miles a da)' would be usuall}' made by the cattle
droves, while those whose droves were made up exclusively of
horses and mules nearly double that distance would be accom-
plished. If the drove were hogs, usuall)' a team would accom-
pany them and feeci would sometimes be carried from one
station to the next one ahead, but as a general rule the farmers
along the way were abundantly able to entertain man and beast
for one night. Sheep would be driven in herds of several
hundred and after driving a da)' or so, they would become so
tractable that two men and a shepherd dog would take charge
of the largest flocks. Usually the drove would be supplied with
HUNTING I-'OR THE LOST CTHLD. ' 151
one " bell weather," which took the lead and the rest were cer-
tain to follow. After the introduction of steam and the advent
of the stock car, a great change has taken place in supplying
the Eastern markets with stock. Hardly as many hours are
now required under the new order of things as days were con-
sumed under the old.
THE LOST HOY.
Some time in the Fall of 1828 or '29, Arey Smith, a farmer,
lived on a farm south of the Jones place, some three miles south
of Springville, across the Cattaraugus creek. His family con-
sisted of a wife and a son by another woman, a bright little lad
some ten years old. The story goes that the last that was seen
of the boy his stepmother sent him with a basket to the log-
ging field where his father and several men were at work. His
basket was afterwards found on the way, but never after was a
trace of the missing boy found. "One touch of nature makes
the whole world kin," and when it became known that a little
boy was missing the great public heart for many miles around
was touched, and men came in from all directions to join in
the search. By sunrise on the following day the child hunters
were formed in line and the search began and extended for
man)' miles and was continued for more than a week. Every
conceivable spot and place where the boy might be concealed
was closely examined. It was understood that should any
traces of the lost one be found a signal should be given by the
firing of a gun. One day the welcome signal was heard, and
soon the cry of "child found" was raised, and the hunters
rushed to headquarters ; but it was a mistake due to one of the
searcher's over zeal, taking the tracks of a young bear for
those of the missing child. It is said that the search was so
thorough that all the missing cow-bells were found. The shores
of the streams were examined for ten or fifteen miles for the
foot-prints of the little wanderer, but without avail. In the
course of time, everybody gave up the search as hopeless, and
many theories were advanced concerning his disappearance.
Some held that the little boy had been stolen by the
Indians ; others that he had fallen a prey to the ravenous
appetites of wild beasts; while suspicion pointed strongly to
152 LARGE FLOCKS OF WILD PIGEONS.
Smith or his wife or both as the ones responsible for his dis-
appearance. Be this as it ma}-, the father and mother have
long been dead, and the grave has set its seal forever on the
solution of this mystery.
PIGEONS.
In early times every year that the beech forests produced
their fruit, this bird flocked here in countless numbers and they
were hailed as were the quail by the famishing Israelites in the
wilderness. Their nesting grounds and roost were chosen in
the fastness of the great forest, awa)' from the settlers. To-
wards evening they would commence winging their way from
their feeding grounds to the roost and for hours one ceaseless
stream of birds would pour into this retreat. After dark the
hunter \\ould repair to this ground armed with a shot gun and
in a very short time he could secure more than he could carry
away by a promiscuous firing into the tops of the trees. Those
who had nets and a tame pigeon for a deco}-, secured them
alive by the thousand. During the nesting season the old
birds became a great pest to the settler as they were sure to
forage upon the crops of early-sowed grain. The Indians used
to secure them in great numbers b)- watching the nesting
grounds and just before the young bird had learned to use its
wings, they would camp upon these grounds and make a gen-
eral harvest. The pigeon roost at night was a wild and weird
field of action and excitement, especially after the hunters (I
have known five and six different parties in the same woods at
once) had begim to stir them up all over the nesting grounds
by the noise and blaze of their guns. The woods were literally
alive with them and a light would be instantly extinguished by
the current of air set in motion by the m}-riad of wings. These
birds would rise with the morning sun above the tops of the
trees and wing their way for miles and miles out to the feeding
grounds. The noise they made when leaving the roost resem-
bled that of distant thunder or the roar of mighty waters, and
so dense would be their flight at times that the sun for many
minutes would be hid as beneath a cloud. At one time they
nested on the Buttermilk; another, between Frye hill and Mor-
ton's creek. One year upon the Smith brook, and again in
THE BOUNTIFUL HARVEST, ETC. 1 53
tlic north [)art of the town, west of the Eighteen mile creek.
Tlie}- also nestetl in tlie Otto woods.
•rnANKS(;rviNG.
The pioneers of these towns were mostly from New Eng-
land and came of Puritan stock, and they observed Thanks-
giving day to a considerable extent after the manner of their
forefathers, and although the fields did not, in every instance,
produce in fruit and grain in such abundance as they might
desire, still the early settler felt when the harvest moon waned
that there was a great deal in his wilderness home to be grate-
ful for. The seed that he had planted and sowed on his newly
cleared grounds had not been barren of results. Health and
strength had been vouchsafed during seed-time and harvest,
and he could look forward to the coming winter and feel
assured that his wx'll-garnered store was abundant and as the
appointed day drew near when the grateful hearts join in a
general thanksgiving to Him who causeth the out-going of the
morning and maketh the evening rejoice, and "who appointeth
the seed-time and the harvest," appropriate preparations were
made for its observance. It was a season when the family
circle and kindred were expected to meet beneath some famil\-
roof-tree and there to partake of the bounty of the land.
The out-door oven was made to contribute its share of good
things in the way of cakes, puddings and the immortal pump-
kin pie, while the great open fire-place with its back-log and
fore-stick piled high with beech and maple not onh' sent out
its welcome and ruddy cheer but its broad and open bosom
was made the receptacle for various dishes that needed the
generous heat to prepare them for the feast. Fhe iron dinner-
pot hung from the chain or trammel on the lug-pole and boiled
and bubbled while the tea-kettle simmered and sung in the
corner and by its side was the earthern or Britannia tea-pot in
readiness to dispense " the bcxerage that cheers but not ine-
briates."
Rut the crowning glory of all and that which occupied the
good wife's greatest care was the roasting turkey that was sus-
pended by a string in front of the fire and so near that in the
course of two or three hours, by continual turning and basting.
154 THE THAXlCSGIVlXd DIXXER.
it was ready for the table. A dripping-pan was placed on the
hearth beneath the turkey and a ladle or a large spoon length-
ened by the addition of a wooden-handle, was used to dip the
gravy from the dripping-pan and pour it over the turkey as it
was constantly turned by the string.
When all was in readiness, and with appetites made keen with
waiting, around the generous board were gathered old and
young and a bountiful dinner was enjo)'ecl. After which per-
haps pipes and tobacco for the aged would be introduced and
the day would be passed in social intercourse, and we young-
sters of fifty or sixt}' years ago always felt like blessing
the man who first invented roast turke\'s and Thanksgi\'ing
dinners.
The following lines, describing the accidental meeting of a
family, although penned many years after the scenes described
above were enacted, are eminent!}' fitting and suggesti\e of the
old-time Thanksgiving re-unions:
We are all here I
Father, Mother,
Sister, Brother,
All who hold each other dear.
Each chair is filled—we're all a/ home !
To-night let no cold stranger come ;
It is not often thus around
Our old familiar hearth we're found ;
Bless, then, the meeting and the spot ;
For once be every care forgot ;
Let gentle Peace assert her power,
And kind Affection rule the hour ;
We're all — all here.
We're not all here !
Some are away — the dead ones dear,
Who thronged with us this ancient hearth,
And gave the hour to guiltless mirth.
Fate, with a stern, relentless hand,
Looked in and thinned our little band ;
Some like a night-fiash passed away,
And some sank, lingering, day by day :
The quiet grave-yard — some lie there —
And cruel Ocean has its share —
We're tiot all here.
" we'rk ai.l— ALi, Hp^.rk." 155
We on- all here !
Even they— the dead— though dead, so dear •
Fond Memory, to her duty true,
Brings back their faded forms to view.
How life-like, through the mist of years,
Each well-remembered face appears I
We see them as in times long past.
From each to each kind looks are cast ;
We hear their words, their smiles behold,
They're round us as they were of old —
We are all here.
We are all here !
Father, Mother,
Sister, Brother,
You that I love with love so dear.
lliis may not long of us be said ;
Soon must we join the gathered dead ;
And by the hearth we now sit round.
Some other circle will be found.
Oh ! then, that wisdom may we know,
Which yields a life of peace below ;
So, in the world to follow this,
May each repeat, in words of bliss:
We're all — all Jiete !
156 CHRISTOPHER STONE AND OTHERS.
CHAPTER XV.
HISTORY OP CONCORD.
The First Settlers — Land Sales — The First Deed — Early Roads — The First Set-
tlers on Each Lot — Hotels, Mills aid Manufactories — Professional Men,
Merchants, Traders and Mechanics— '' Fiddlers Green" — Mails, Mail
Routes and Post-Offices— Land Owners in 1S45— Concord's Soldier
Record — Churches — Societies — Springville Academy — Schools and
Teachers— Miscellaneous.
THE FIRST SETTLERS OF CONCORD.
This honor belongs to Christopher Stone, and, although the
author has made diligent research for records concerning the
birth, nativity and early histor)' of the man, still his efforts
have been in vain and from whence he came or whither he went
is an unsolved mystery. The records of the Holland Land
Company show that Christopher Stone, on the 2nd day of De-
cember, 1807, articled lot 3 containing 357 acres, also on the
same day articled lot 9 containing 245 acres, and on the follow-
ing day, December 3d, articled lot 14 containing 185 acres, all of
T. 6, R. 6. The greater portion of the Village of Springville is
located on the two former lots. His cabin was on Buffalo
street, on a lot now owned and occupied by William Joslyn,
and stood very near the latter's residence. Stone must have
sold the north part of lot 3 to John Albro prior to 1810, on
which the latter built a log house and barn, for, in the Summer
of 1 8 10, we learn that the said barn was used as a school room.
The south part of lot 3 was sold to Rufus Eaton, and posses-
sion was given in the Spring of 18 10. After selling out here.
Stone did not remain but a short time. In the Summer of
18 10, he lived up b\' the big spring and his children attended
.■!.chool. His son, Lucius, was the first white child born in the
town. It is conceded by all that John Albro was the next set-
tler, and that Stone and Albro with their families, were the sole
inhabitants that passed the Winter of 1807 in the Town of
THE FIRST CHRISTIAN I5URIAI.. 157
Concord. Tlic imagination of the reader will naturally turn
back to that period in our histor\-, to these pioneer families
and their immediate surroundings. It was fully ten miles to
the nearest settlement and the way was rendered almost im-
passible by the snows of Winter and the obstacles to be sur-
mounted in journeying through an unbroken wilderness. And,
again, will the reader's thoughts go back to the infant settle-
ment on the following Summer, when death, the unwelcomed
guest at all seasons and places, had invaded the home of John
Albro, and rendered it desolate by removing his wife. The oc-
casion of that burial in the woods must have been one of ex-
treme solemnity, as the hardy pioneers who had come from a
distance, gathered around that cofifined form and bore it away
to rest beneath the deep shadows of the mighty forest. This
was the first Christian burial in the town. In the Fall of 1808.
the population of the new settlement was augmented by the
families of Deacon John Russell and Samuel Cochran. The for-
m-cr articled the whole of lot i, upon which he built a log cabin.
This stood on the northeast corner of the lot north of Franklin
street, near where it turns to the northwest up the hill. Samuel
Cochran articled one hundred acres on the south part of lot 2.
His cabin stood on the north part of his claim, at the foot of
the hill near Miss Goddard's residence. Albro went east and
the families of Stone, Cochran and Russell were the only inhabi-
tants in the town in the Winter of 1808. From 1808, up to the
declaration of war, 1812, settlers came in cjuite fast and we find
by the records and by further investigation, that previous to the
first of January, 181 5, about eighty-five settlers had located in
the present limits of the Town of Concord (although some of
them did not remain permanently) but the list on the following
page docs not include their families.
158
KAMES OF THE FIRST SETTLERS IN CONCORD.
NAMES OF PERSONS SETTLING PREVIO
IN SPR.INGVILLE.
Christopher Stone
John Albro.
Samuel Cochran.
Joseph Yaw.
Rufus Flaton.
David Stickney
David Leroy.
Isaac Knox.
Samuel Burgess
EAST AND NORTHEAST OF
SPRINGVH-LE.
Chris. Douglas.
Benj. Douglas.
Asa Cary.
Joshua Mathewson.
Hale Mathewson.
Xoah Culver.
Deacon Jennings.
James Bascom.
Benjamin Gardner. James Henman.
Elijah Perigo. .Doctor Rumsev.
David Stannard.
Jery L. Jenks.
Wm. Wright.
Nathan King.
Almon Fuller,
SOUTH OF THE VILLAGE.
ON THE CREEK.
David Shultus.
George Shultus.
William Shultus.
Moses White.
Frances White.
Truman White.
Enoch Chase.
Abner Chase.
Henry Hackett.
IN THE NORTHWEST COR-
NER OF THE TOWN.
Isaiah Pike.
James Pike.
Lewis Trevitt.
John Ures.
Je.ssie Putnan.
Thos. M. Barrett.
Reuben Metcalf.
Sylvenus Kingsley.
Comfort Knapp.
Arad Knapp.
NORTH OF SPRtN(;V(LLE.
Giles Churchill
Luther Curtis.
Luther Hibbard.
John Drake.
Jacob Drake.
Elijah Dunham.
Seneca Baker.
Benj. C. Foster.
ON TOWNSEND HILL.
Jonath'n Townsend
Uzial Townsend.
Amaziah Ashman.
Benjamin Fay.
Solomon Field.
James Stratton.
Samuel Stewart.
Thomas McGee.
IN THE CHAFFEE NKIGH-
RORHOOD.
Julius Bement.
Elihu Bement.
us TO JAN. I, 1815.
j IN THE COOPER NEIGH-
BORHOOD.
I Samuel Cooper.
Smith Russel.
i Cary Clemens.
< James Brown.
Obadiah Brown.
Channing Trevitt.
James Armisteatl.
j John Clemens.
I Isaac Lush.
Hira Lush.
Ezra Lush.
Daniel Lush.
Capt. J. Hanchett.
NORTH PART OF TOWN ON
EIGHTEEN MILE CREEK.
Lyman Drake.
Geo. Killom.
James Thurber.
NORTHWEST UF VILLAGE.
John Russell.
Gideon Parsons.
Mr. Stevens.
DOWN THE CREEK SOUTH-
WEST OF SPRINCIVILLE.
Wm. Smith.
Elijah Pamenter.
Luther Pratt.
NICHOLS CORNERS.
Sylvenus Cook.
Nehemiah Paine.
NORTHEASTERN PART OF
TOWN.
There were no set-
tlers in this part of
the town.
THE EAKLV LAND r)WM:RS.
'59
NAMES OF PERSONS BUYING LAND FROM THE HOLLAND
COMPANY.
The followini; tables show the name of each person who
boui^lit land of the Holland Comi^an)' within the limits of the
present Town of Concord, the number of the lot, the number
of acres purchased, ;ind the price paid :
TOWNSHIP SIX, RANGE SIX.
NAME.
Christopher Stone .
Christopher Stone.
Christopher Stone .
(rcorge Richmond .
Samuel Cochrane. .
Joseph Yau
John Russell
Benjamin Douy;lass
Calvin Doolittle. . .
David Shultus. . . .
.Vpollos Hitciicock
Moses White
Klihu Bement
.Vlmon Fuller
Isaac Knox
Cijors^'e Shuhus . . .
Truman White. . . .
Moses White
\o.ih Culver
Samuel Burgess...
Rufus Eaton
Hale Mathewson. .
(ieorge Richmond.
(Oliver Dearth
.\lva Plumb
Benjamin Rhodes.
Benjamin Rhodes.
Luther Austin . . . .
Alva Plumb
.Moses Wiiite
-Silas Rushmore. . .
William Weeden . .
1807.
1807,
1807,
1807,
1 80S,
1808,
1 80S,
1 809.
1809,
I8I0,
1810.
I8IO,
I8I0,
I8I0,
i8ro.
I -^lo
1 8 10,
1810,
1811,
1811.
1812.
18 1 3.
1813.
1 8 14.
1815.
1815,
1815.
1 8 1 5 .
181 5,
1 8 16,
18 16,
1820.
DAri:.
Dec. 2..
Dec. 2. .
Dec. 3..
Dec. 22
June 8..
June 8. .
Sept. I .
June 3..
June [2
June 8..
June 8. .
June 28
Sept. 1 1
Sept. 28
Oct. 16.
Oct. 29.
Dec. 3 1 .
Dec. 3 1 .
Sept.25
Dec. 31
July 12.
Oct. 27.
Nov. 12
Dec. 7..
Mar. 20
July 6..
Oct. 14.
Oct. 24.
Nov. 9 .
Sspt. 17
Oct. 19.
Mar. 16
LAinD.
' 0 • •
19...
1 14..
1 23 & 24
S pt 1 2 .
n pt 1 2 .
1 I
1 4 & 10..
1 20
[ 22
1 21.! ...
1 18
n pt 1 II
I25
n pt 1 8. .
1 19
1 16
1 17
s-w p 1 5 .
w pt 1 8 .
s-e pt 1 8
s-e pt 1 5
n-e pt 1 5
sptl7..
w pt 1 7 .
n pt 1 7. .
1 12
s pt 1 II
cKin pt 1 3
s-w pt 1 8
1 15
s-e pt 1 13
s-wpt 1 1 3
Acres
357
Price
1
$715
254
490
185
257
370
643
100
200
247
266
523
494
556
1086
150
375
140
350
125
312
128
320
150
375
157
393
150
375
126
315
135
337
'57
397
125
343
1 10
45
300
136
113
76
339
288
100
325
100
75
60
325
262
240
'50
577
91
loS
341
488
100
82
450
369
1
Pau)
Down.
$3600
4 00
15 00
34 00
10 00
' 5 75
I 00
12 00
1875
12 GO
16 GO
16 GO
19 GO
2G GG
19 GG
16 GG
17 GG
17 GO
17 GO
15 GO
17 GO
17 GO
9 GG
16 GO
16 GO
13 00
12 GO
28 GO
17 GO
24 GO
22 GO
15 GO
i6o
NAMES OF PERSONS BUYING LAND
* By Deed . But very few of the old settlers took deeds of their land al the time of pur-
chase, but took instead a contract, or, as it was then called, an " article," by which they were
allo.ved to pay for their land in six equal annual installments, after which they received a
deed. It was the custom, however, of the Holland Company to give a second article al the
end of the six years if any of the money remained unpaid, providing^ there was a prospect of
its being finally paid.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN. RANGE SIX.
Namk.
Luther Hibbard
John Albro
Ehjah Dunham
Jedediah Cleveland.. .
Gideon Parsons
James Vaughan
Samuel Cooper
Benjamin Foster
Seneca Baker
Philip Van Horn
John McAllister
Luther Curtis
*Luther Curtis
Josiah Fay
Jonathan Townsend . .
Benjamin Fay
Fred. Richmond
William Wright
Benjamin Sibley &
Joshua Agard
David Cunningham. . .
James Miller
Samuel Bunnell
Calvin Warren
Timothy Moors
William Smith
Calvin Warren
Ebenezer Ferrin
David Leroy
David Leroy
Orrin Sibley
Giles Churchill
James Downs
Simeon Bishop, jr. .. .
Luther Landon
William Southworth . .
1807,
1808.
1808,
1808,
1808,
1809,
1 809,
I8I0.
1 8 10,
1810,
1 8 10,
1810,
1810,
1810,
1810,
1811,
1812,
1815,
1815,
1815,
1815,
1815,
1815,
181 I,
1815,
1815,
1815,
1816,
i3i6,
1816,
1816.
1816,
1816,
1816,
1816,
Date.
Dec. 2.
Jan. 14
Jan. 14
Aug. 2-]
Nov. I
Oct. I I
Oct. I 1
Mav 3.
May 3.
June 19
Aug. I.
Aug. 31
Aug. 31
Oct. I .
Oct. I .
Nov. 9
May 6.
May 9.
May 15
May 15
May 23
June 5
Sept. 3(
Nov. 4
Oct. 30
Oct. 30
Nov. 28
Mar. 12
Mar. 12
April 25
Oct. 26.
Aug. I .
Oct. 23.
Oct. 28.
Oct. 26.
La.M).
n pt 1 41
s pt 1 50
n pt 1 50
1 49 ... .
157....
I25....
l33--..
\\ pt 1 5 I
e pt 1 5 I
w pt 1 58
1 28 ..^. .
n pt 1 42
s pt 1 42.
159---
1 60 ... .
e pt 1 58
w pt 1 27
e pt 1 34
1 63 ... .
e pt 1 64
w pt 1 56
s pt I 35
1 54 ■ • • •
w pt 1 26
pt I34..
n pt 1 62
wpt 1 52
n pt 1 35
e pt 1 36
s pt 1 55
s pt 1 41
1 29 ... .
e pt 1 26
w pt 1 47 .
pt 1 56 . . .
AcuES. Price
165
165
341
300
360
374
252
100
145
350
273
100
301
293
145
120
100
295
266
200
100
366
100
100
100
!20
100
100
100
60
376
245
125
100
$666
330
' 330
; 683
600
720
i 748
I 567
22--,
326
:. 787
682
200
752
732
, 435
360
325
I 958
734
I 700
i 350
1 1 260
300
375
350
450
375
375
400
; 285
. 846
1102
562
450
FROM THE II(M,I,AM) COMPANV.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN. RANGE SIX— Coniinuec/.
l6l
Namk.
Jcdcdiah Cleveland. . .
C}'rus Cliene\'
ICphraim Need ham . . .
William Chapin
William Yaw
John Pratt
John Rector
Abraham Middaugh. .
Christopher Douglas . .
Sillick Canfield
Aaron Cole
William Southworth, jr
Nathan Goddard
E. A. Briggs
David Smith
Stephen Pnitt
Date.
Land.
Orrin Sible\- !
Reuben Thurber [
Ethan Fember
Sala W. Barnes
Prentis Stanbro. .'....]
Henry J. Vosburg. . . .
Calvin Smith
Jonathan Mayo j
Elam May
Andrew Pember
Sala W. Barnes
Henr)' Ingalls
William Wright
William A. Calkins. . .'
W. Smith
Josiah Wheeler
Constant Trevett
Jonathan Griffith
S\-lvester Frink
Jabez &HoratioChapin
Franklin Twichcll ....
Robert Flint
Ezra & Homer Barnes
Hezekiah Griffith
William Baker
lO
8i6
817
817
817
817
817
817
817
817
818
818
819
819
820
822
823
824
826
827
827
828
828
828
828
828
828
828
828
829
829
829
828
830
S31
«^3>
831
832
832
832
8^,2
Aug. 7 . .
April 14
June 5 . .
June 16.
July 17..
Aug. 5 . .
Oct. 8. . .
Nov. 29.
Dec. 24.
May. 29,
Jan. 31.
Feb. 26
Nov. 5 .
Oct. 2. .
Oct. I . .
May 22
Sept. 23
Sept. 9.
Ma}' 8. .
June 10
Mar. SI.
Mar. 24.
Mar. 24.
Mar. 24.
Mar. 12.
Mav 13.
Oct. 15.
Dec. 5 .
April 21
Oct. 10.
Dec. 25.
Dec. 25.
Oct. 7.".
Sept. 2S
Mrv 16.
Feb. 24.
April 23
Feb. 10.
Feb. ]0.
Dec. 3 I .
Dec. I 7.
Acres. Price
w pt 1 1 8 . .
pt I35....
pt 1 45 . . . .
pt I45. ...
n pt 1 39 . .
pt 1 47 . . . .
n pt 1 40. . .
w pt 1 34 . . .
pt I35
n i)t 1 46. . .
pt 1 46
e pt 1 56. ..
n pt 1 26 . . .
e pt 1 68 . . .
pt I45
1 13,30, 31 &
pt 1 39 . . .
s-e pt 1 55..
pt 1 46
n pt 1 56. . .
n-w pt 1 39 .
n-w pt I 43. .
s-w pt 1 29 .
pt 1 43
pt 1 43
e pt 1 44. . .
n-w pt 1 64 .
pt 1 40
.s-w pt 1 64 .
n-e pt 1 29 . .
pt 1 56 ,
n-e pt I34. •!
e pt 1 56. . .i
n-w pt 1 60.
n-w pt i 37 .
pt 1 46 . . ^. . .
pt 1 45
s pt 1 6 1 . . . .
pt 1 39
n i)t 1 32 . . .
n pt I38...'
pt 1 37 ;
260
100
100
1 00
100
100
100
155
78
100
100
90
50
123
100
1391
50
50
50
100
100
94
50
75
50
50
50
54
90
50
50
90
50
60
50
100
75
164
100
116
50
800
450
450
475
475
475
455
738
390
475
475
427
226
525
475
3823
275
225
225
500
400
376
200
300
200
200
200
216
352
225
i 212
I 382
217
240
200
420
300
664
448
537
, 200
l62 NAMES OF PERSONS HUVING LAND
TOWNSHIP SEVEN. RANGE SlX — ConUnmc/.
Name.
Purroy Wilson
George D. Williams. . .
Elijah B. Williams.. . .
John Wilson
Abel Merryman
Caleb Abbott
Frances Ferren
William Judd
Milan Holly
* William Judd
James L. Bacon
Smith & Horatio Buys
Richard Luddick
Jesse Ferren
Samuel Haines
Bela Graves
Silas Wheelock
John Griffith
William Smith, jr
William Smith, jr
William Griffith
William Field
William Olin
*Sylvester Abbott . . .
Arnold Cranston '
Joseph Cottrell I
John Cottrell
John Philips
Peter Kinner
Abram Gardinier
Sylvester Abbott
Calvin Smith >
Samuel A. Jocoy
David Campbell
Prentis Stanbro
Edward Cram
Henry Akely
David Meeker
Henry J. Vosburg. . . .
*Rebecca Putnam ....
Barney Graff ]
E. A. Briggs
832
832
832
832
832
832
832
833
833
833
833
833
833
833
833
833
833
833
834
834
834
835
835
835
835
836
836
836
836
836
836
836
836
836
836
837
837
837
837
837
839
841
Date.
P\'b. 10 .
Feb. 24 .
Feb. 24 .
Feb. 24 .
Aug. 1 1 .
Jan. 31 . .
Dec. 18 .
July 20. .
July 20. .
July 8...
Nov. 8. .
Nov. 8 . .
Nov. 8. .
Dec. 17 .
Dec. 18 .
Jan. 14. .
Feb. 8. .
May 22..
May 21..
Jan. 8. . .
Dec. 25 .
Jan. 22 . .
Dec. 30 .
May 5...
June 16
Sept. 16.
Sept. 16.
Oct. 6.. .
Oct. 6...
Sept. 13.
Dec. I . .
Dec. 31..
Dec. 6. . .
Dec. 6. . .
Oct. 13. .
Nov. 13.
Jan. 6. . .
Aug. 1 1 .
April 12
June 19..
Feb. 2.. .
Mar. 10.
pt 1 40 .
pt 1 40.
pt 1 40. .
pt 1 40. .
pt 1 40. .
w pt 1 48
s-e pt 1 29 .
n-\v pt 1 31
s-w pt 1 3 1 .
w pt 1 32
pt 1 32..
pt 1 32. .
pt 1 32 . .
pt 152..
w pt 1 36
w pt 1 38
ptl38. ...
s-e pt 1 38.
ptl 44. ...
s-\v pt 1 75
s-\v pt 1 38.
s-w pt 1 62
pt 1 29. .
ptl 56..
pt 1 44. .
pt 130..
e pt 1 30
s e pt 1 3 1 .
s e pt 1 62.
n w pt 1 29
n e pt 1 55
n e pt 1 43
n e pt 1 44
s e pt 1 44
w pt 1 44.
pt 1 36. . . .
n w pt 1 61
pt 1 36. .
pt 1 57-
pt 1 37-
pt 1 37-
pt 1 53-
50
50
50
58
100
47
66
34
50
50
100
56
60
100
62
100
3f
qo
45
67
50
47
90
120
100
100
50
98
94
100
96
70
70
100
59
50
100
50
50
50
75
FROM rilH HOl.LAXl) COMPANY.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, RANGE ^\\—Conli,nuJ.
163
Name.
Date.
1 84 1, Mar. 10..
1 84 1, Oct. 23..
1 841, Nov. I . .
1837. Jan. 5...'
Lanu.
Acres.
Price
Albert Sliippy
Edward (loddard
Henry Dye
Wheeler Drake
spt I 53...
pt 1 53----
pt 1 61
w pt 1 47 . .
90
50
25
125
451
250
100
TOWNSHIP SIX, RANGE SEVEN.
Ephraim Hall
Ahaz Allen
Peter Pratt
Amiah Rogers
Geori^e Hicks
Nathan Hicks
Jessee F"rye
Enoch N. Frye
Simeon Bishop, jr . . . .
David Bowen
Zina Fenton
Moses M. Frye
Jeremiah Richardson.
Elijah Richardson. . .
Chandler C. Foster. .
Day Knii^ht
John Battles
Simeon Holton
Alanson Richardson.
Price F. Kellogi,^
Nathaniel Knight ...
Simeon Holton
Elijah Richardson.. .
Stephen Kni^^ht
Jeremiah Richardson
James Field
Joshua Steele
Enoch X. I'Vye
Elias Van Camp
Elijah Richardson . . . .
J essee Frye
Giles H. Newton
Jeremiah Richardson
James Tyrer
809
8 10
811
811
815
815
816
817
816
823
821
825
815
815
816
816
815
823
823
815
<^23
815
816
816
827
830
831
«32
«34
829
835
835
'^35
«35
May 2 .
Dec. 3 .
Oct. 8..
Jan. 19.
Feb. I T
1-^eb. 1 1
July II.
Oct. 31 .
Sept. I .
July 1 1.
Dec. 24.
Dec. 13
Nov. 28
Nov. 28
Aug. 27
Aug. 13
Oct. 26.
Mar. 10
June 1 1
April 17
Aug. 14
Dec. I 5
July 15-
Sept. 20
Jan. 10.
Sept. 7.
Aug. 19
Feb. 21.
Oct. 25.
Dec. 24
July 28.
April 15
May 2..
Sept. 2 .
D/
1 56
1 58
1 46
e pt
I 47
148
^\' pt I 49
pt 1 49 . . .
1 59
1 60
pt 1 49 . .
w pt 1 61
s-e pt 1 9 1
e pt 1 91
pt 1 81 .
n pt 1 8 1
n pt 1 82
pt 1 8 1 .
s pt 1 81
n pt 1 72
pt 1
pt 1
pt 1
spt
pt 1
pt 1
pt 1
pt ■
81 .
90.
90.
I 90
91.
49-
82.
62.
w pt 1 73
n-e pt 1 9
pt 1 62.
w pt 1 89
w pt 1 91
pt 1 89.
114
79
102
50
138
175
100
150
172
159
70
75
100
100
100
100
140
50
65
160
60
120
100
142
50
50
50
75
50
55
50
75
80
60
342
357
150
517
656
400
750
688
686
315
300
350
350
400
400
490
200
260
520
240
420
400
603
200
200
200
300
200
220
200
300
320
240
164 NAMES or PERSONS BUYING LAND
TOWNSHIP SIX, RANGE SE\Y.^—ConCinueii.
Name.
Lyman Steele
John Van Pelt. . . .
Luther Thompson .
Robert Trumball . .
Stephen Kniijht .. .
Amos Stanbro
Jeremiah Richardson
Charles Printjle
Thomas Davis ,
*James S. Frye
EHzor Stocking
Tristram Dodge
Austin Pratt . .^
Stephen Williams. . .
John A. Williams . . . .
Heman W. Williams. .
Stephen Churchill . . . .
Mason Hicks
Simeon Holton
Alanson P. Morton . . .
Matthias Heath
Milo M. Baker
David German
Isaac Nichols
Isaac Nichols
James Wheeler
Stephen Ingersoll . . . .
Joseph Hammond, jr. .
George W. Richardson
*Eleanor Curtis
James Wheeler
David Witherel
Hosea P. Ostrander. . .
William Smith
Asahel Nye
Ephraim Hall
John Williams
Otis Buttervvorth
Jedediah Cleaveland..
Date.
835
836
836
836
836
837
837
837
843
824
839
831
824
829
819
843
842
832
836
838
836
842
830
829
838
836
831
836
844
832
836
837
842
Si I
812
809
825
816
816
Oct. 27.
Sept. 3.
Aug. 31
Aug. 17
Nov. 2.
P'eb. 20
July 8..
Dec. 7 .
July 17.
July 10.
Feb. 28.
Jan. 19 .
Dec.
Jan.
-/
May 3..
May 30.
Jan. 15.
June 5.
Aug. 12
Feb. 7 .
Dec. 29
June 25
Dec. 31.
Dec. 29.
Dec. 24.
Dec. 29.
June 2 .
Aug. 31
April 23
June 29
Dec. 29.
Oct. II.
Jan. 15.
June 27
April 9.
May 2..
Nov. 26
May 30.
Aug. 7.
Land.
Acres 1 Price
Pt
Pt
pt 1
pt 1
w pt
1 90.
1 87.
1 72.
1 82.
79 &
e pt 1 80
pt 1 80 . . .
n pt 1 7 1 . .
w pt 1 80.
pt 1 73...
n-w pt 1 49
pt 1 49 ... .
159
158
1 56 & e pt
57
1 56
w pt 1 6 1 . .
n-e pt 1 72.
pt 1 48 . . . .
n-w pt 1 72
n pt 1 8 1 . .
pt 1 81
pt 1 81 .. ..
s pt 1 8 1 . .
pt 1 91....
n-w pt 1 90
pt 1 91....
n pt 1 90. .
pt 1 72 . . . .
n-e pt 1 91 .
e pt 1 90 . .
pt 1 90. ...
n-w pt 1 82
pt 1 81.. ..
e pt 1 53
s pt 1 66
w pt 1 67
w pt 1 67.
s pt ] 68 .
n pt 1 68 .
e pt 1 86.
&
30
50
50
30
1 00 400
1 00 400
240
100
50
74
70
172
79
175
125
75 I 431
130 I 715
95 I 433
30 172
100 615
60
60
65
45
60
45
60
60 240
55
70
100
49
100
158
50
141
70
100
100
FROM THE HOLLAND COMPANY.
TOWNSHIP SLX. RANGt SEVEyi—Cou/i/irtec/.
l6:
Name.
Date.
Land.
Acres.
Price
Stillman Andrews. . . .
1828, Aug. 21 .
n pt 1 66 . . .
^o
200
loel Chaffee
1828, Nov. 26.
s pt 1 77 .. .
Ptl 77
FOO
400
200
Veter Bost
1831, July I...
50
Alanson Loveless ....
1832, Jan. 9. ..
e pt 1 67 . . .
61
244
Ebenezer Dibble
1832, Jan. II..
pt 1 77
40
178
Almar White
1833, Sept. 7..
pt 1 77
65
260
John Van Pelt
1836, Sept. 3..
pt 1 87
.SO
200
John Van Pelt
1836, July 25..
n pt 1 78 &
s pt 1 87..
100
400
Kichard Dowd
1836, Aug. 5..
pt 1 87
100
400
Nancv Harkness
1837, Feb. 27..
pt 186
so
200
Charles Watson
1837, March 15
pt 1 78
2S
100
John Williams
1837, Sept. 21.
s pt 1 69 . . .
70
282
Edward Blodgett
1841, Oct. 14..
n pt 1 69 . . .
100
Lansing Tooker
1841, Sept. 15 .
w pt 1 86 . . .
184
735
TOWNSHIP SEVEN. RANGE SEVEN.
James Brown
John Clemens
George Killom
John Stewart
Amaziah Ashman . . . .
Solomon Field
Thomas M. Barrett.. .
Sylvenus S. Kingsley.
Ebenezer F. Pike
Jessee Putnam, jr
Samuel Abbott
John H. Cuming
Benjamin C. Pratt. . . .
Joseph Yaw
1809,
1809,
1806,
1809,
1809,
1809,
1810,
1 8 1 o,
1810,
1 8 10,
1810,
1 8 10,
1810,
1 8 10.
Oct. 16
Oct. 16
Sept. 3c
Oct. 24
Oct. 24
Sept. 8
Jan. 1 1
Jan. 18
June 7
Jan. 10
June 7
Sept. 7
April 23
Jan. 18
1 8 10, Aug. 2
1 8 10, Mar. 5
18 10, Nov. 29
Obadiah Brown ....
■"Thomas M. Barrett
Comfort Knapp. . . .
Joseph Hanchett i 181 1, Feb 20
James Pike 18 10, June 7
Thomas McGec. . . .
Smith Russell
Lyman Drake
1 8 10, April 23
1 8 10, May 5.
181 1, May 27.
w pt 1 20. . .
167^
e 1/ 1 201 . <
67
n y, 1 24 . . .
168
e pt 1 4. ...
168
w pt 1 4. . . .
169
1 3
3^7
n-e pt 1 40..
93i
1 31
409
1 22
319
w 14 1 23...
203
1 39
424
n ><138...
172
e pt I 21..-.
164
1 19 & n pt
1 18
492
e>^ 1 28 . .
191
s-e pt 1 40 . .
. 50
n-e pt 1 48. .
100
w >^ 1 21 ..
164
1 30
330 ;
1 II
343 .
w pt 1 I 2 . . .
177
n pt 1 16. . .
1 100
377
375
378
422
422
792
280
920
717
456
954
387
369
1 107
429
90
250
410
742
1029
531
300
l66 NAMES OF PERSONS BUYING LANt)
TOWNSHIP SEVEN. RANGE SEVEK—Contin/w,/.
Name.
Date.
Land.
Richard Stevens i8ii. Au
Timothy Stevens.
Samuel Cooper . .
Samuel Cooper . .
Hall & Metcalf. .
Israel Clark
James Brisbane \
Reuben Metcalf \
James Willson !
Channing Trevett . . . . ;
Arad Knapp ;
Ezekiel Cook '
Nehemiah Paine |
Andrew Clemens |
David Cunningham ...
Isaac Drake
Wheeler Drake
Amos Thompson
Jacob Thompson
Amos Thompson ,
David Stanard j
David Stanard i
Joel Gillet.. . ."
Jireh Phinney
Andrew McKlen
Jane Thompson
William Dye
John McKlen
Joseph Potter
Justus Hinman
John Horton
Benjamin Fay
Ebenezer Ferrin
Daniel Persons
Emery Sampson
John S. Newell
Jonathan Townsend..
Ezekiel Cook
James Pike
Charles C. Reynolds. .
i8ii.
1811,
1811,
1811,
181 1,
& I
1811,
1811,
18 1 2,
1812.
1813,
1815,
1815,
1815,
1815.
1815,
1815,
[Kl^.
1815,
1815,
1815,
1815,
1S17,
1 8 16,
1817.
1817,
1817,
1817.
182 1.
1821,
1815,
1815,
i8i,S,
1 8 16,
1816,
1816,
1816.
1817,
1817,
1816,
Aug. 5 . .
Dec. 12..
Dec. 12..
April 19.
Feb 27
March 6. .
July 7...
Dec. II..
Feb. 7. . .
June 13.
March 6.
April 6. .
April 6. .
July 10. .
May 29..
Oct. 26..
June 12.
Dec. 6. . .
Dec. 6. . .
Dec. 6.. .
Sept. 8. .
Sept. 8. .
Dec. s- • •
Mar. I...
July 16..
Jan. 18..
April 17.
Sept. 5 . .
July 28. .
July 28. .
Oct. 18. .
July II..
Nov. 28.
April 19.
July 20. .
Aug. 7 . .
Dec. 31..
Jan. 22. .
Mar. 7 . .
Sept. 30.
Acres. 1 Price
n pt 1 I &
pt 1 2 . . .
pt 1 2
n-e pt 1 12.
s-e pt 1 12 .
n pt 1 29. .
s-e pt 1 48 &
w pt 1 40
w pt 1 27. .
s pt i 29. .
s pt 1 32 . .
pt 1 18...
n ])t 1 47 . .
s pt 1 i^..
e pt 1 41 . .
pt 1 28 . . .
s pt 1 7 . . .
pt 1 7 . . . .
w pt 1 16.
p 1 10....
pi 10
w p 1 10. .
s p 1 16...
pi 7
n p 1 7 . . .
n p 1 6. . .
spt 1 13
pi 13...
s p 1 8 . .
p 1 I . . . ,
pi 15..
n p 1 I 5 .
n-w pt 1 48
s pt 1 26
s pt 1 1 8
e i)t 1 44
pt 1 35-
pt 1 33-
n pt 1 17
s pt 1 25
s-w pt 1 24
n pt 1 33..
TOO
TOO
77
ICO
202
267
200
148
100
bo
75
120
100
100
TOO
100
100
114
114
114
106
100
104
100
100
100
100
75
75
100
150
83
120
200
120
TOO
100
100
129
FROM THE Holland co.\rpANY.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN. RANGE SEVEN— Coniinue(/.
167
Name.
Emery Sampson
William Hcrrick
Lewis Trevett
Rebecca Lush
Masury Giles
Zebedee Simons
Daniel Ingalls
Daniel Putnam
Jonathan Townsend . .
James Coh'ille
Robert Curran
Samuel Fosdick
Francis Koiser & Jean
Chappy
Elias M. Chapel
Charles Mosier
David Heath
Rufus Thurbur
Irena Drake
Jehiel Mitchel
Jasper Thompson. . . .
Oliver Needham
^Lemuel Twitchell. . .
Samuel Lake
George A. Stewart . . .
Obadiah Russell
Hosea L. Potter
Barzillai Briggs
Amos Stanbro
*Reuben C. Drake . . .
Fllam Booth
John Brooks
Hosea E. Potter
Ebenezer Drake
Zebedee Simons
James Coh iile
Truman V^anderlip ....
Michael Haas, jr
Stephen Churchill. . . .
Phineas Scott
Pliny Wheeler
Laban A. Needham . . .
D.\TE.
816
816
818
820
820
820
818
818
822
827
830
830
833
834
836
836
824
825
826
828
818
829
831
831
834
835
838
837
838
838
838
837
837
836
^37
838
838
838
841
841
Oct. 16..
Sept. 19.
Jan. 12. .
P'eb. 21..
Nov. 17.
Nov. 17.
Sept. 8 . .
Sept. 8. .
Dec. 7.. .
Dec. 19..
Jan. 21 . .
Jan. 21 . .
Oct. 16..
Oct. 27. .
July 16. .
Nov. 2. .
April 8. .
July II..
Oct. 31..
Dec. 25..
Nov. 5 . .
Jan. 20. .
April 27.
Oct. 3...
Feb. 25..
Oct. 14..
Nov. 19.
Feb. 8...
Nov. 22 .
Nov. 22 .
Nov. 27.
April 12.
Aug. 20.
Dec. 21..
Mar. 9. .
Oct. 10. .
Mar. 21 .
Dec. 13..
Dec. 14..
Nov. 7. .
Oct. 28. .
Land.
e pt 1 36.
w pt 1 28
-S-W pt 1 2
c pt 1 27.
s pt 1 34.
pt 1 34 • •
pt I 38
n-w pt 1
26
35
n-e pt 1 24
pt 1 24.
38
pt
pt
n pt 1 32 .
w pt 1 36,
w pt 1 41.
pt 1 42 . .
pt 1 8 . . .
n-w pt 1 8
n pt 1 9 . .
pt 16...
pt 1 6. ..
pt 1 15..
s pt 1 I . .
n pt 1 2 . .
n pt 1 1 3 .
n pt 1 14.
s-w pt 1 I 5
spt 1 5.."
pt 1 5 . . .
pt 1 5 . . .
n pt 1 5 . .
pt 1 14..
n-e pt 1 8
pt 1 42 . .
w pt 1 44.
n pt 1 45 .
pt 1 47 . .
.s-w pt 1 48
pt 1 44. .
n-e pt 1 25
s pt 1 6.
Acres,
100
91
153
145
100
100
59
60
107
50
25
41
60
80
56
50
50
52
100
50
100
50
60
75
106
100
38
50
50
IOC
50
50
70
40
45
50
50
67
50
25
71
Price
450
388
736
688
450
400
232
234
428
2 I 2
106
174
240
320
200
200
212
22 1
460
2 12
525
150
240
300
424
444
152
200
200
400
200
200
282
163
182
200
200
268
200
275
375
1 68 REAL ESTATE DOCU^rE^•TS.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, RANGE SEVEN— Cofi/i/iue</.
Name.
Date.
Land. IAcres. Price
John Hcaland i 1841, Nov. i . .
Isaac Woodward i 1841, Nov. I . .
Thoma.s Pound | 1842, July 1 . .
Harvey Twichell. . . . j 1841, Nov. i . .
Mary Bement I 1841, Nov. i . .
Phineas Peabody 1841, Sept. 10.' pt
Zacheus Preston 1838, Dec. 26. .| pt
e pt 1 43 . . .
pt 1 44 . . .
pt 1 38....
s-w pt 1 14.
s-e pt 1 14. .
34 ... .
45
Isaiah Pike 1836, Oct. 6. . . s-e pt 1 2^.
63
lOI
107
58
52
100
50
430
380
406
520
299
287
400
200
The following copy of a land article taken by Samuel Cooper,
father of Varnum Cooper, a resident of Concord, will show
something of 'the manner of dealing in and transferring real
e.state during the first j^ears that settlements were made :
"ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT, indented, made, con-
cluded and fully agreed upon, this 12th day of December, in
the }'ear of our LORD one thousand eight hundred and eleven,
between WlLIlEL.M WiLLiNK and Jax Willlnk, VVilhel.m
WiLLINK the younger and J.VN VVlLLIXK the younger, all of
the City of Amsterdam, in the Republic of Batavia, b}- Jo.SEl'H
Ellicott, their attorney, of \.\\c first part and SAMUEL Cooi'ER,
of the County of Niagara and State of New York, of the second
part. Whereas the said party of the second part is justly
indebted to the said parties of the first part in the sum of two
hundred and sixty-nine dollars and fift)- cents, New York
currency, to be paid to said jiarties of the first part, their
executors, administrators or assigns, in manner following, that
is to say, the sum of twelve dollars and fifty cents immediatel)-
upon the execution of these presents, and the remaining two
hundred and fifty-seven dollars in six eciual \-earh' instalments
with the interest from the date hereof, to be [)aid \early and
every year (together with the said instalments) upon such part
of the said last-mentioned sum as shall, at the time of such
respective payments be due and uni)aid. The first of said
instalments and annual pa}'ments of interest to commence on
the 12th da}' of December, in the \ear of our LokD one thou-
sand eight hundred and fourteen.
ARriCt.KS 01-' ACREf^NtKXT. 169
" Now, rili;KKl'( )Ri;, in consideration thereof, the said parties
of the first part, for themselves, tlieir heirs, executors and
administrators, do b)' these presents covenant, promise and
a^i^ree. to and with the said party of the second part, his heirs,
executors. athninistrat(M-s or assigns, and e\'er)' of them, that
if the said part}' of the second part, his heirs, executors,
athninistrators or assigns, or any of them, shall and do, well
and truK- {)a}- or cause to be paid unto the said parties of the
first part, their executors, administrators or assigns, the afore-
said several sums of money, at the times hereinbefore men-
tioned for payment thereof, according to the tenor and effect
of the covenant and agreement hereinafter contained, on the
part of the said party of the second part, that then and in such
case, the said parties of the first part, their heirs and assigns,
shall and will well and sufficiently grant, bargain, sell, release,
convey, confirm and asssure to the said party of the second
part, and to his heirs and assigns forever, or to whom he or
the\' shall appoint or direct —
"Arxthat certain tract of land, situate, lying and being in the
County of Niagara, in the State of New York, being part or
parcel of a certain township, which on a map or surve}' of
divers tracts or townships of land of the said parties of the
first part, made for the proprietors by JoSEl'H ElJJt'O'iT, sur-
veyor, is distinguished b}' township No. 7 in the se\-enth range
of said townships. And which said tract of land on a certain
other map or surve)' of said township into lots made for the
proprietors by the said Joseph PVlliCOTT, is distinguished b\-
the north-east part of lot No. 12 according to the following
plan, containing se\enty-se\'en acres, be the same more or less.
•• PRoxiDEl) AI. WANS, that if default shall be made in the per-
formance of the coxeiiant ne.xt hereinafter contained, on the part
of the said party of the second part, for the punctual payment
ot the said instalments and annual pa}'ments of interest in
manner hereinafter mentioned, then the said covenant next
hereinbefore contained on the part of the said parties of the
first part shall become void and of no effect. And the said
party of the second part, for himself, his heirs, executors
and administrators, doth covenant, promise and agree, to and
with the said parties of the first part, their heirs, executors.
1^0 ARTICLES Oi^ AGREEMENT.
administrators and assigns, that he will well and truly pay to
the said parties of the first part, their executors, administrators
and assigns the said remaining sum of two hundred and fifty-
seven dollars, in six equal yearly instalments, together with the
lawful interest to grow due thereon from the date hereof,
yearly and every year, in manner hereinbefore mentioned, the
first of the said instalments and annual payments of interest to
commence on the I2th day of December, in the year of our
Lord one thousand eight hundred and fourteen. And the
said parties of the first part, for themselves, their heirs, execu-
tors and administrators, do hereby further declare and agree,
that if the said party of the second part shall on or before the
1 2th day of December next erect or cause to be erected, on the
tract of land and premises hereinbefore described, or some part
thereof, a messuage fit for the habitation of man, not less than
eighteen feet square, and shall live and reside or cause a family
to live and reside therein during the term of three years from
thence next ensuing, and shall, on or before the 12th day of
December next, clear and fence or cause to be cleared and
fenced, not less than five acres of the said tract of land to the
satisfaction of the said parties of the first part, that then and
in such case they the said parties of the first part, shall and will
relinquish and release to the said party of the second part, all
the interest which shall have accrued upon such principal sums
of money for the period of two years.
"■ In testimony whereof, the parties to these presents have
hereunto interchangeably set their hands and seals the day and
year first above written.
Signed, sealed and delivered J
in the presence of
David Goodwin. )
WiLHELM WiLLINK, [ L. S.]
Jan Willink, [l. s.]
WiLHELM Willink. the Younger, | L. s. ]
Jan Willink. the Younger, [l. s.]
By their Attorney.
Joseph Ellicott, [l. s. |
Samuel Cooper, [l. s.]"
TXT)nRSE^rE\T AMD ASStGNMENtf;. 1/1
riic followiiii^' is the iiuloi'scmcnt and the assii^nments that
ai)pear on the back of tlie article :
" Receivetl. December I2th, i.Sii, of Samuel Coo[)er, twelve
dollars and fift\' cents, bein;^ the first paj'ment within men-
tioned. I^'or Joseph PLllicott,
$12.50. David Goodwin.
" F"or value received, I sign over all my right and title to the
within article of agreement, with all the rights and privileges
thereunto belonging to Nicholas Armstead.
Samuel Cooper.
" For value received, I sign over all my right and title to the
within article of agreement, ^\'ith all the rights and privileges
thereto belonging, to Samuel Cooper.
Concord, May 9th, 18 16. NICHOLAS Armstead.
" For \alue received, I sign over all my right and title to the
within article of agreement, with all the rights and pri\-ileges
thereunto belonging, to Stephen Russell.
Aug. 21st, 1816. Samuel Cooper.
" For value received, I ' sine' over all my ' wright' and title
to within article of agreement, with all the rights ' privalege'
' thereonto' belonging, to Sylvester Russell.
Januar>- 14th, 1 82 I. STEPHEN RuSSELL.
" For value received, I ' sine' over all my 'wright' and title to
within article of agreement, with all the ' wrights' and ' pri\a-
leges' thereunto belonging, to Tracy J. Russell.
March 17. 1833. Sylvester Russell.
" This may certify, that we assign all of the land on the west
side of the road, it being the west part of the northeast part of lot
12, R 7, T. 7, said land to be fifteen or twenty acres, to Pliin-
eas Scott, his heirs and assigns forever, for a valuable consider-
ation in hand paid, and give the said Scott peaceable possession
of the same, this 13th da}' of October, 1842.
Tracy J. Russell,
Sylvester Russell.
April the 28th, 1843.
" For value received, I assign this article and all "mi" 'wright'
and title to the w ithin contract,
Sylvester Russell."
172 THK FIRST DEED GIVEN FOR LAND
COPY OF THE FIRST DEED GIVEN FOR LAND IN THE TOWN
OF CONCORD.
" THIS INDENTURE, made this Fifth day of March in the
year of our Lord one thousand ei^^lit hundred and ten, bctz^een
Wilhem WiUink, Pieter Van Eeghen, Hendrick Vollenhoven,
Rutger Jan Schimmelpcnnick, Wilhem WilHnk the younger,
Jan Willink, the younger, son of Jan, Jan Gabriel Van Stapf-
horst, Cornelis Vollenhoven and Hendrik Seye, all of the City of
Amsterdam, in the Republic of Batavia, hy Joseph Ellicott, their
attorney, of the first Part, and Thomas M. Barrett of the County
of Niagara and State of New York of the second Part: — WIT-
NESSETH, that the said parties of the first part, for and in con-
sideration of the sum of NINETY Dollars, to them in hand
by the said party hereto of the second part, the receipt whereo-
is hereby acknowledged, and themselves to be therewith fully
satisfied, contented and paid, Have granted, bargained, sold,
aliened, released, enfeoffed, conveyed, confirmed and assured,
and by these presents Do grant, bargain, sell, alien, release,
enfeofT, convey, confirm and assure unto the said party of the
second part, and to his heirs and assigns forever, ALL that cer-
tain tract of land, situated, lying and being in the County of
Niagara in the State of New York, being part or parcel of a
certain Township, which on a map, or survey of divers tracts or
Townships of land of the said parties of the first part, made by
the Proprietors by Joseph Ellicott, surveyor, is distinguished by
Township number seven, in the seventh range of said Town-
ships, and which said tract of land on a certain other map or
survey of said Township into lots, made for the said Proprie-
tors, by the said Joseph Ellicott, is distinguished by the south-
east part of lot number fort)' in the said Township.
BecHNNING: —
" Bounded east by K)t number thirt\'-two, t\\ ent\'-seven chains,
sixty-seven links; south by lot number thirt)'-nine, eighteen
chains seven links ; west by a line parallel with the west bounds
of said lot number 32, twenty-seven chains, sixt}'-seven links ; and
north by a line parallel with the north bounds o{ said lot num-
ber thirty-nine, eighteen chains seven links, containing fifty
acres, be the same more or less, according to the plan laid down
in the margin hereof: TOGETHER with all and singular the
signaturp:s of tiif. iwrtiks, ktc. 173
Appurtenances, Privileges, Advantages and Hereditaments
whatsoever, unto the above mentioned and described i)remises
in any wise appertaining or belonging, And the Rex'crsion and
reversions. Remainder and remaindjrs. Rents. Issues and Profits
thereof, and also all tli;: estate. Right, Title, Interest. Proi)ert\'.
Claim and Demand whatsoever, as well in law as in ecjuit)', of
the said Parties of the first Part, of. in, or to the same, and ever\-
Part and Parcel thereof, with the Appurtenances; TO HAVK AND
ro noi,D the above granted, bargained and described premises,
with the Appurtenances, unto the said party (^f the second
part, his heirs and assigns, to his and their only proper Use,
Benefit and Behoof forexer. A\l) the said parties of the first
i'art, for themsehes, and their and each of their respectixc
Heirs, Executors and Administrators, do hereb}- covenant,
promise and agree to and with the said part}' of the second
part, his Heirs and Assigns, that the}-, the said parties of the
first part, the above described, and hereb}' granted and bar-
gained premises and every j^art thereof, with the Appurte-
nances, unto the part}' of the second part, his Heirs and Assigns,
against the said parties of the first Part, and their Heirs, and
against all other persons whatsoever lawfully claiming, or to
claim the same, or any part thereof, shall and will warrant, and
b}' these presents forexer Dl'.KKND.
" Ix Witness whereof, tlic parties to these presents have here-
unto interehaiigeably set their Hands anel Seals the Day and
Year first above written.
Scaled and delivered in j
the presence of |
James W. Stevens. |
William Peacock. |
Wilhelm Willink, | L. s. | Jan Gabriel V'an Staphorst, [l.S]
Peter Van Eehhen, | L. s. ] Cornelis Vollenhoven, [i,. s.]
Hendrik Vollenhoven, j L. s. | Hendrik Seye, [ L. S. |
Rutger Jan Schimmelpennick, | r.. s. | B}' their Attorney,
Wilhem Willink, the Younger, | i.. s. ) Jose):)h P^Uicott. | l,.s.|
Jan Willink, the Younger, Son of Jan. | [,. s.]
KARI.V ROADS.
The first road laid out in town was the Genesee or Cattaraugus
road. It was laid out by the Holland Land Company. It
174 ROAD P^ROM BUFFALO TO OLEAX.
commences at the east side of the Holland Purchase and
extends westward through Wyoming county and Sardinia,
Concord and North Collins to near Lawton station. The east
part of the road in Wyoming count)' and a portion in Sardinia
was cut out by men employed by the Holland Compan\'. The
rest of the way the work was done by the settlers and inhabi-
tants. A portion of the way the lots are bounded by the out-
side limits of the road. The intervening space being a gift
from the company for the purpose of a road.
In i8io, a road from Buffalo to Olean Point was laid out;
passing through Hamburg, Boston, up the valley of the Eigh-
teen-mile creek, through what was formerly called the Sible}' set-
tlement, past the farm of H. M. Blackmer to East Concord ;
thence to Richmond's, on the Cattaraugus creek ; from there
through Yorkshire and Machias and on to Olean. The commis.
sioners appointed to locate the road were David Eddy of East
Hamburg, Timothy Hopkins, of Williamsvilleand Peter Vande-
venter, of Newstead. The expense of opening this highway
was borne in equal parts by the State and the County of
Niagara. In earh' times it was called the State Road. The
travel from Springville to Boston at first went up Franklin
street, past where John A. Wilson lives and over Townsend
hill.
The first laid-out road from Springville to Boston passed
over Townsend hill. It was the same road now traveled. It
was a mail route, a four-horse Troy coach being driven o\'er it
daily at one time.
In early times the principal travel east and west through this
section passed over the road leading from Arcade westward
along the course of the Cattaraugus creek through Springx'ille
and Zoar to Gowanda. It was a mail and stage route and a
post ofifice was located at Zoar.
It was as much as fifteen or twent)- years after the first set-
tlement of Concord before the road from Springville to Mor-
ton's corners was cut-out ; previous to this the jieople of Mor-
ton's corners and \icinit}' reached Springville b}' w a}' of l\")wns-
end hill.
About 1830 the road commencing as lot 52 and ending on
l(^t 6, passing along the main branch of the Eighteen-mile creek.
SPKIN(;\ ll.I.K \- SARDINIA RAILROAD. I 75
in Concord, was laid out. Vov nian\' \-(jars the principal traxel
from Sprini(\'illc to Buffalo pas.scd over thi.s road.
About 1852 a plank-road was constructed from Sprin^ville to
Hamburg. It was built in the public highway and extended
along the valley of the Eighteen-mile creek through Concord
and Boston. It was kept in repair ten or twelve years when it
ceased to be a toll-road. It connected at Hamburg with a
plank-road leading into Buffalo.
S1'RIN(;\I1.I.K \- SARDINIA R. R.
This railroad compan)' was organized May 6th, 1878. The
capital stock was fift)' thousand dollars. Amount of stock sub-
scribed was thirty thousand two hundred dollars,
The length of road from Springville, N. Y., to Sardinia
Junction, N. V., was eleven and -^^^j^ miles ; weight of rail per
yard, twenty-five pounds , gauge of track, three feet.
The cost of the road and ec}uipment was sixty-one thousand
eight hundred and thirteen dollars and ninety-fi\'e cents. This
road makes connection w ith the Buffalo, New York & Phila-
delphia R. R. at Sardinia Junction. Two passenger trains are
run daily, and, as appears from the State Engineer's report on
railroads for the year 1880, which is the latest report published,
that the capital stock subscribed was $30,400 ; and that the
amount paid in was $30,087.24; and the funded debt was
$25,000, and the unfunded debt was $6,73035, and the names
and directors of the corporation were C. J. Shuttleworth', Spring-
ville, Bertrand Chafer, Springville, Alonzo L. Vaughn, Spring-
ville, James Hopkins, Sardinia, Charles Long, Sardinia, New-
ell Hosmer, Sardinia and Franklin B. Locke, Buffalo.
The officers were Bertrand Chafer, President, James Hopkins,
Vice-President, L. M. Cummings, Secretary, Charles J. Shuttle-
worth, Treasurer.
ROCHESTER i<c PITTSBURGH R. R.
The construction of the Buffalo branch of the Rochester &
Pittsburgh R. R., has given a great impetus to the prosperity
of Concord, more especially to Springville. After a prelimi-
nary survey of routes the company adopted Jan. 7, 1882, the
route now in use. The route was surveyed by C. E. Botsford,
of Springville.
176
NAMES OF FIRST SETTLERS.
Work was commenced at West Valley, Cattaraugus Count}-,
in June. 1882 The first locomotive over the road entered
Springville May i8th, and track-laying was completed June 9th.
at the bridge across Cattaraugus creek, over which the first
locomotive passed on that day. This bridge or viaduct is an
imposing structure. It is 150 feet in height, 575 feet in length,
2,777 tons of stone, 280 tons of iron and 90 tons of wood were
used in its construction, making a total of 3,147 tons. The
total co.st was $90,000.
The names of one or more of the first settlers, on each of the
several lots in Concord.
Lot I John Russel.
2 Samuel Cochran.
3 Christopher Stone.
4 Asa Cary.
" 5 Noah Culver.
7 Charles Chaffee.
8 Isaac Knox.
9 Benjamin Gardner.
" 10 Benjamin Douglas.
" II Julius & Elihu Bennett
" M William Weed en.
TOWNSHIP SIX, ran(;e six.
Lot 14 Eaton Bensley.
" 16 Francis White.
" 17 Truman White.
" 18 Moses White.
" [9 George Shultus.
" 20 Enoch Chase.
" 21 William Shultus.
" 22 David Shultus.
" 23 Christopher Douglass.
" 24 Abner Chase & Henry
Hackett.
Lot 25 Almon Fuller.
TOWNSHIP seven, RAN(iE SIX.
Lot
5
26
^7
28
29
30
53
34
35
36
37
38
39
William Vaughan.
Nathan King.
Mr. Willard.
Henry Gardinier.
William Wright.
John & Joseph Cotrell.
Capt. Charles Wells.
William Wright.
Archibald Griffith.
Dustin & Saw}"er.
William Baker.
George Killom.
Robert G. Flint.
Lot 40 Sala W.& Homer Barnes.
" 41 Giles Churchill & Seele\-
Squires.
" 42 Luther Curtis & John
Gould.
" 43 Calvin Smith.
" 44 Elam May.
" 45 Plphram Needham
William Chapin.
" 46 Aaron Cole.
" 47 Luther Landon &W1
er Drake.
" 48 Caleb Abbott.
61'
NAMES OF FIRST SFTTLF.RS.
//
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, RANGE SIX— (V'///?y///,v/.
Lot 49 William Smith.
" 50 Elijah Dunham,
•' 51 IkMijamin C. Foster &
Seneca Baker.
" 52 Ebene/er l^Y-rrin.
" 53 Albert Shipp)- M- Star\-
Kin^".
'' 54 Kint^sle)- Martin.
" 55 Orrin Siblew
" 56 William Southworth &
lames Miller.
Lot 57 Gideon Parsons.
" 58 Benjamin Wheeler.
" 59 Benjamin Fay & J. Strat-
ton.
" 60 Uzial Towiisend & F. A.
Brigo-s.
" 61 Whitman Stone.
" 62 William Field.
" 63 J. Agard, B. Sibley .Sr A.
Sibley.
" 64 Da\'id Cunningham.
Lot I
8
9
TO
I I
12
LS
•5
16
17
18
19
20
TOWNSHIP SEVEN
Richard Stevens. L
Timothy Stevens.
Solomon Field.
Amaziah Ashman & Jona-
than Townsend.
Reuben Drake.
Oliver Needham & Steph-
en Needman.
John Brooks Cs: I'Llam
Booth .
William D>e.
Mr. Michel'].
Amos Thompson.
Thomas McGee.
Smith Russell.
Andrew McLen.
Joseph Potter.
L\'man Drake.
Samuel W. Al<4"er.
Channing Trevett.
Samuel Cooper.
James I^rown & John
Clemens.
Joseph 1 lanchett.
I
, RANGE SEVEN.
ot 22 Lsaiah Pike.
'^ 2T) Jesse Putnam.
" 24 George Killom.
" 27 Samuel Eaton.
"' 2'i Ichabed Brown.
" 29 Reuben Metcalf.
" 30 James Pike, Ezekiel Ad-
ams & T. Heacock.
" 31 John L^res.
" 33 Sylvenus Cook.
" 34 Zebedec Simons.
"35 Samuel Sampson.
" 36 Emer}' Sampson.
'' T,"/ Truman Vandcrlip «.^' Ja-
cob Rice.
" 38 Daniel Putnam.
•' 39 Samuel Abbott.
'' 40 Thomas M. Barrett.
" 41 Nehemiah Paine.
" 42 David Heath.
•' 43 John Healand.
" 44 Daniel Persons.
" 45 Henr\- Stearns & Zacheus
Preston.
178 THE HOTELS OF SI'RINC;VILLE.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, RANGE SEVEK— Con finurt/.
Lot 46 Mr. Huff, William Hor- Knapp.
ton & Daniel Horton. Lot 48 John Horton, Truman
" 47 John Reecher & Arad Horton & C. Knapp.
TOWNSHIP SIX, RANGE SEVEN.
Lot 46 Peter Pratt. Lot /2 Luther Thompson.
'* 47 George Hicks. " 73 Lewis Cox.
" 48 Nathan Hicks. " j/ Simeon Holton,
" 49 Jesse Frye & Enoch N. " 78 Chas. Watson.
Frye. " 80 Stephen Knight.
" 66 John Holdridge. " 81 Simeon Holton, Day,
" 56-67 William Smith. Knight & C. C. Foster.
" 57 Elijah Palmerter. " 82 John Battles.
" 58 Austin Pratt. " 86 Abiel Gardner.
" 68 John Williams. " 87 Dickey Doud.
" 71 Thomas Richardson. " 90 Simeon Holton.
Lot 91 Jeremiah Richardson.
HOTELS. MILLS AND MANUFACTORIES.
HOTELS AND HOTEL-KEEPERS IN CONCORD.
The first hotel in town, a small, double log house on Frank-
lin street, near the opera house, was opened by David Stickney.
in 1 8 10. There is a tradition that here the name of " taking a
horn " first originated. The house was supplied with liciuor
and a bar, but not a glass to meet the wants of the thirst}'.
Stickney improvised one out of the horn of an ox, hence " tak-
ing a horn" of whiskey, in those days, was literalh' true.
Second Hotel — By John Albro, in a log house on the east
side of Buffalo street, on the north confines of the corporation,
just south of the forks on Sharp Street and Townsend Hill
roads; opened about 181 1.
Third Hotel — Amaziah Ashman, in a log house on Town-
send hill; opened about 1812.
Fourth Hotel — In a log house on Morton's Corners, by John
Battles. He was a soldier of the Revolution and a pensioner.
Opened in 1817.
Fifth Hotel — Framed building on Franklin street, opposite
the park. Built b}- David Stannard in 1817 or 1818 ; kept, first
Jl
nil", ii()Tf:i,s ok si>ri.\(;vii,i.e. 179
b\- Harry Scars, tlicn h)- a Mr. Wright, as^ain b\- Harr)- Scars,
t(i be succeeded b\' Seth Allen, tlien b\- l)a\'i(l Hensle\' and
James F. Crandall, and lastly by Mr. Bentley.
Sixth Hotel — By Jonathan Townsend, on Townscnd hill ; first
in a frame buildinL;', in 1S19, tlien in a brick building;-, in 1822.
Seventh Hotel — Isaiah Pike commenced on the Pike home-
stead in 1821, and kept for sixteen years.
Flighth Hotel — 15\- Samuel Cociirane, on Main street, Sprin^;--
\'ille, in a frame building on the (Cochrane homestead, wliere
V. K. Davis now is; opened in 1822.
Ninth Hotel — The (Md Springville Hotel on Main street,
where the Leland House now stands; built in 1824, by Rufus
C. Eaton, and kept b}' him for a time ; he was succeeded b\'
Jonson Bensley, Richard Wadsworth and others.
At one time, Daniel Peck ran a hotel at Morton's Corners.
I'or many }x'ars the Morton Brothers entertained the traveling
public. In 1843, they erected a very creditable two-stor\-
frame building, with a suitable hall, that is in a good state of
preservation at the present.
Another hotel was conducted on Townsend hill, first b\- a
Mr. Currier, to be succeeded by Mr. Mitchel.
Henry Ingalls conducted a hotel for a while in the north
part of the town in the valle\'.
The American Hotel was built b\- Phelps Hatch, in 1843 and
'44. He conducted it for a few years, then leased it to James
F. Crandall, then Smith and Beebe purchased the property and
for man\- x'ears the\' were the landlords. Afterwards, the
property was rented and run b\' Gaston D. Smith ; soon after
the property j^assed into the hands of Theodore Smith; in
i860, he sold to E. S. Pierce, who conducted the house until
1863, when he sold to Clinton Hammond, who occupied it one
\'ear and then sold it back to E. S. Pierce, who, in turn, after
running it two \'ears, in 1866, sold it again to Hammond:
Davis & lladlc)' ran it a short time. In 1874, A. E. Torre\'
bought the j)ropert\' and for a time he remained the proprietor;
then he associated himself with his brother, A. R. Torrey, \\ho
after a time bought the propert\- and conducted it until the
Spring of 1880. when he sold to the present jiroprietor, Peter
Nenno.
I So HO'l'ELS AND SAW MILLS.
Phineas Scott kept a liotcl on Townsend Hill for sex'eral
years. Jedediah Starks and a Mr. Parker kept a hotel on the
V^osburg place, a mile and a half east of Springville. Fox-
hotel was first opened by Carl 'Ludeman, to be succeeded by L.
Rrenckle. Fred P'ox bought the hotel, and after conducting it
a few years he sold to Andrew Oyer, who sold after a time to
his brother Augustus, who kept the house a while, and then
sold to Clinton Hammond, who soon after sold to Fred Fox.
This was in 1874; in 1883, Fox sold out to Theodore Trew,
who now conducts the house.
The Farmers' Hotel was first opened by George Kopp, then
Phillip Herbold, then Louis Fiegel, then William Biegel, Phil-
lip Newbeck, John Haut, Martin Bury, Michael Miller, Peter
Nenno, Jr., Charles Miller, and, lastly, by Henry Saltzer.
Delevan House — Fred Miller, Chester Priggs, Albert C.
Michael, George. A. Richmond, Crawford & Green, Crawford
& Norton, and, lastly, by Webster Norton.
SAW MILLS.
The Eaton mill was built about 18 13. It stood on the west
bank of Spring brook, a short distance north of Franklin street.
Channing Trevitt put up the frame for a saw mill at Wheeler
Hollow in 18 1 3. He died that Fall and the mill was not com-
pleted until a year or so after, by Capt. James Tyrer.
The Bloomfield mill in Springville, was built in or about 1816.
The Bensle}' mill at the mouth of Spring brook was built in
1816 or 1817.
The Phillips saw mill was commenced in 1 8 16 or 18 17 b)-
Nicholas Armstead, who sold out to Asa Phillips, who com-
pleted the mill in 1818. This mill was on the Smith brook just
below the cross road at the John Martin farm.
Robert Auger built a saw mill on Spring brook in the south
part of the village of Springville in 1822. This mill stood near
the tannery of Jay Borden. Auger had an oil mill also.
Joseph McMillan built a saw mill in 1828 ; it stood on the race
just back of Victor Collard's wagon shop on Mechanic street.
Lemuel Twichell built a saw mill on the east branch of the
Fighteen-mile creek, in the north part of the town, in or about
1827.
SAW MI 1,1. l-ROI-RIKIORS. I Si
l)anicl ami Isani Williams commcncctl the erection of a mill
on the Smith brook, near its mouth in 1825 or US26. They
were both taken sick soon after with tyi^hus fe\er and died.
The mill was not finished until .some time after, but b\- whom
the writer is ignorant.
John and Masur\- Ciiles built a mill three-fourths of a mile
south of Morton's corners, in 1824.
W'm. Potter built a mill on the east branch of the I'"Jghteen-
mile creek, at i'\)wler\ ille, in 1829.
Homer Barnes built a mill at \\'ater\ille, on the BufTalo
creek, about 1830. This mill stood on the same site of the
Vance mill to-day.
Henj. Crump built a mill that stood further down the stream
A short distance above the Vance site, Paris A. Spray;ue
built a mill.
Treat Brothers built a mill on the same stream. This mill
stood on the Treat farm.
Still farther up the stream Lewis Wheelock built a mill on
the Wheelock farm.
Lewis janes built a mill on the PLiL^hteen-mile creek, on lot 16.
Sellick Canfield built a mill on the P^ighteen-mile creek, on
lot 6, in 1845.
Theodore Potter built a mill on the same site, in 1857. Orrin
Baker re-modeled this mill some time after and put in a steam
entwine.
Mr. Clark owns a steam-mill at P'owlerville.
At quite an earh' day a saw-mill was erected at Woodsward
Hollow. This mill or a mill that stood on the same site, was
burned down two or three years ago. Philo Woodsward built
a steam-mill there several years ago, which is in active opera-
tion at the present time.
Many years ago a water-mill was erected in Spooner Hol-
low, b\' Simeon I lolton, on the Smith brook. This site was
abandoned some years ago.
A saw mill was built by Sellew &: Popple on the east branch
of the Darby Brook. This mill is now owned by N. Bolander,
Jr. & Bro.
A mill was built at the mouth of this brook some time in
1865 or 1866. The frame was put up by Daniel Pierce, and
1 82 SAW MILLS AND GRIST MILLS.
then passed into the hands of Jacob Rush. This mill is in
good repair, having been rebuilt, and is owned b}' James O.
Coon.
Three or four }'ears ago a mill was erected b}' D. \\' . Bensley
on the Smith brook above Spooner Hollow.
Charles J. Shuttleworth built a mill on the Wells brook, sev-
eral years ago. This mill is located half a mile south of the
Liberty Pole corners, and is in acti\e operation at the pres-
ent time. He also built a mill near his foundry and machine shop.
Gaylord and Watkins in 865 erected a steam mill one-fourth
of a mile east of Gaylord's Corners, ^\'hich is in actixx- operation
to-day.
About fifty )-ears ago a small mill was built on a little stream
since known as the Dry Brook. This mill was built b}' the
citizens of Townsend Hill for their own convenience, and stood
on the southeast corner of the old Fay farm.
Lewis Trevitt bought the frame of the old Phillips mill and
moved it on to the little brook that runs just south of his place.
GRIST MILLS.
First — Benjamin Gardner built a grist mill in Springville in
1814. It was the first grist mill built in Concord, and was
located about t^\•enty-f^ve rods south of Main street, on Spring
brook and opposite the bend in Mill street.
Second — Jonathan Townsend built the second grist mill in
1 8 16, on the south part of lot eighteen, township seven, range
seven, now known as Wheeler Hollow.
Third — Rufus Eaton built the third grist mill in Springville,
about 18 1 8. It stood on the race just back of the Leland
House barn, on Mechanic street.
Fourth — About 1832 Barnes & Wilson built a grist mill on
lot thirty-nine.
Fifth — About 1830 a grist mill, or corn mill, was built three-
fourths of a mile south of Morton's Corners, by Simeon Holtoii.
Sixth — In 1835 Manley Colton built the mill on Main street.
Seventh — E. W. Cook built a mill on the site of the old
(iardner mill.
Eighth — W. G. Ransom changed the Cook woolen factory
into a grist mill. It commenced business in February, 1877.
r)IS'l'f[J-KRIES AND WOOLEN FA("^()K^■. 1S3
DISTILLERIES.
J.'ii-st — Frederick Richmond built the fust distillery iiear
where Franklin street crosses Sprin<;- brook. He made whisky
out of potatoes as well as corn. It was burned down after a
few x'ears.
Second — Silas Rushniore built and run a distiller)- on the
east side of SpriuLj- Hrook a short distance north of (ieorgx-
C'randall's house.
Third — AuL;ustus d. h'dliotl had a distiller}- on the .Shuttle-
worth lot east of the railroad antl south of I'^'anklin street.
Fourth — George Shultus had a distiller}- down near the Cat-
taraugus creek.
l^'ifth — Townsend & 'r}-rer had a distiller}- in Wheeler Hollow.
Si.xth — There was a ilistiller}- on lot forty-nine, township
seven, range six, on the farm now owned by Fred Clark.
Seventh — John Van Pelt had a distillery back of A. F. Rust's
grocer}' between Main street and the creek.
Eighth — David Williams had a distillery on the Cattarau-
gus, do\\-n towards Fr}-es.
wool, EN FAOTORV, CARDINC AND CLOTH DKESSTNO.
The first \\oolen factor}- comprising carding, spinning and
cloth-dressing, was built b}- a company of towns' people, con-
sisting of Maj. Samuel Bradley, Deacon John Russell, Silas
Rushman and George Shultes. The date of the erection of
this building can not be ascertained, but it was at an early day.
Its location was on the west side of Buffalo .street, about equally
distant from W. G. Ransome's flouring mill and the residence
of Sanford Mayo. This building was quite large for the
times, and w as two stories high. The lower story was divided
into suites of roonis for residences, and the upper story was ar-
ranged for factor}- purposes, the basement was used for color-
ing and other purposes requiring heating apparatus. .\ con-
siderable time elapsed before the building was finished and sup-
plied with machinery, and during this interval the upper part
was used for school, church and Sunday school purposes. The
first Sunda}- scht)ol was organized by Deacon John Ru.ssell and
Major Samuel Bradle}'. Religious meetings were also held
here for some time and a common school was taught in this
1 84 WOOI,EN FACTORY AND TAXXKRIES.
buiklin^-. Subsctiucntl}- the upper part of the buildini;- was
furnishccl with machincr\- for manufacturing woolen cloth,
wool carding was done near at hand with a full mill attached
to water power. Machinery for spinning and weaving was pro-
pelled b)' hand, this manufactory was operated for several
years. David Seymour and a Mr. Silsbee were the bosses for
a time and Isaac White — a brother of Francis White, now of
Springville — was one of the spinners. Other buildings were
erected, utilizing the water power now owned by G. W. Ran-
som, and at a subsequent date the flourishing mill now owned
by him, built and operated as a woolen factor)-, where all the
machinery was run by water power, and at the present time
wool carding is done by Mr. Harvey Spaulding in the basement
of the Ransom mill. This propert}' comprising the factory
buildings, water power, including the old grist mill, was pur-
chased by Elbert W. Cook and owned and occupied b}' him
for many years.
TANNERIES AND TANNERS.
Mr. Bascomb did the first tanning in Concord, on the Dodge
place, about one and one-half miles east of Springville.
Second — The first tannery in Springville was built by Jacob
and Silas Rushmore in 1817, on the lot fronting on Main street,
lying between Elk and Pearl streets, and known as the Mc-
Aleese lot. Lexinus Cornwell owned and operated it afterwards.
Third — The second tannery was built about 1823 or '24, by
Hoveland & Towsley. It stood on the Shuttleworth lot, east
of the mill race, and between Franklin and Main streets. After-
wards Augustus (j. Elliott owned and operated this tannery;
also Joseph D. Hoyt, and Hoyt & McEwen.
Fourth — About 1830, Willard and Josiah Algar, built and
afterward run a tajiner\- on Lot 18. T. 7. R. 7, in Wheeler
Hollow.
i^^ifth — .About 1832, a tannery x\as built in the north part of
the town at Fowlerville by Towsle\- and Tuttle.
About 1836, Joseph McMillan and Wm. Watkins built a tan-
ners- on the east side of .Spring brook, about thirt)- rods north
of iM-anklin street. Mr. McMillen died in 1846, but Mr. Wat-
kins carried on the leather and shoe business many years.
TA X X I". K I l':S AX D ASH 1". R I KS — I , A W \' K RS . I S 5
111 1861, rcrcL;i'inc Maton niotlclctl t)\'cr the woolen factoi-y that
stootl down the creek near the corporation hne. into a tanner)'.
After about a \'ear he sokl to Sampson & Wilcox. In 1866 .S.
II. McKwen bought in, and remained ten months. Wilcox
died, and Sampson & Sexerance ran the business some years.
In 1873, Ja}' Borden bous^ht the tanner}-. It burned uj) in
1877, and the present tannery was built.
ASHERIES.
First — Samuel Lake built an asher\- on h'ranklin street on
the north side and near the creek.
Second — A. G. Fllliott built an asher\- north of I-~ranklin
street and near where S. R. Smith's barn stands.
Third — John Van Pelt had an ashery on Franklin street,
south side of creek, about where Orvil Smith's barn stantls.
I'oiu'th — Moses & Asa .Saunders had an asher\- on land now-
overflowed by the north-west part of Shuttleworth's pond.
h'ifth — Hallady & Shepherd run an ashery on the east side
of the pond near Pearl street.
.Sixth — At one time there was an ashery at Morton's Corners,
near where the cheese factor)- stands.
PROFESSIONAL MEN, MERCHANTS, TRADERS
AND MPXHANICS.
LAWYERS.
Earl)- Pettifogj^ers — Dax'id Stickney, " Jack" \'aw, Nehemiah
Waters, Wales Emmons.
First — The first attorney and counselor, Thomas T. Sherwood,
came to this town about 1823 or '24, staid a short time and
removed to Buffalo, and practiced there man\- )'ears, where he
died.
Second — rile second law)-er was Elisha Mack, who remained
here twent)- years or more when he removx'd to Illinois, where
he died.
Third — Wells Brooks practiced here fifteen or twent)- years
then removed to Buffalo.
Fourth — C. C. Severance has practiced here over fifty years.
I*"ifth — Morris Fosdick practiced here many years and died
in Springville.
1 86 LAWYERS AND PHYSICIANS.
Peter V. S. Wendover staid a short time and went back to
Columbia county.
Merrill & Treadwell staid a short time and went away.
Wales Emmons went to Wisconsin and died there.
Miner Strope went to Chatauqua count)'.
Sydenham S. Clark died in Springville.
Seth W. Godard died in Springville.
Alonzo Tanner lives in Buffalo.
A. W. Stanbro lives in Buffalo.
Hosea Heath lives in Hamburg.
L. Le Clear lives in Buffalo.
Augustus Hanchett died in Michigan.
PHYSICIANS WHO HAVE LIVED AND PRACTICED IN CONCORD.
Giles Churchill doctored some in early times.
Dr. Rumsey was a young man and in a year or two died here.
Drs. Woodward and Reynolds were young men and remained
but a short time.
Dr. Daniel Ingals remained several years and then went
away and has since died
Dr. Varne}' Ingalls practiced several years and died here.
Dr. Carlos Emmons died in Spring\'ille alter a residence here
of over fifty years.
Dr. John Allen died recenth' on Long Island, at an advanced
age.
Dr. Alden S. Sprague removed to Buffalo and died there.
Dr. H. H. Hubbard removed to Wisconsin and died there.
Dr. Alexander Hubbard removed to Wisconsin and died
there.
Dr. D. V. Folts removed to Boston. Mass., anci lives there.
Dr. Morrell, Dr. B. A. Battle and Dr. Simeon Pool, went away.
Dr. E. C Pool died in Springville, after practicing sometime.
Dr. Wm. Van Pelt resides at Williamsville, this county.
Dr. John ("i. House removed to Independence, Iowa, and
died there.
Dr. Charles House died here; Dr. Daniel Nash died here.
Dr. U. C. Lynde lives in Buffalo: Dr. W. Gillett died here.
Dr. Lyman Packard lives in Michigan.
Dr- George Abbott lives in Hamburg,
I
J'lIVSICIANS, MERCHANTS, 'rRADHRS. i;'rc. 1 87
])\\ W . S. I ones dic'il in California.
Dr. Joseph Sibic)- died in Colden.
Dr. Win. W'atkins lives in Orei^on.
Dr. Wnison remained one year.
Dr. Ru---. Dr. Crawford, Dr. Nichol, Dr. K-er)-, Dr. llib-
bard. Dr. Manninn', Dr. .S])err\-, Dr. SoNerit^n and Dr. Brewer,
went aua\'.
Dr. Lane, Dr Habcock and Dr. Buckingham lived at Mor-
tons Corners.
MERCHANTS AND TRADERS IN CONCORD, IN DRY GOODS,
GROCERIES, HARDWARE, BOOTS, SHOES. CLOTHING, .S:< .
About 1 814 David Stannard and Jerr\' Jenks came from Boston
to Spriny;\ille (or "Fiddler's (ireen"), and commenced trading- on
a small scale ; about the same time Frederick Richmond started
in the same business on a still smaller scale. .Some authcjri-
ties claim that Richmond started first, while others are quite
as sanguine that ".Stannard & Jenks" were the pioneers.
Their business was carried on in a log building east of the
park, and afterwards they moved to a building that stood be-
tween the Methodist and Baptist churches on Buffalo street.
Rufus C. Faton was the next trader, he occupied a building
back of the opera house, near the pond.
In i<S2i, Samuel Lake built a small store on the corner o{
Main and Buffalo streets, where the American hotel now
stands. This was the first store on Main street. Two or three
\-ears after he built the store now occupied b}' R. W. Tanner
and mox'ed into it.
Varney Ingalls traded on Franklin street, whei'e the k'ree
liaptist church stands at the present time.
August G. FUiott, in 1826, commenced business in a store on
the Peter Weismantel lot on l^ranklin street, near the race.
In 1828, William Smith, Jr., built a small store on the corner
of Main and Buffalo streets, where the First National bank
now stands and traded a short time.
Rufus C. Faton «^ Otis Butterworth formed a partnership
and commenced trading in i830on Mechanic street, to be soon
after followeil b\' Moses and Asa Sanders, Jolm \'an I'elt,
Plin\- and Theodore Smith and Manly Colton. In 1S34, Henry
Bigelow sold goods here.
l8(S NAMES OF MERCHANTS AND TRADERS.
M. L. Hadi^el}' came to Spring\'ille in 1835 and was enij;ai;cd
in the mercantile business many \'ears. These have been suc-
ceeded by the foUowing" :
EHsha Mack, S. & E. C. Pool, O. C. Morton, Badgely & God-
dard, Rufus C. Eaton, Butterworth & Fox, Smith & Richmond,
C. Osgood, McCall, Long, Spencer & Nash, Eaton & Blake,
Spencer & Blake, J. G. Blake. Abbott Frye, Robbins & Cronk-
hite, Levi Wells, E. N. Brooks, l^lemings & Baily, Jewett &
Cochran, Gardner Brand, Hallida}^ & Shephard, George Drul-
lard, Asahel Field, J. H. Ashman, John F. Sibley, Edwin
Wrig-ht, Edward Godard, D. C. Bloomfield, Philetus Allen,
Chester Spencer, Charles Hcnise, Joseph Tanner, John Hedges
&; Son, Vosburg & Son, Clinton Hammond, Daniel Nash, Lake
& Tabor, Taber Brothers, A. R. Taber, Richmond & Griswold,
Richmond & Holman, Richmond & McMillen, Richmond &
Shaw, Cyrus (jriswold, James F. Crandall, G. W. Canfield,
Frank Thurber, Stanbro Brothers, George R. Bensley, Jacob
Widing, J. Chaffee & Son, Kilburn & Parmenter, Frederick
Clarke. William Weber, Agard & Co.. O. S. \\:ard. G. W.
Spaulding, C. J. Lov\e, C. J. Lowe & Co., Horace Spencer,
Thomas Spencer, Thomas Prowler, Mrs. Prowler, C. C. Smith,
Jr.. I'errin Sampson, Graves & Shaw, Walter P'ox, Tanner &
Bensley, Nichols & Gardinier, Eaton &: Hall, M. L. Hall, \V.
H. P'reeman, Holland & Prior, P^rank Clark, J. O. Churchill,
Rust Brothers, John Ballon, PY-rrin & Guardinier, I^'errin is:
Jones, Joseph Capron, Judson Wiltsee, Reed & Stanbro, John
Reed, Reed & Holman, Holman & Mayo, Smith & Chandler,
Mr. Weinberg, Albro & Freeman. R. J. Albro.
BLACKSMITHS.
Elijah Brigo,Abel Holman, Lothrop Beebe, Reuben Holman,
Elijah Richardson, Jonathan 'Pownsend, Suel Townsend, Joel
Holman, Hiram McMillen. Mr. Hawkins, Esdel F. Wright,
C. G. P. T. Goss, William Hull, Stoel Collins, Mr. Bunnel,
(William K. Blasdell, Henry Blasdell and William Holmes were
edge-tool makers, Mr. Curtis was a sc)'the maker, and Mr. Bur-
nam and Constant 'Previtt were auger makers), John Robinson,
Levi Ballou, Ebenezer Darling, George Shultus, Jr., Albert Oyer,
George Kopp, Stoel Collins, Jr., E. Burlinbach, Sylvester P^itch,
lU.ACKSMI rilS. WAl.ONMAKKKS, I! IC I Sq
C'aKin Tuincr. llcnr}- Tease, (^rson Tease. Charles Iloldeii,
]ohn McAleese, Harrison Cobleii^ii, Thoii Cook, Mr. (luin.
A. Trest(Mi. Henr\' F\-ke, Charles Conrad, Mike Tender^rass,
Mr. Towers. Nathan Ihiniphry, John Hull, Sjiencer Fay, John
Morrison, Le\ant Stanbro, Mike Carmody, F^u<i^h McAleese,
Nicholas Weaver, Victor Rider, John Miller, (ieor^e Neff,
Henry Benthusen, Richard Blaisdell, Kdwin Smith, Charley
T' raiser, William Morrison, John Twichell. i^eter Shontz,
WAGONMAKERS.
Joel White, I-'rederic White. Tat ,McCaul\-. Mr. Bristol.
Martin .Vspland. lulson Terkins, Thilo and Edward Herini^^ton,
[oel Cobleij^h, Hiram Cobleigh, Henr\- Watson, Elea/.er
W'eeden, Jehiel Tast, William McMillen (a brother of Hiram
made the first buij^y made in Springville), Mr. Swain, P. Trube,
T>ed Rider, Morris Freeman, William Woodbur\', B. A. Fay,
M. Cornwall, J. T\dler, Nick Brass.
HARNESSMAKERS.
O. D. Tibbitts, Robert Bidleman, Johnson Bensley , L. B.
Towsley. William Darrow, H. T. Wadsworth, Abner Chase,
^Vindsor Chase, Geor<j^e Kin<^man, Ray Green, Miles Hayes, C.
Van\'alkenburi;h, John and Huel Blakelw J. D. Blakely, Frank
Ga}'lord, C. R. Wadsworth, Thilip Newback, Alonzo Blake, Clark
T'erren. A. W. Blackmar, Henr}' Bay, James Thomas, Charles
BallcHi. H. N. Shreider. S\l\ester Bamhart, William Josl\-n.
James Blake, T'rederick Williams.
SHOEMAKERS.
Ira Eddy, Jacob Rushmore, Levinus Cornwall, Stephen Al-
bro, Towsley and Tuttle, Jacob Frank, Kingsbury and Hove"
land, George C. Graham. C. C. McClure, John Loomis, Noah
Townsend, Enoch Sinclair, Ik-njamin VanName, John Reed,
T. L. Tyler, Nathan Shaw, Christian HutTstader. Mr. Bibbins,
L. IC. B. McClure, William Watkins, Terrin Sampson, Peter
Huffstader, R. l-^. Iluffstader, Samuel Wheeler, Seth \Mieeler.
John McEwen, William l^ierce, George McClure, Seth \\\
Godard. Julius McClure, C. C. McClure, Jr., Henr}- Welling,
William Stone, H. (). Tuckerman, John Groin, H. H. Harris,
Tryon Smith, Benjamin Bartlett, Philander E. M}-ers, Abner
190 siiof:makers, hit-rhkrs, tailors, etc.
Pettitt, (jorham Newcome, William Brown, S. B. La)'t()n, C.
C. Smith, Henry McEwen, Amanzo Rcecl, Henry Wilcox, Mr.
Jones, Mr. Cady, Austin Graham. E. N. Er\'e, Mr. Gedne\',
Chi'i'^topher Beardsley Wiltsee.
BUTCHERS.
Amo.s Melvin, Pamenter & Kilburn, Freman Baily, Barmen-
ter & Andrews, Edwin Wright, Hamper & Sweet, William
Beagle, Damon Dodge, Dodge & Pamenter, Clinton Hammond,
Hedges & Crandall, Windsor King & Son, J. D. Blakely,
Thomas Davis, Jacob Widrig, Widrid & Palmer, Palmer &
Smith, Calvin Smith, Jr., Philetas Widrig, Norman Crandall.
Mayo & Cox, A. J. Blakely, Nicholas & Foster, William
Schlacter, Nicholas Rassel, Spencer Widrig, Matthew Pitts,
J. Morrison, Ezra Vasburg, George Hibeck, Horton & Wandall.
TAILORS.
Mr. Thompson, Mr. Botsford, Thomas Nicholson, Jeremiah
Schallen, David Bensley, Mrs. Mahlem, tailoress, Sylves-
ter B. Peck, Samuel Shaw, B. B. Mason, L. B. Hibbard, C.
Vandenburgh, P. Fitzgerald. Jonathan Bloomfield, Constant
Graves, Eugene Ciraves, John Dodge, Daman Dodge, E. L.
. Norris, T. B. Norris, Mr. McCormick, Henr}- Jerns, Peter Hein,
T. G. Murphy, Hiram Beardsle)'.
CARPENTERS AND JOINERS.
Charles W'ells. Eliakim Rhodes, Charles C. WT-lls. William
Chapin, Whitman Stone, Car}- Clemens, Ben Eaton, Orren
Lewis, James P^lemming, Stillman Andrews, Joseph D. Evans,
Abial J. Vary, Thomas Var\-, Robert (i. Flint, (ieorge Mat-
thewson, Frederick Matthewson, Ephraim T. Briggs, William
Field, Camden C. Lake, Volney l-Jelden, J. (1. Blake. William
McMillin, Marcus McMillin. Dexter Rhodes. Cyrus Rhodes.
James Curtis. Ste])hen Hooker, Marvin I^^cld. Charles Field.
Manl)- iMeld. Abijah Sible\-, Levi W\'lls, Wesley Demon,
. Era.stus Lake, Mike J^rass, 'I"rac\- J. Russell. Asa R. Trevitt,
James Drury, Edward Churchill, Ambrose Upson, L}'man
Shepard, Comfort Knapp, Chester Loveridge. (iifford Pierce,
Joshua Steele, Alva Dutton, Hiram Donalson, (). D. Curtis, E.
Briggs, Chester Holt, joiner and cabinet makers : Benjamin
Knight and Caleb Knight.
'I'lNSMrrns. Mii.iAVRicins, m.\( iiinists. ktc. 191
TIXSMITHS.
II()(l<;c Brothers. l'criL;i'in Eaton. Judson I^aton. J^cnjaniin
l'\ Joslin, Thomas Spencer, David Bloomfield. J. Chaffee &
Son, Ferren & (iuarchnier, h'errin & Jones. \\\ I). Jones, I). W.
Hensle)', \\ . 1). Jones. Albert Pierce.
MILLWRIGHTS.
Jar\-is BlooniCield. Janies T)'rcr, L. M. Kellos^i:^. Mr. Good-
sell, Geori^-e Walker. Benjamin V. Joslin. L. (i. Vnvd. James
Titus, Morris Williams.
MACHINISTS.
Mr. Marshall. C". J. Shuttleworth, Homer Bloomfield, Wal-
lace McMaster, Theodore Baker, Milton Yount,^
GUNSMITHS.
H. M. Waite, Alva King, Wm. French George E. Crandall,
Nathan Shaw, A. (loodell, Welcome Sprague, Langdon Steele.
JEWELERS.
Abial Var\-, (iec^rge E. Crandall, Cieorge (iliddon, William
Nash. William \\Y>ber, (). S. Ward, James Weber, Weber ,S:
Holland, H. P. Spaulding.
COOPERS.
Icabod ]-5ro\vn, Samuel Cooper, Lewis Childs, John Peabody,
Sylvester Peabody, Emery Sampson, Alanson Wheeler, Isaac
Childs, Mr. Titus, Gates Brothers, James Fay, vMford .Shi])py,
Mr. Pratt, Chester Wheeler.
CABINETMAKERS.
Wales Emmons. ()tis Butterw orth, Wales Butterworth, Wal-
ter Wadworth, Mr. Holt, M. L. Arnold, P. G. Eaton, Daniel
Shaw, Shaw & Brothers, William Sherman, E. Rundall, Major
Wells. William Barclay, Mr. Rider, M. W. Douglass, S. B.
Gaylord, Joel Norton, Robert Shultus, Philip Herbold, Her
bold & Prior. L. D. Chandler, Hiram Thomas.
CHAIRMAKERS.
Lemuel Twichel, Richard Wads^\■orth, l^enjamin Nelson,
Jonathan Nelson. Mr. Hill, Mr. Ryder, Mr. Gates. James
Bovles.
192 BUSINESS MEN IN CONCORD AT PRESENT.
Among' the business and professional citizens of Concord in
I<S<S3, are the following:
CLERGYMEN.
Rev. \V. A. Robinson, Pastor of the Presbyterian Church ;
Rev. Mr. Williams, Pastor of the Methodist Church; Rev. A.
F. Bryant, Pastor of the Free Baptist Church of Springville
and Fast Concord ; Rev. Mr. (3wen, Pastor of the Baptist
Church ; Rev. Mr. Fromholzer, Pastor of the Catholic Church ;
Rev. Mr. Baker, Pastor of the P'ree Baptist Church of Morton's
corners; Rev. Mr. Jackson, Pastor of the M. E. Church at
Morton's corners and Rev. Mr. Weiderman, Pastor of the
Lutheran Church at Morton's corners.
LAWYERS.
Hon. C. C. Se\'erance. W. H. Tichnor, PVank Chase, A. F..
Scott, D. J. Wilcox, Lowell M. Cummings and Scott Cum-
mings.
PHYSICIANS.
Dr. George G. Stanbro, Dr. W. H. Jackson, Dr. W. E. Long,
Dr. M. M. Sperry and Dr. L C. Blakeley, Nichols' corners ; Dr.
T. Calkins, Woodwards Hollow.
HOTELS.
Leland House, li. S. Pierce, Proprietor; Poorest Hotel, T. K.
Davis, Proprietor ; P^armers' Hotel, Theodore Trew, Proprietor;
American Hotel, Peter Neno. Proprietor ; Delavan House,
Webster Norton, Proprietor; Miller's Hotel, Henry Saltzer,
Proprietor.
BANKS.
P^irst National Bank of Springxille — Cash capital paid in,
$50,000. Wm. O. Leland, President; H. G. Leland, Vice-Pres-
ident ; E. O. Leland. Cashier. Directors — Hon. C. C. Se\'er-
rance. Almond D. Conger, Joseph Demmon, Wm. O. Leland.
Geo. W. Oyer, Wm. Z. Lincoln, F. O. Leland. Morris L. Hall.
H. G. Leland.
Farmers' Bank of Springville — Capital stock, $30,000. .S. R.
Smith, IVesident ; B. Chafee, Vice-President; P". (). Smith,
Cashier. Directors — S. R . Smith, B. Chafee, J. 1). Larribee,
A. D. Jones.
KKriicisis, mii.i,ini;ks, \c. iq.i
MANUFACITRIIKS, M ERCII AN'IS AND IR ADKSMKN,
r. Ilci"l)i)l(.l, niainifacturcr ami dcak-r in rurniluic ami uiukr-
takcr.
L. 1). Chaiullcr, (-iealL-r in turnilurc and undertaker.
C. J. Sluittlcw'orth. furnace, machine shop, saw-nnll and
builder.
W. G. Rawson. mill owner and farmer.
lUnl Chafee. mill owner and farmer.
E. L. Hoopes, miller and dealer in floor and ^ccd.
S. R. Smith, manufacturer and farmer.
JEWELERS AND WATCH MAKERS.
George E. and Nel.son Crandall, M. P. Spauldiny and E. If.
En<^cl.
MERCHANTS AND TRADERS.
S. H. and X. K. Thomson, Bcebe and M\-ers, dr\- L;oods,
•groceries and L;eneral store; C. AI. Hadley. J. D. Hlakele\-, R.
\V. Tanner, A. F. Rust, E. A. Scott, groceries and pro\isions;
J. O. Churchill, groceries and provisions and dealer in dr\-
goods; William Briggs and J. S Tarbox, general store in Mor-
ton's Corners, Maltb)' and Parmenter general store in Wocxl-
uard's Hollow ; B\'ron Walters, general store in East Concord.
DRUGGISTS, .tc.
Frank Prior, L. B. Nichols and E. C. Smith, drugs, medicines,
paints and oils.
HARDWARE AND TINWARE.
.Mien and Weber, A. D. Jones, 13. W. Jones, and J. Wheeler,
BOOT AND SHOE DEALERS.
.\. L. Ilolman and J. W. Reed.
BOOT AND SHOE MANUFACTURES.
W. Stone, J. W. Reed, Antliony Lei.ser. A. L. Molman, C. C.
AlcClure and George McClure.
CLOTHIERS AND TAILORS.
Harris Cohen, Peter Hein and I Ienr\' Jerns -Tailor.
MILLINERS.
Mrs. O. Smith, Mrs. L. M. Cummings, Mrs. George Myers,
fancy .store. Miss Clara WHieeler and Mrs. L. U. Hcmstreet.
12
194 I'AIX'J'KRS. I'klN'IKKS AND 1!I .\( KSM ITl IS.
DRESS-MAKERS.
Airs. S. Sweet. Mrs. I'erkins. Mrs. H. Palmer. Mrs. R. U.
Ticbnor, Mrs. (Xstrander, Mrs. A. E. Torrey.
PAINTERS.
Thomas H. Prior. James Prior. Marshal Kingsley. Peter H.
Prior, Levi Prior. P^red Childs, Robert Yates. Ryron Bristol.
David Hernden, Lemuel Parker, William P>ye, Nicholas Dcet,
PVank Span Id iiiL;', John Pratt, Lyman Covel. Morris Harnett.
MASONS,
S. Swertz, M. Colin, Charles Colin, J^'rank Thurber & Sons.
Dell l^inney, Mr. Ouigle)', Gideon Matthewson, Mr. Doane.
PRINTERS AND PUBLISHERS.
\V. \V. Blakeley, job printer and proprietor of Jounuxl and
Herald, Melvin & Myers, job printers and proprietors of Local
Ncivs, Nelson Thurber, printer. Charley Briel. printer, William
Lowe, printer, William P>\'e, printer.
TANNERS.
Jay Borden, proprietor of Sprin<;ville Tanner}-. I'atrick Flan-
igan and Mr. Philips, tanners.
WOOD AND COAL.
V . O. Smith, coal and wood dealer.
BUTCHERS AND DEALERS IN MEATS.
Nicholas Rassel, Spencer Widri<^r and Cook Brothers.
WAGON-MAKERS.
Victor Collard, Matthew Metzler and Mr. Hassett. I'eter
Collard.
BLACKSMITHS.
Frank Weismantel. Peter Weismantel. Samuel Wheeler. Jr..
Jacob Wcnzel, Charles Thurber, William hVase. llenry Krepjis.
John h'ink and Cie(.)ry;e Beaumont.
HARNESS-MAKERS AND CARRIAGE-TRIMMERS.
C. R. Wadsworth. Clark Fcrrin, S. PL Barnhart. .\. Thillen.
llenry Bay.
i'i;i;i.ic iMii.DiN'cs, iiAi.Ls, I ii . 195
DIINTISTS,
Carlos W'aiicaiul A. I,. X'au^hn.
daguerri:()tvim;rs.
S. I',. SpauldiiiL;- ami Miss Ann 11. Pierce.
LIVKRV-STAHLE KEEPERS.
E. S. iS: J. Pierce and K. 1). Henient.
RE.STATRANT.
M. I). Scoby.
WOOL CARDING.
! Iar\-e)' Spauklin^-.
PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND HALLS.
( )l)era Iliuise, I'resb)'tei'ian, Methodist. l''ree l)a])tist. Baptist
and Catholic churches, Ciriffith Institute. Masonic Hall and the
E. A. U.llall. I'"ree Ba])tist. Methodist and Lutheran churches
at Morton's Corners, and h'ree Baptist chui'ch at Ivist Concord.
MILLWRIGHTS.
1.. M. KelloL;\L;. Jesse i""r)'e. James B. Titus, Benjamin Josl)'n
and Morris Williams.
MACHINISTS.
C. J. Sluittleworth and Wallace McMaster.
CABINET MAKERS AND SASH, DOOR AND BLIND MAKERS.
John Demuth. Anson J. MeminLj;, Campbell Hu^eland Lewis
(loodbread.
BARBERS.
K. 1). Bement, (jeori^e Identic}- ami Herbert P'errin.
CARPENTERS AND JOINERS.
Thomas Lincoln. William McMillen, Joseph Flcmin<^, Wil-
liam IMackmar, Benjamin Joslyn, Lbenezer S. Cady, J. L. Steele,
Ransom Davis, Morris Williams. William Josh-n. ]). O. Bab-
cock, Carlos Co.x, .\. J. Moon. I'eter Zimmer. James Titus,
I'Vank Spauklin^-. (ieort;e 11 Clark, Kutloli^h Rust, Ward F'crrcn,
Waldo Morton. William Widriti^, lliram Laffcrty, James Rey-
nolds, David (iritfith, (jeorL;e Wood, Theron (ireen. Albert
Davis, Cypher Haas, (ieori^e Norton. Met. Lincoln. Charles
\()6 " fii)1)1,i;k's crkkn."
Laffcrty. Artluir Churchill, Alfred Churchill, Will Stanbrci.
O. D. Curtis. Will Griffith, Mr. Shaw. Perry Scott. Tom Wil-
liams. Mr. Grace. Lee Rider. Gottlieb Krantz. James Cranston.
Mr. Huyck. Edward Beaver.
"FIDDLER'S GREEN.'
It has been a query, even among those to the " Manor born.'
iL'/ic/i or by ivhoiii this name of " Fiddler's Green " was first
<^iven. But it has now become a pretty well established fact, from
the testimon)- of persons now living, and who lived here at thai
time, that the name was applied as early as 1815 or 1816. And
it is also equally as well ascertained by the testimony of the
same old settlers that the person who first applied the name
was Uavid Stickney, who then kept a log tavern w here the
Opera House now stands, and adjoining the "Green. "
The plot of ground where the park now is, in early times was
larger, smoother and much more beautiful than it is at present
and was at first called "The Green." The theory that there
were several fiddlers living adjoining or near there at the time
the name was given is not sustained by evidence. It is true
that at one time there were several fiddlers living in the vicinity,
but it was many }-ears after it had received its title : but the
following are well established facts: —
First — That David Leroy came here about 1 812.
Second — That he was a famous and inveterate fiddler.
Third — That he lived a few rods north of the present park,
and adjoining the " Green."
Fourth — That his house was the favorite resort of other fiddlers
who frecjuently came some distance to practice with and learn of
him, and that the sound of his fiddle almost nightly floated out
upon the evening air, and all the villagers listened to its rich
melody. From these facts we have become satisfied after due
investigation, that from David Leroy anci the music of his and
other fiddles at his house, the " Green " by which he lived took
the name of " Fiddler's (ireen," and that there were )io other
Jieidlcrs living tJiere at that time.
From this the little village took the same na//u\iind for man\'
years it was know n as " Fiddlers (ireen " from New England
to the 1^'ar West. Fifty and sixty years ago the name Spring-
ville was seldom applied to the village, and it was only on
MAM. KOi'lKS .Wn I'osi 1)1 KICKS. I97
special (occasions ami when (inc wished to be \ery ])recise in his
language that the full name " Fiddler's Green " was used, but
among the surrounding farming communit\- the name almost
universally applied was the "Green." If you went to a neigh-
bour's house and enquired of the wife where her husband was,
the answer would be he has gone to the " Green." If }-ou
called at another house and asked the children if their father
was at home, the answer might be no, he has gone to the
"Green." And even to-day the name of the "Green " remains
indelibly stamped upon the minds of sivut of our \enerable
men and women whose first and earliest recollections of the
place was the little hamlet that nestled in the midst of nature's
richest verdure around that spot, and this impression remains
to-day on their minds, and they speak of it as the " Green " and
call it by no other name.
In early times the " Green " was used as a parade ground b}'
the military companies that trained in Springville. Sometimes
caravans and other traveling shows exhibited there. Some-
times exciting games of base ball were played there. In the
memorable political campaign of 1840 a log cabin was erected
on the south-west corner of the " Green," and a large political
mas.s-meeting was held there on that Fourth of Jul)-. In 1880,
at the Semi-Centennial celebration of the opening of the Spring-
\ille Academy, the large compau}' present on that occasion
took dinner from tables erected on the " Green."
MAILS, MAIL ROUTES AND POST OFFICES.
The first post-offices established in this county were at Buf-
falo and Clarence. There were no post-offices or mail-routes
in the south towns before the war of 181 2 -15.
The earliest method adopted b}- the settlers for communi-
cating with their friends east was by watching their oppor-
tunity and sending letters by some one who might ha\e occasion
to return to the section of countr\- the\- came from. And their
friends east would send letters whenever they knew of an\'
person coming from that part of the country- here, and such
person sometimes brought a dozen or more letters and they
would be distributed to the owners who sometimes lived man\-
miles apart. .\t one time a man by the name of Wm. Earl
iqS I'os tmastkrs ai" si'ki\(;\ ll,I,l•"..
\\as employed b\- the settlers to l^o to Buffalo once a week to
cany the mail and brin;4 that of the settlers and distribute it to
whom it belonged. At first the country extendin^^ for t\vent\-
five miles north and south and thirty-fi\'e east and west, was
all included in the one town of Willink, and a letter addressed
to a person in Willink mi^ht ne\er reach its destination, there-
fore the\' were addressed to persons in the township and ranj^e
in which the}' lived. In this w a\- the\' coidd be distributed
w ith measurable accurac}'.
In the Spring" of 1820, a new mail-route was established,
running from Buffalo to Olean, with three new offices in this
county: one at Hamburg, formerly called Smith's mills; one
at Boston, formerh* known as Torrey's corners, and one at
Springville, Ralph Shepard was the first post-master at Ham-
Inirg, Krastus Torr\- at Boston, and Rufus C. Eaton at Spring-
cille, who held the office nine \'ears. Since that time the
post-masters at Sj)ringville ha\ e been —
In i828,Klisha Mack, under Andrew Jackson, two terms,
Martin Van Buren, one.
In 1840, Samuel Lake, under Harrison aiui p.art of T\-ler's
administration.
In 1842, Dr. Hubbard, under part of Tyler's and [)art of
Polk's.
In 1846, Major Blasdell, under Polk's administration.
In 1848, Morgan L. Bacigiey, under 'ra}-lor and h'illmore.
In 1852, Camden C Lake, under Pierce.
In T856. Camden C. Lake, under Buchanan.
In i860, Perrin Sampson, under Lincoln.
In T864, Perrin Sampson, under Lincoln and part of John-
son's.
In 1866, Luther Killom, under Johnson.
In 1868, Carlos Emmons, under Grant.
In 1872, Carlos Emmons, under part of Grants 2d term.
In 1872, T. B. Norris, under part of Grant's 2tl term.
In 1876, T. B. Norris, under Hayes.
In 1880, T. B. Norris, under (iarfield, who i.. post-master ;it
the present time.
Aliout fift)' )-ears ago a post-office was establisiu'd 011 Tow ns-
end Mill, with .Ama/.iah Ashman as postmaste'i". At the jjresent
ro.M MISSION ol II! K II RSI I'oS I'M AS TKK. 199
time there are four post-offices in the town of Concord — Sprini;-
ville, Morton's Corners. Wooclward's Hollow and Mast Concord.
•At first tlu- mail was carried o\-er Tow nsend llill to Boston
and on to Jkiffalo ; then it was carried down the east branch of
Ei<4'hteen-mile creek to Boston, then to Buffalo. And it has
been carried past I-last Concortl ami tlirouLi'h Coklen to Buffalo.
It is now carried on the cars from SprinoviHe to Sardinia and
to Buffalo ; and also through Boston to Buffalo.
In early times there was a mail from the Kast carried through
Springville, Zoar, and on West. Afterwards there was a mail
from Pike through Springville, Morton's Corners, Collin's
Center, and on West. At the present time there is a mail
route from Collin's Center, througli Morton's Corners, Wood-
ward's Hollow, New Oregon, &c. There is a mail route from
Springville to Cattaraugus Station. There is also a mail route
from Springxille t(> Ashford Station.
COMMISSION OF THE FIRST POST-MASTER IN SPRINGVILLE.
'^Ri'tuni /. A/n]<^\\\ Jr., Posf-i/instrr (jciirrol of the ( 'nitctf S/a/cs of
America.
To ALL who shall see these presents, greeting:
" Kxow VE, that confiding in the Integrit}-. Abilit\- and
Punctuality of Rufus C. Katon, P^scp, I do appoint him a Post-
master, and authorize him to execute the duties of that Officu
at Springville, Niagara Count)', and State of New \'ork.
according to the laws of the United States, and such Regula-
tions conformable thereto as he shall receive from me.
To HOLD the said office of Post-master, with all the Powers.
Privileges and Flmoluments to the same belonging, during the
pleasure of the I'ost-master (ieneral of the L^nited States for
the time being.
In TESITMONN' whereof, 1 have hereunto set m\- hantl and
caused the Seal of my Office to be affixed at Washington Cit\ ,
the thirteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thou-
sand eight lumdred and twent}-, and of the indej)endence of the
United States the fort>'-fourtli.
Registered 19th day of Jul)-, 1820. R. J. Mek.S.
Tiios. Aruuckle, Clerk.
200 NAMKS ()]•■ OWM'.RS OK 1-AKMS 1\ 1S43.
/\ list of tlie owners of farms and farvninL;- lands in the town
of Concord in 1S45 :
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, RANGE SIX.
LOTS.
25. Calvin Blake, L. C. X'ani^han, lames V^aui^han, Epenetus
Vaughan.
26. W. W. Cornwell, Asa W'ells, J. X. Yates, H. Freeman,
J. Mayo.
27. John Gardinier, J. Bloodgood, W'm. Smith, Archibald
Griffith.
2(S. Jared Davis, John Vaughn, Wm. Smith.
29. H. J. Vosburg, Abram Gardinier, \Vm. Olin, G. Newcomb.
:^o. Wm. Foot, 'Levi Finch, James Wood, Joseph Coteral, John
Coteral.
31. James Wood, R. Foote, R. Matthewson, John Philips.
32. R. F^oote, Sam. Hains, Mrs. Beaver, R. Matthewson.
33 Asa Wells, Healy ?^reeman, Charles Wells, Mr. Kilburn.
34. James Bloodgood, J. N. Vates, Vincent Cole, Weston
Waite, Moses Griswold.
35. Archibald Griffith, M. \Wample, S. Gardner, J. Ma}'o,
C. Smith. J. Wilson.
36. J. & A. South, Wm. Smith, E. Cram, L. Killom, J. Ila\-nes,
L. Needham.
37. H. Stanbro, Wm. J^aker, Henr}- Vosburg, 1^. Graff. C.
Vaughan, David Clark, Levi Finch.
38. J. Griffith, Louis Wheelock, H. Griffith, R. Drake, Bela
Graves, C. Killom.
39. R. Foote, John Treat, P. A. Sprague, S. P. Field, Bela
Graves.
40. Abner Wilson, B. Crump, P. A. Sprague.
41. Josiah Graves, Ashle)' Holland, Gardner Stanbro, Seic)-
Squires.
42. Seley Scjuires, J. C. Cranston, Justin Miner, Hiram Mayo,
, D. Sweet, J. McMillen.
4V L. Davis. E. Mayo, James Curtis, J. Mayo, P. Stanbro,
C. Smith.
44. 7\. Cranston, Wm Smith, Jr., Wm. Smith, S. A. Jocey, 1'.
Stanbro, C. Stanbro.
15. W'm. Smith, Wm. Smith, jr., Patrick Hogan, Ej^jhraim
Neeilham.
KAKIA' FARM oWMlKS IN l( »\\ \ ()!■ ( ■().\( OKI i. 20 1
46. Philip l\)ttcr, P. (^s<,H)od, Josiah CanfR-Id, Mr. Flint. C. A.
Wilson.
47. Wheeler Drake, (non-resident).
48. Samuel Abbott, Alonzo Cross.
49. Mrs. Reynolds, Varne\' Installs.
50 K. E. Williams. Daniel Tice. Peter ]^radle\-. Zimri Inj^alls,
Caleb Ingalls.
51. James Flemings, Ephraim T. Briggs. Amos Stanbro.
52. Philip Ferrin. Nathan Godard. l^Mijamin South, Lsaac Knox.
53. Albert Shippy. Ephraim A. Hriggs, Star}- King, C. Need-
ham, E. Godard.
54. K. Martin, Jr., Mr. Mason. A. Martin. J. Agard. Orrin
Sibley.
55. Orrin Sible\-. S\-lvester Abbott, Harrison Calkins.
56. Henry Smith. Wm Calkins. C. Abbott, S. Abbott. D.
Lewis.
57. Carlos Emmons, V. Ingalls, Allan Drake, Alanson Wheeler.
58. J. House, Orley Perkins, Benjamin WHieeler, Sen.
59. Benjamin Fay, Ebenezer Blake.
60. Noah Townsend, Constant Tre\'ett, Philip Ferrin, Mr. Ste-
phetison.
61. Orrin Baker, Jonathan Canfield, Orvil Canfield.
62. Wm. Field, Almon Perkins, Joshua Agard, H. E. Potter.
63. Benjamin Sibley, Joshua Agard. Abijah Sibley.
64. Moses Leonard, Oliver Dutton, O. Wells, J. P)artle\-, Mr.
Curran, Mr. Calkins, E. Twichell.
TOWNSHIP SIX, RANGE SEVEN.
LOTS.
46. Mrs. Prudence Williams.
47. Mrs. Prudence Williams.
48. Roswell Alcott.
49. Jesse Frye, Enoch N. Fr)e.
56. Henry Weber.
57. Non Resident.
58. Michael Smith.
59. Michael Smith.
60. John Wells.
61. David Williams.
62. E. N. JM-ye, L. P. Coxe.
202 i:arlv concord farmers.
60. Luther Austin, V. 11. Can-, John Ilovcland.
67. Henry Weber, II. S. Post.
68. John Wilhanis, Le\i Pahiier.
69. John Williams.
70. Non Resident.
71. Thomas Richardson.
/2. Abram Hammond, Luther Thompson, Mr. Newman, S. G.
Churchill, J. G. Stor\-.
JT,. Thomas Daxis, Mr. Trumball, S. A. Morton.
JJ. Elisha Eaton, Joel Chaffee, Charles Chaffee.
/^. Charles Watson.
79. Mrs. Knii^ht.
So. Mrs. Knii^ht. Amos Stanbro, Geory;e Thompson, Charles
Trindle.
81. A. P. Morton, A. K. ( )strander, Ambrose J(_)hnson, Widow-
German, Milo Paker.
^2. A. P. Morton, Pomro\- Johnson, Jose[)h A^^ard Ostrander,
Mr. Harxe}'.
86. Samuel Churchill.
i>/. Pelei^ Cranston, AL-. \'an Hurau.
88. J. Agard, W. Agard, S. Agard. L. (jerman.
89. Horace Ga\'lord, Amos Stanbro, Washington T\-rer. Charles
Prindle.
90. Isaac Nichols, (jeorge \\'oodbur\-, James Wheeler, P. C.
Holt, Mrs. Tyrer-Ostrander.
91. Jeremiah Richardson, James Wlieeler, Widow Richardson.
Parts of lots 61, 62, 71, 79, 80, i>j ;ind /^, and lot 70 were
wild or unoccu[)ied land.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN. RANGE SEVEN.
LOTS.
1. Carlos Lmmons. \'. Ingals.
2. V. Ingals, Mrs. L )veridge, S. Wheeler, Mr. Ilutchins.
3. Mr. Hutchins.
4. P. Scott, A. /Vshman. Mr. Hutchins, Mr. Ste\enson, Mr.
Canfield.
5. R. C. Drake, lUam Booth, Parle\- Marten.
6. Sillick Canfield, A. Gra\\ C)li\er Needham, Laban A. Need-
ham.
•ni.i.i'.ks (»K nil' son. i\ 1S45. 203
7. Ilosca I'otttr. i.. II. Twichcll. II. lii^als, A. (icnsnian, Mr.
I lorton.
S. William l)>-c. Ira Wooclwanl. Whcclcr iJrakc.
9. Jonas Pcrhani.
\o. r. Cook. V. liiL;als, John I'^'cnch.
11. V. Scott, Widow Scott, .\. LoNcridL^a-.
12. r. Scott, J. Shears.
13. ThacklLMis I licock, Abial BloclL;"ctt.
14. T. II. and II. Potter, Charles Xeedham, A. C. Adam-;,
Widow Bement.
15. T. li. Potter, William Twichell, Samuel Tuichell, Joseph
Potter, Ira Drake, H. Drake.
16. William Potter, Widcnv Drake, Wheeler Drake, G. W.
Thurber, H. Drake-BridLi'inan.
I 7. W. H>-de, S. W. Alger.
iS. W. Hyde. Klder Carr, James Tyrer, O. Spaulding, A. Hall.
B. Trevitt, S. Stevens.
\(j. J. M. Spauldinu-, B. Alby.
20. A. Hall, Hicock and Trevitt, E. Sampson, Jeremiah Louk.
21. Benjamin Trex'ett, Benjamin Trevitt, Jr., Hiram C. i re\ itt,
William Adams, E. Adams.
22. Eron Woodward, Isaiah Pike, William Adams.
2:,. S. Trevett, I. Pike, D. Janes, P. Thurber, H. Burt.
24. R. Curren, J. Fosdick, E. Ellis. S. Trexett.
25. L)-man Joslyn, Mr. Josl\-n.
26. S. Stexens.
2J. r. M. Brings, E. Eush, Daniel Persons, James Colwell.
28. S. Cooper, H. C. Trevett, B. Fisher. l\. Sampson.
29. J-5enjamin Trevett, lienjamin Trexett, Jr., Trex ett & l^illou.
30. Ezekiel Adams, A. C Adams.
31. H. Babcock, Mr. Brush, J. Haxxkins. R. Hawkins, Al})honso
Cro.ss, L. Trevett.
32. D. Janes, P. Roach, Joseph Roach. W. Burt, P^-ancis Tat-
too, John Goffinett, Francis Wiser.
^T). Calvin Johnson, John Nichols, A. Nichols, J. Steele, Ezekiel
Goodell.
34. E. Simons, Z. Simons, John Martin, John PealxKlx , Phiu-
eas Peai)od)'.
204 HUSBANDMEN OK CONCf)RI) IN 1845.
35. Peril! Sampson, Emery Sampson, William Sampson, T. D.
Tiffany, P. Payne, S. Briggs.
36. Emer)' Sampson, LeGrand Douglass, Haw & Douglass.
37. J. Rice, A. Becker, — F"rancisco.
38. Joseph Hawkins, Levi Knap, P2. Adams, Mr. Blakeslc}-.
39. Benjamin Dole, Alph(^nso Cross.
40. Mrs. Barrett, G. M}'er, H. Perkins, H. Rathburn, George
Barrett, F. fiammond.
41. A. Nichols, M. J. Steele, William Fessenden. Eli/.er Stock-
ing, L}'man Steele, Charles Mosier.
42. Luke Simons, Z. Simons, William Fisher, Nehemiah Heath,
Joseph Tabor.
43. J. L. Douglass, D. Rice, Jarcd Tiffany.
44. J. L. Douglass, Waters & Rice. E. Sampson, Jarcd Tiffany.
J. Colvin.
45. William Beckwith. Ra\- Beckwith. Mr. Stearns, (iilbert
Sweet.
46. Chockly Lynde. Ira Stebbins, Mr. Lj-nde, William Horton,
L. Barrett.
47. John Becker, George Myers, Zenas Perkins, P. Hucklebury.
M. Hucklebury.
4S. H. Jefferson. D. Horton, B. Rathburn. F. Hammond.
TOWNSHIP SIX, RANGE SIX.
LOTS.
1. Eaton Bensley, John Russell, Joseph Harkness.
2. Samuel Cochran, Mrs. Yaw, D. Evans.
3. George Holland, Sylvester Eaton, W. Watkins. Wells
Brooks, William McMillen.
4. J. Van Pelt, James Hinman. Charles Wells. \'. Ingalls,
Christopher Green.
5. 1^. Nelson, E. Matthewson. G. W. Kingman, Parker &
Barton.
7. Ahner White, William Weeden. Charles Chaffee, Joel
Chaffee, J. Russell, E. Bensley.
S. Bloomfield, Shepherd. White. Shultus. William Weeden. S.
Cochran.
9. E. Mack, William l^allou, J. Rushmore, I'Ltlmonds I'\ White.
10. J. Van Pelt, Selem Sears, Isaac Palmei-.
coNcoRi) S()I.iiii;ks RiicokD. 205
11. II. S. I'osl, Julius Hcmcnt, Ihirvcy Aiulrcws. Luther
Austin.
12. Jarvis Bk)onificlcl.
13. (iilcs Churchill, Jacob Rushniorc, Luther Austin.
14. I'^. W. Cook.
15. E. W. Cook, Mr. Stearns.
16. David Wiley, Mr. Stearns.
17. Ebcnezer Dibble, P'rancis White, Mr. luhiiunds.
18. Mrs. Otis, William Ballou.
19. William Smith.
20. James Kini^sle)-.
21. L. R. Shultus.
22. David .Shultus.
23. David Shultus. Abel llolman. Mr. Kini;man.
24. Abel Holman.
2^. Nathaniel Howen. Mr. Dodi^e, Parker & l^arton.
CONCORD SOLDIERS" RECORD.
'I\) that (irand Arm\' which preserved the L^nion, Concord
contributed her full share of volunteers, a larg'e percentage of
whom were either killed or died in the service. When future
generations lift the \eil from b)-i;"one years in their search for
fitting themes of eulogy, let their finest tributes fall upon the
heads of the soldier boys of Concord.
More than half of those who entered the service went out in
two companies — Company A of the 100th N. Y. .S. \\, and
Company E of the 1 r6tli N. Y. S. V.
Company A of the lOOtli was recruited b}' Capt. Daniel D.
Nash, of Springville, and was the first offering toward the for-
mation of the "Eagle Hrigade." being raised b)' (ieneral
Scroggs, of Buffalo. Of their service in the field we need not
speak, as its history has already been written b\' an able pen.
Company E of the 1 i6th was organized by Drs. U. C. Lynde
and Cicorgc G. Stanbro, of Springville, in 1862. Dr. George G.
Stanbro was commissioned as its captain. The\- reported for
duty in August, 1862, at Eort Porter, Buffalo. Earl\- in 1863
they were sent to Louisiana, where, after particij^ating in a
series of hard fought battles, the regiment was ordered to Vir-
ginia. But a history of the 1 i6th has also been written and
2o6 II 1 1; r.KAVK s( )I.1)Ii:ks ok coxcoRn.
wc need not tuilher refer to it. ( )f those wlio were members
I if the various other reL;'iiiients. their records are ecjuallx' deserx-
iiiL,^ of a phice on the ilhistrious scroll of the nation's lionoretl —
soldier heroes.
The following;" list of the soldiers includes some who enlistetl
in other places but whose homes were really in Concord :
■ Died in the service ; the person's name will also be found in a list of the dead.
n\K HUXDRKDIH RK(;i M KNI' ^'E^\ \()KK \()1.U.\ rKllR^. ( i >.M-
I'AW A.
Major Daniel D. Nash, h'rancis L. Arnold,
Capt. Wm. L. Mayo, Nathan J. Arnold.
Serg. Carlos H. Richmond. (ieorge Arnold,
Scrg. Thos. W. Small, Thos. Dillon,
Scrg. Byron Bristol. Hiram M. Fisk.
*Corp. Charles B. Kellogg. "Jacob l^^-iednicUi.
Corp. Thos. M. Allen, Ed. (i. (iibson,
■'•'Corp. Charles H. Flanders. Henr)- S. (joodman.
Corp. |. S. Bibbens, Nicholas (ieorgen,
Emerson Gates, James L. Gaylord.
Daniel Hicks, "Uriah F. Hill.
Marion Eincoln, John Roller,
■■^Roswcll Merrifield. Ebenczer Spooner,
Nicholas Streit, Frank Smith,
Wm. H. Sill, Daniel H. Stebbon.
"Thos. C. Sweet, Sylvester Wiser,
"Geo. Bishop, -'^'hillip Wiser,
"Clark C. Dickerman.
OXli IIUXDREI) AXl) SIXTKE.Xril KKGIMEXT, NKW ^•()RK \()L-
UNTEERS, COMPAX'Y F.
Capt. (ieorge .S. Stanbro. Rollin J. Albro,
Capt. Charles S. Crary, George Annaerter,
Lieut. Clinton Hammond. "'Peter Brooks.
Scrg. John Ci. Dayton. Morris Barnett.
*Corp. Samuel A. Mayo, Martin Bui)-,
Corp. Anthou)' Reiser, Edward Bement,
William A. hV-rrin, Marshall K. Davis.
Stephen E. .S[)aulding, Jacob Earner,
Benjamin S. Goddard. Alonzo Hilliker,
rill'. \f)i.iN ri-.i:k s(ti.i)ii:K>.
20:
I'l'edcrick I li >\\'i'laiul.
■■'Marl<s 1 ,ouk,
"•■'Jolin 1 1. Mayo,
Julian 1 1. KIkhIcs,
"••■John 1 1 . Tluirher,
Carlos Waitc,
Cornelius (iraft.
Scrq;. James 1^. Webber,
Uriah C. L)'nde, Surgeon.
Jacob Chiefferle,
"•^■Daniel Wriehl,
Julius A. MeClure.
Theron Alatthewson,
Cornelius ( )strancler,
llenr\- W. Shultus,
h'ranklin C. Shultus,
•■'I^'abian Warner,
Lorenzo Johnson,
Marion Johnson,
Joseph S. W'.irner,
■■'■John W. rwichell,
■■'Hiram H . Tvrer.
Theotlore B. Norris.
.MIS(i;i.l,ANE()L^S LIST.
"Eugene Walker- 44th Re^., Inf. Co. A,(i'eoi)le's Rllsworlh. )
■"Irvini,r l^ike — 44th Re^., Inf.. Co. A, (l'eo[)le's Mllsworth.)
■•■'Jerome Myer.s — 44th ReL;., Inf., Co. .\, ( l'eo|)le's T'Jlsw orth.)
"•■"ilenr)- C. Hammond — 44th Ke^., Inf., Co. A, (People's I^lls-
worth.)
Tyler H. Stearns 44th KeL;.. Inf., Co. A, ( l'eoi)le"s Kllsworth.)
Lan.son A. Stanbro — i 16th N. Y. V., Co. C.
Alonzo v. Killom — 1 i6th X. Y. V., Co. K.
William Woodward— 64th X. Y. V., Co. A.
(ieort^e Smead — 64th X. Y. V., Co. A.
Elmore Hement — 2d Rey;. California Ca\'., Co. (i.
Frank I'. S])auldin<,^ — 36th Re-. X. Y. \'., Co. A.
Col. H. V. .Spauldin^- — 7th Rey;. U. S. colored troo[)s.
James McRea— ist Ret;-. 111. Li^ht Artiller\-, Batter\- I.
Nathan Humphrey — 1st l^atalion, N. Y. sharj) shooters, 8th Co.
.\lonzo I^ooth — 97th N. Y. \. iConklin Rifles), Co. K., drafted.
Corp. John P. L'nderhill lolh X. Y. Caw
Capt. William II. Warner--4th .\rk. Cav., Co. V.
Serg. Humphrey Drake — i i6th N. Y. Cav., Co. H.
■^'Leroy Coo[)er — 187th X. Y. V.
Henry Himes.
Elnathan (Griffith— 1 16th X. Y. V., Co. K.
EuL^ene I', h'.llis.
William Henry Sprai^iie.
William Vannatta— 64th X. Y. V.
208 LIST ()1- Till-. KII.LKI).
"'^FJias Vannatta — 64th N. Y. V.
I'rcston Richardson.
Tctcr Prior — 147th, Co. D.
Job Woodward.
Martin Miller— 21 st N. Y. V.
W. B. Jcwett— 2ist N. Y. V.
William Black— 45th, Co. I.
AmericLis Lincoln — 147th, Co. I).
*Jame.s Darling.
*Joseph Y. Gardinier — 2d Minn. Cav.
Serg. George W. Pierce — 187th N. Y. V., Co. E.
*Jacob F. Goodbread— i.^7th N. Y. V., Co. 15.
*Thoma.s Page.
*Philip Mentz—iooth N. Y. V., Co. A.
*Chauncey Joslin — 64th N. Y. V., Co. A.
^Alfred Shippy.
LIST OF THOSE WHO WERE EITHER KILLED OR DIED IN THE
SERVICE.
Corp. Charles B. Kellogg — killed in Virginia.
Corp. Charles F. Flanders — killed in the attack on Fort Wag-
ner, July 18, 1883.
Roswell Merrifield — killed June 28, 1892, at Bottom Bridge.
Thomas C. Sweet — killed June 28, 1862, at Bottom Bridge.
Jacob P'riedman — killed.
Uriah F. Hill — died at Andersonville prison.
Phillip Wiser — killed May 26, 1862, at Seven Pines.
Corp. Samuel A. Mayo — died Aug. 8, 1862.
Mark Louks— killed at Port Hudson, June 14, 1863.
John H. Mayo — died of wounds received, Aug. 11, 1863.
John H. Thurber — lost at sea, July 10, 1864.
F'abian Warner — died at Baton Rouge, July 26, 1863.
Eugene Walker — killed at second battle of Bull Run.
Irving Pike — died in the service.
Jerome Myers — killed at Malvern Hill.
Henry C. Hammond — killed at second battle of Bull Run.
Leroy Cooper — died in the hospital at Washington, in 1864.
Elias Vannatta — shot.
James Darling — died in Andcrsonxille prison.
Joseph Y. Gardinier — died at St. Louis, P^eb. 7. 1862.
■niK i'RKsii\ri:Ri.\N chircii oi' si'ri.\(;\ii,lk. 209
lacob V. Goodbrcad — starved to death in Andersonville prison.
Daniel Wright — died of wound. May 17, 1863, in Louisiana.
Peter Brooks — died Aug. 13, 1863, in Louisiana.
John W. Twichell — died Sept. 22, 1863, at Cairo, Illinois.
Hiram H. Tyrer — died May 9, 1864, at New Orleans,
(ieorge Bishop — died of wounds received at Bull Run.
Thomas Page — died Sept. 27, 1863, of wounds received at
Chickamauga.
Philip "Mentz — died on Morris Island.
Chaunce\' Joslin — died of camp fcxer, at Versailles. N. Y.,
Jan. 12, 1863.
Alfred Shipey — died in the hospital. .
Clark C. Dickerman — died July 18, 1863, at Fort Wagner.
Owing to the destruction of valuable records, the above rec-
ord is imperfect and contains omissions and doubtless errors
which are seemingh' unavoidable.
THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF SPRINGVILLE.
The Presbyterian Church of Springville was first organized
as a Congregational Church Nov. 2nd, 1816, by Rev. John
Spencer, consisting of but nine members of whom John Russell
was chosen its first deacon and was ever after looked up to by
the church as its father and truest friend. Rev. John Spencer
was a character that deserves more than a passing notice. He
was a missionary sent out by the home board to labor on the
Holland Purchase. His labors and toils were abundant in this
county but more particularly in Cattaraugus and Chatauqua
counties. He was wonderfully full of vivacit)', a rare wit and
a genial companion. In all the anecdotes related of him, and
they are very man>', I have never heard of but one instance of
his failing to ha\e a read\' response. He was once walking
through the streets of Fredonia leading his old gray mare,
which as ever seemed inclined to hang back. Passing a tailor
shoj) where a couple of tailors sat sewing b)- the open window,
one called out to him, " Friend, are you traveling far?" He
answers " No." " Ah, I thought if you were, I would advise
\-ou to swap off \'our old horse for a bob-sled and get some-
thing you could draw easier." He stopped, took off his hat
and bowed, saying, " Gentlemen, I have not a word to fit the
13
2IO TWENTV-ONE MEMBERS IN 1820.
occasion," and passed on enjoyin<^ the joke hugely, which he
often repeated. Deacon Russell once said with his eyes humid
with emotion, " That anecdote always brings good old father
Spencer with his old gray mare visibly before me." Father
Spencer was always ready for every good word and work, a
great worker, sowing the seed unsparingly, and was very suc-
cessful in securing an abundant har\est. So kind, loving and
spiritual that he, under God, succeeded in drawing together
and organizing more churches, it is said, than any other man
that ever labored in these three counties. He was pastor of a
great number of churches at the same time and for many years.
The place where this little band met to worship and encourage
one another's hearts to stem the tide of worldly influences was
the old school-house standing in the rear of the Presbyterian
Church which was burned down about fift}'-five years ago.
There they met every Sabbath, whether they had a preacher
to lead them or not. If they had they rejoiced, if not
they felt the command was " worship God." Some brother
read a hymn and the)' all joined in the hoh- song with
grateful hearts. No doubt there would have been some
harsh, grating discords had the song of this little band fell on
the ears of some of the fashionable quartettes of the present
time (w'hose artistic displays seem more in keeping with the
gymnastics of the day than as a part of religious service). But
the business of this little band here in the w ilderness was to
worship and please God, and the}- needed none to lead them
save the Spirit in this most delightful and impressive part of
Christian worship. The h}'mn sung, another brother prayed
and then some minister in heaven preached to them b)' his ser-
mon being read to them here on earth. Thus they continued
about five years, when a Mr. Fitch, a son of Dr. Fitch, of W^il-
liams college, was sent to them. The first subscription ever
drawn up in the Town of Concord for the support of the Gos-
pel was for his benefit in the}-ear 1820. The numbers of mem-
bership had now increased from the original nine to twenty-one.
as follows: John Russell, John Ewers, George W. Robinson,
Hannah Ewers, Silas H. Clexeland, Ruth Morrill, Anna Robin-
son, Sergeant Morrill, Thomas McGee, Hannah Green, Cath-
rina Cochran, Betse\' h'rye, Asa Phillips, Rhoda Phillips, Cath-
THK FIRST RKVIVAl, I\ SPRIN( ;VII,I,F.. 211
rina Knox, L\'dia Russell. John M. Richards, I^Hzabcth Austin,
William Hcrrick and Mary Hcnick. Mr. Fitch remained but
one year, and was succeeded in 1821 or 1822 by l^'ather Ingalls,
who remained four or five years, preachin^^ one-half the time
here and receivins;' his missionar\- aid for a part of his supi)ort.
Under his ministry the church and community was blessed with
its first revival, and this was a i^eneral one throuLjhout the com-
munity, and here man}' of the first prominent settlers took a
stand for Christ. The fruits of this revival went in part to
start the other churches. The Methodists had organized a class
about 1820. The Baptists organized a society from the fruits
of this revival in 1824 and a church several years later. The
Methodists were so ^strengthened by this revival that the)- com-
menced building a church edifice in 1827. The house was
enclosed, except glazing, and remained so for some \'ears.
Through the kindness of the Methodists, the Congregational
church was permitted to meet in their house occasionally.
There they worshiped on slab seats laid on blocks of wood,
their worship being in no way incommoded thereby, but as a
board from the windows, or places for the windows, had to be
removed to let in light iov the singers ; use was found for the
old bandana handkerchiefs to cover the heads of the worship-
ers. All the religious meetings held statedly in the place
up to this time were held b)- this little band, others oiil\-
having occasional meetings, while they met every Sabbath.
The next minister who labored with this church was Kliphalet
Spencer, of Middlebury academ\-. who commenced his
labors in the Winter of 1828-9. ^ ^''^ number since the revival
had increased to fifty-one. Mr. Spencer's labors were not suc-
cessful, as the Masonic excitement was then at its height and
absorbed the public mind. Mr. Spencer being a Mason found
it impossible to do much good in a community where so many
were incensed against the institution. The walls of the academy
were now up and the church met w ithin them at anotlier time in
the ball chamber of the Johnson Bensley Hotel, later known as
the Sjjringville House. They worshiped here for sometime un-
der the ministrations of Re\'. S. H. Gridley, since known as Dr.
(iridley. He was from Clinton, Oneida count\% and preached
his first sermon to this church — a man of talent and ardent
212 THE CHIRCH DKHKATKI > IN 1 832.
piety. He was the first man who exer preached in this phice
all the time. He left in 1830, the church still weak but united
and happy and was succeeded by Father \\ ilcox, an aged man.
who labored a few months without any special engagement,
and left in 1S31. At this time the erection of the old house of
worship was commenced, under very embarassed circumstances,
but few to put their shoulder to the wheel and the land-debts
resting very heavily upon them In June. 1832. this meeting-
house was finished The dedication took place on the 6th day
of June. The ministry present to assist were Revs. Abial Parme-
lee and T. S. Harris The church had now conveniences and
comforts, of which it had known nothing in its previous exist-
ence. It had Avorshiped in the old log school-house, the unfin-
ished walls of the academy, the old factory where Deacon Rus-
sell furnished dinner or lunch for all who came, in the ball-
chamber, in the unfinished Methodist edifice, sitting on slabs of
the roughest material, and never were privileges prized higher
than these. Xow the\- had a comfortable and commodious
house of worship and the celebrated union-meeting of the Bap-
tist and Congregational churches was entered into by previous
arrangement. Following this dedication the ministers were
Parmelee and Harris. Congregationalists; Loomis and Med-
calfe. Baptists. This meeting continued for several weeks ; as
the result, twenty-one were added to the church on profession
and fourteen by letter, increasing the number to seventy. Par-
melee remained five years, closing his labors here in Januarj',
1839. Number of communicants had increased one hundred
and fifty-three. He was succeeded by Re\ . A. P. Hawley, who
became the first pastor of the church : was installed Jan. 30,
1839. '^ \ery ardent attachment soon sprung up between
pastor and people with promise of good results. But Mr. Haw-
ley was laid aside from the pulpit by the fall of a tree in the
winter of 1840, from which he ne\"er recovered, and in August,
1840. the pulpit was again declared vacant.
The church has now reached a point within the recollection
of most of our citizens and we will onh' give the names of
pastors and other facts in a condensed manner. Rev. Z. Edd\-
commenced his labors in the winter of 1840 and '41. and closed
in October. 1844. Number of communicants reported at the
I UK MKIHODIST CHURCH OF S1'KIN(.\ Il.LH. 213
next meeting of Prt'sb\tcr\- was ^22. March. '45, a call was
jjiven to Hiram Eddy, who became the third pastor of the
church and durin<^ his stay the church built the church edifice
in which it nowworships. The pastoral relation wasdissolved in
June, 1850. The pulpit has since been supplied by ministers and
pastors in the following order: Rev. Benj. F. Millan, i year;
Rev. Isaac E. Curr}-, 3 years; Rev. Robert L. Conklin. 1 year;
Rev. Claudius B. Lord, 3 years : Re\ . Nathan Allen, 5 \'ears ;
Rev. J. T. Manning. 3 years: Rev. John A. Wells, 11 years.
Under his pastorate the church members increased fifty per
cent., and the house of worship was re-modeled at an expense
of over $6,000. Rev. \V. A. Robinson is the present pastor.
METHODI5T EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF SPRIXGVILLE.
From the best information that can be obtained, it appears
that as early as 1814 and 1815. Methodist meetings were held
by a Methodist preacher named " Jenkins," at the house of
Ezekiel Smith, in the town of Sardinia (then Concord), on
Lord's hill, eight miles east of Springville. Subsequentlv
Methodist meetings were held at George Richmond's, thre^'
miles east of Springville. About the year 1820. a Methodist
church was organized at the school house of Liberty pole cor-
ners, one mile east of Springville, by a Methodist preacher
known as Father Hall. So far as can now be ascertained, the
members of the church thus organized were James Hinman
and Phebe Hinman, his wife : Charles C. Wells and Susan
Wells, his wife ; Samuel Shaw and Phebe Shaw, his wife. No
other names of members can be ascertained. In the year 1823,
this conference district was know n as the Erie district, Gleazen
Fillmore, Presiding Elder, and the circuit was known as Boston
circuit. Andrew Peck and John Copeland were the cir-
cuit preachers connected with the charge, and meetings were
held by them alternately once in two weeks. At a later date,
meetings were held at a school house in Springville, that stood
just west of where the Presbyterian church now stands. In the
year 1825, this was known as the BufTalo district, Loring Grant.
Presiding Elder, under whose leadership a church edifice was
erected. Orrin Lewis was the builder. The church edifice
thus built stood on the north side of the public square, and was
214 FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH IN SPRINGVILLE.
used as a place of worship by the Methodists until 1863, when
the present church edifice was completed, which was built under
the supervision of the Rev. S. Y. Hammond, the preacher then
in charge. The edifice is built of brick and of modern .style
and finish, located upon a lot of ample size, with a commodious
parsonage of appropriate style, in close proximity. A fair
estimate of the value of the property could not fall short of
$10,000. The present membership, at this date of 1883, is 110.
Sunday school teachers and children, seventy-five. The present
Board of Trustees are: Stephen E. Tefft, W. H. Pingey, Byron
Wells. B. A. Lowe, H. G. Leland, L. M. Cumming.s, Frank
Thurber, Newcomb Churchill, William McMillen. Rev. Will-
iams, present pastor.
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH IN SPRINGVILLE.
In January, 1827, the first Baptist church in Springville was
organized. The articles of faith now held by the church were
adopted, and Rufus C. Eaton was chosen Deacon. At the time
of its organization the church was composed of eighteen mem-'
bers, eight males and ten females. Their names were as
follows : Zebulon Stratton, Levinus Cornwell, R. C. Eaton,
Almon Fuller, Sylvester Eaton, W. W. Cornwell, Chauncey
Pond, Elisha Eaton, Thankful White, Betsey P\iller, Sally
Weeden, Sally Eddy, Eunice House, Juda Rhodes, Waitee
Richmond, Eliza H. Eaton, Susannah Pond, Louisa Cornwell.
About this time Elder Eliab Going was solicited to visit
Springville, to preach and baptise a few persons. In January,
1828, the church numbered thirty-five members, and Whitman
Metcalf became its nominal ]:)astor, intending to preach one-
fourth of the time.
In 1832, Elder Loomis preached to the church.
In June, 1833, Elder David Searle became pastor of the
church.
On the 14th of December, Daniel Parsons was chosen Deacon.
In 1834, a new meeting house was built and dedicated Janu-
ary 27, 1835, the dedicatory sermon being preached b)' IClder
Elisha Tucker, of Buffalo.
On the 27th of March, 1836, Elder Searle, who had labored
successfully as pastor for three years, was dismissed witli a
NAMES OF I'ASrORS. 21 5
letter of commendation, and soon after, the Rev. W. T. Crane
became pastor of the church and remained one year.
In the Spring- of 1S37, Rev. G. W. Warren assumed the jias-
toral charge of the church. June i/th, Lansing Waugh was
hcensed to preacli. In August, 140 communicants were pres-
ent. In November, R. D. Campbell was inxited to improve his
gifts of preaching (and was afterward licensed), and Thomas
Pierce was chosen Deacon.
In December, the following resolution was adopted by the
church, viz :
"' Rcsoh'cd, That we will not admit to fellowship any indi-
vidual who will not abstain from the use of ardent spirits,
except as a medicine."
In August, 1838, Elder Searle united with the church and
became its pastor the second time. He continued to labor in
that capacity till 1841. In 1841, Rev. Newell Smith became
the pastor of the church. In September, 1842, he asked for a
dismission. In October, Harry A. Sears w as licensed to preach.
Twenty-seven had been baptised and twent\-five received by
letter.
In October, 1842, Fllder Anson Tucker became pastor of the
church. On the iithof August, 1844, 'i*-' preached his fare-
well sermon, having been dismissed at his request. In the Fall,
A. H. Danforth, a student from Hamilton, preached during
vacation. His brother, H. M. Danforth, was invited to preach,
but he remained but a short time. Elder E. G. Hatch supplied
the church a few months. Elder Orsamus Ta)'ntor, from the
Free Will Baptist, united with this church at this time and was
licen.sed to preach. Edwin Saunders and Alvin T. Cole were
licensed also.
In September, 1845, 1"^*-'^'- ^^- W. Mills accepted an invitation
to the pa.storal office which he occupied till the year 1849, '^"^
then supplied the desk till 1850. While Elder Mills remained
pastor, twenty-seven were baptised and thirty-five received by
letter. The church which had graduall}- increased since its
organization in 1827, now seems to have arrived at the height
of its numerical force, reporting to the association held at
Arcade in 1850 the aggregate number of 266.
On the 24th of Februarv. 1850, Rev. Whitman Metcalf
2l6 FREE BAPTIST CHURCH SOCIETY.
became Pastor. On the 1st of May, 1853, twenty were bap-
tized. After four years' labor Elder Metcalf offered his resig-
nation which was reluctanth' accepted.
On June 24, 1855, Rev. John Smitzer became Pastor.
While he remained thirty-eight were baptized and added to
the church.
In April, 1857, Rev. John Pitman became Pastor and remained
two )'ears.
In January, i860, Rev. Clinton Colgrove became Pastor of
the church and continued to preach to the church till the P'all
of 1861.
In the Spring of 1862 the Rev. H. H. Phelps became Pastor.
He continued two years and was succeeded in July 1864, by
Rev. Ira W. Simpson, who had entered on the fourth year of
his pastorate when he died.
In June, 1868, an agreement was made with Professor Rogers,
of Griffith Institute, to supph' the desk for three monthes.
In April, 1868, Rev. Charles Wilkinson commenced his labors
as Pastor, and continued a year and a half, and was succeeded
by Rev. E. L. Benedict Nov. i, 1869.
In 1873, Rev. William Look became Pastor. He was suc-
ceeded by Rev. B. E. Hillman in 1876.
Rev. E. T. Fox commenced his labors in 1879.
The Rev. Mr. Owen, the present Pastor, commenced his labors
in 1882.
Since 1854, the church has declined in numbers, more, per-
haps, from emigration than any other cause, the youth and
the older members of many families seeking homes in the
West.
In the year 1871 the church edifice was repaired and enlarged.
L. M. Kellogg & Son had the job, and Thomas Lincoln was
the master builder, as he also was of the old church. The new
edifice was dedicated on the 28th of November, 1871.
FREE BAPTIST CHURCH SOCIETY OF SPRINGVILLE,
About fifty years ago the P'ree Will Baptist denomination
held regular meetings at Springville. They had no church
edifice and met in the Methodist church and the school-house.
The first local pastor was Rev. H. Whitcher, a young man who
ROMAN-fAlIIOUr CIIUKCH ()1- Sl'KI \( i\ I I.LK. 21/
attciulctl school at the Acadeni)- and prcachctl to his congrega-
tion on the Sabbath. He remained about two years and after-
wards became prominent!}' connected with an F.W. H. Seminar\-
in Oneida County.
After several )'ears it would seem meetings were discontin-
ued, and no society existed in Springville, organizations being
maintained at East and West Concord.
On the 26th of May. 1867, the present church society was
organized in Springville. The following were the principal
original members : — Mr. and Mrs. Albro, Mr. and Mrs. Leigh-
ton, Mr. and Mrs. Jos. Gaylord, Mrs. Weeden, Mrs. Stanbro
and Miss Alice McClure.
On the iith of June, 1868, a permanent organization was
effected by the election of the following board of trustees : —
Emmons Jones, Emery D. Albro, Stephen R. Smith, Walter
A. Fox and Horatio A. Barker. S. R. Smith was elected
treasurer and H. A. Barker clerk. At a meeting of the board
June 15, a plan for building a church, drawn by Mr. Porter,
architect, of Buffalo, was adopted, and July 29th the contract
for building the church was let to S. R. Smith for eight
thousand dollars. Calvin Smith, Emery D. Albro, Emmons
Jones and S. R. Smith each subscribed one thousand dollars
toward the construction of the church. The church was dedi-
cated March 12th, 1870, Rev. G. H. Ball, of Buffalo, preached
the dedicatory sermon. Rew B. C. Van Duzee was first pastor,
he was succeeded by Rev. Charles Cook who remained until
1875, then Rev. B. F. Herrick ofificiated one year, followed by
Mr. Van Duzee. who preached one year, when Rew A. J. Hr}--
ant who remains up to the present writing.
ST, ALOYSIUS ROMAN-CATHOLIC CHURCH OF SPRINGVILLE,
The church property was purchased of George Holland Oct.
22, 1856, formerly owned and occupied by the F^irst Pre.sby-
terian church of Springville. The Board of Trustees consists
of five persons, the Bishop and Vicar-General being ex-ojficio
Trustees, and also the Pastor, who appoints annually two lay-
men as Trustees ; the two laymen now acting as Trustees are
Victor Collard and Peter Saelzler. FVom 1853 to May 15,
1869, this was onl\- a missionar}- station: Ma\' 15 irf6Q a per-
2l8 FREE BAPTIST CHURCH OF EAST -CONC* )RI >.
manent Pastor was appointed and a residence built. April 14,
1878 ground was broken for the new church edifice, which was
built during that season ; Thomas Lincoln was the architect and
builder. The church was dedicated Sept. 18, 1879. The church
edifice has a seating capacity of four hundred, has a bell weigh-
ing 506 pounds, the main building being \o6j4 feet in length,
having an audience n^om of 70x40 feet; in the rear, unparti-
tioned is a sanctuary 30x22 feet ; the cost of the church prop-
erty was about $8,000; number of church members, about four
hundred ; the present Pastor is Rey. F. X. Fromholzer.
FIRST UNIVERSALIST CHURCH OF SPRINGVILLE
The P^irst Universalist Church Society of Springville was
organized in 1846. Rev. L George, Abram Dyrgert, I. B. Childs
and Jonathan Mayo, were the first trustees.
The following constituted the principal original male mem-
bers of the society :
Abram Dyrgert, Lewis Childs, L B, Childs, Benj. Wheeler,
Chester Spencer, Sewell Hakes, Baltus Goodemote, Philip
Goodemote, Michael C. Huffstader, Jonathan Mayo, Rev. L
George, C. C. McClure, Perrin Sampson, William Ballou, John
Ballou, Jonathan Briggs, Jacob Badgley, O. D. Curtis and Dr.
L. C. Pool. ^ .
The church was built in 1 847. Re\\ L George the first pastor,
preached the dedicatory sermon. Rev. L George was suc-
ceeded as pastor by Rev. C H. Dutton, he by Rev. T. J. Whit-
comb, and he by the Rev. J. B. Saxe, the last one who preached
regularly to the society.
In 1879 the church edifice was sold to Messrs. Horris Hall
and L B. Childs, who re-modeled it into the present Opera
House. The avails of the sale were given into the keeping of
the New York State Convention of Universalists, as a fund to
be used for the benefit of the denomination.
FREE BAPTIST CHURCH OF EAST CONCORD.
The societ)' was organized about sixty years ago by Elder
Richard Car)-, of Boston. For a number of years meetings
were held at the Block school house ; afterwards at the Sharp
street school house. The present church edifice at East Con-
cord was built in 1S52, previous to which Elder Cary preached
KKKK ISAl'TIST CIll'KCIl OK WKSl lONCORD. 2ig
;it intervals for many years; Elders Folsom, VVhitcher. Bab-
cock and Plumb also preached. Of the original members, Mrs.
Achsie Townsend, of Townsentl Hill, is the oiiK- survivin<,^ one.
Giles Churchill, Prentis Stanbro, Sen., Prentis Stanbro, Jr., E.
Steele, Woodruff Van Dusan. George L. Stanbro and Sterling-
Titus have been the deacons of the church from its organiza-
tion to the present time, in the order as stated above.
The following are the names of the ministers who ha\e
preached to the society since the building of the church in
1852: B. H. Damon, Elder Plyn, Ashly Ensign, B. H. Damon.
Elder Barker, Elder Van Duzee, Elder Stuart, Elder Starr.
Charles Cook, Elder Van Duzee, B. F. Herrick and A. F. Bry-
ant. The present membership is about one hundred.
WEST CONCORD FREE BAPTIST CHURCH.
About 1818 a few churchmen organized a Free-VVill Baptist
Society at West Concord. Among the early members were
Jeremiah Richardson and wife. Elijah Richardson and wife.
Stephen Knight and wife, Simeon Holton and wife, Elijah,
Polly and Caroline Richardson.
The first meetings were held in the school-house, at Nichols'
corners. Elder Richard Gary was the first minister to preach
to the society and of^ciated as pastor for many years. Stephen
Knight, Elder Rindalls, Elder Plumb, Jonathan Canfield and
Elder Andrus were among the early ministers.
The church edifice was built about 1 845. The dedicatory
services were conducted by Elder Andrus. Jeremiah Rich-
ardson was among those who were most efficient in building
the church.
WEST CONCORD M. E. CHURCH.
In 1819 a Methodist Society was organized in West Con-
cord. Among the original members were Lewis Nichols and
wife, Abijah Nichols and wife, Isaac Nichols and wife, David
and Betsey Nichols, Lewis Nichols, Jr., Mrs. Hira Lush and Mrs.
Vernam Cooper. The first meetings were held in an old log
school house.
Elder Buell was the first to preach to the societ)'. Other
earh' ministers were Elder Parker, John Copeland, Elder Wiley,
Elder Bingham. Inkier Castleton and Re\-. Joseph Hines
22C THE SPKIXCVILLE ACADEMY.
The church edifice was built about 1868. It was dedicated
by Rev. B. I. Ives, at that time chaplain of Auburn State prison.
While Rev. Thomas Castleton was preaching to the church,
a spirited revival took place, which resulted in many converts
joining the church.
THE SPRINGVILLE ACADEMY.
OUTIJXE HIST()R^".
The original subscription for raising means to build the
Springville Academy, was dated Dec. 14th, 1825, and among
other provisions contained the following:
" 3d. We hereby agree to pay to the trustees to be appointed
by us as above stated, the several sums set opposite our names,
as follows : One-third in grain or materials for building on the
first of March next, one-third in salable young stock on the first
of September next, and the other third in cash, half of which
is to be paid the first of June ne.xt, and the other half on the
first of Jan., 1827, all to be estimated at cash price."
It was a serious matter for the people of Springville and
vicinity to undertake at that early day to build an Academy.
The country was new and the people were poor, and when we
look back and consider the circumstances in which they were
[)laccd, we must admire and commend the wisdom and the
energy and perseverance with which they conceived and carried
out the difficult undertaking. In 1825 there was no great city
and no good markets within hundreds of miles of this place, and
people could get but xcxy little money for their products,
because there was ver}' little money in the country ; but it is
evident that if these old pioneers had but little money, they
had what is sometimes better than money — they had "sand."
COPY OF THE ORKilNAl. SUBSCRIPTION LIST.
Names Shares $15 v'ames Shares $15 Names Shares S15
^^^^^- each. -^ame^. ^^^.[^ iNames. ^^^^_
Samuel Lake 5 Luther .\ustin i Wm. Vaughn i
Henry Sears 4 Geo. Shultz 3 Archibald (irififith 2
Carlos Emmons 2 Wm. Shultz 2 Jeremiah Wilcox, half in
W. F. G. Lake 2 John Goodemotc 2 May next and half in
Frederick White 2 C. C. Wells i Feb., 1S27 4
Rufus C. Eaton 4 Samuel Cochran 4 Wm. Rouse i
Rufus Eaton 3 Jacob Rushmore 2 Isaac Palmer i
Liger & Herrick -: 3 Derius Palmer, by consent. 1 Otis Butterworth. Jr i
Lcvinus Cornwell 2 Robert .-Vngur i lohn Drake i
ORKilXAI. SUHSCRIl'TION LIST
221
Joseph McMillan 4
John Russell 3
Otis D. Tibits 2
R. G . Murray i
David Furjiuson i
Varney In^^als 3
Wales EmniDns 2
Christopher Douf^las i
Jeremiah bcallin i
David Seymour i
Abel Holman 2
Jedediah Starks 2
Lewis ('hilds i
Isaac Bennett i
John Williams .. i
George R. Willard t
Johnson Bensley i
Eaton Bensley i
Sylvester Eaton 3
Truman White, on consid ■
cration that lumber is re
ceived 2
Jarvis Bloomticld . 3
Stephen Albro, Jr i
John Albro 4
Giles Churchill 2
Elisha Russell, to be paid in
brick, at cash price 2
Seth Allen 2
Asa Wells i
Thomas Johnson 2
Alanson Lovelace i
Elikum Rhodes i
David Shultz, to be paid in
cattle 2
Augustus G. Elliott i
Silas Rushmore 2
Harvev Stephenson i
Lothrop Beebe i
Jairus Reynolds, to be paid
in stone and labor i
Phineas Scott 1
Samuel Lake i
Selah Squires i
Alden S. Sprajjue 2
Tousley & Tuttle 4
Wm. Wedon i
Eaton Bensley i
Justus Scott I
Charles Chaffee 1
Jacob Drake i
Samuel Cochran i
S . S . Ellsworth 2
Elisha Mack i
B. B. Mason i
Chauncy Lee i
M. L. Arnold i
Samuel Stewart, 3
Abial Gardner, to be paid
in brick, at cash price. ... 2
Nathan King i
Charles Wells 2
Joseph Jackson i
David Bensley i
Stukely Starks i
Geo. C. Grayham i
Isaac Knox 2
John Holdridge i
Truman Bensley i
The following were subscri-
bed in 1830, or subsequently :
Carlos Emmons 2
Samuel Lake 2
Brooks & Wendover
Elbert W. Cook
Samuel J. Church
Sylvester B. PecK
Eaton & Butterworth
Manly Colton
Elbert W. Cook
Kingsbury & Hoveland.. .
Carlos Emmons
Jarvis Bloomfield
Pliny Smith, Jr
Joseph Harkness
Morgan L. Badgley
Geo. Shultus
Ebenezer Dibble
Amaziah Ashman
Samuel Cochran
STRIXCVILLK AtADE.Nn'
was incorporated by an act of the Ley;islature, March 19, 1827,
being the second academy incorporated on the HoHand Pur-
chase, Fredonia Academ)- having been incorporated in 1824.
The walls of the Acadeni}' were put up in 1827.
The first term of school held in the Springville Academy
commenced in the fall of. 1830. Hiram H. Barne}' was the
Principal and Miss Mary Elliot the Preceptress.
No record of the names of students could be found, but
according to the best recollection of several who attended at
that time, the following named persons were students, the whole
or a part of the first year :
Cephus R Leiand,
Marshall Leiand,
Sarah Leiand,
Marion Leiand,
Hannah Henman,
Patience Starks,
Julia Rhodes,
Emily Rhodes,
Lewis Hewitt.
Jacob White.
Dolphin Stevenson,
Chester Calkins,
^hlrvin .Swain,
Sarah Clark.
Amy Huntly.
Hiram Bloomtield,
John Jackson,
Eliza Sampson.
Charles Sherman,
Sarah Ann Wells.
Rebecca Brooks.
William .McMillan,
Deljs E. Sillman,
Henry Radcliff,
Andrew Stevens,
Louisa Richm->nd,
Roderick White,
Smith and McKay, of
Manstield,
Miranda Bowen,
Timothy Lockwood,
Wells Brooks,
Sard is Wilco.x,
H. Lockwood,
Asa Piiillips,
Samuel Bradley,
222
THE '' GRIFFITH INSTITUTE,
Harriet Swift,
Theodore Potter,
John Churchill,
Adaline Murray,
Caroline Cochran,
Orson Cochran,
Joseph Cochran,
Byron Cochran,
Sarah Ann Bensley,
Harriet White,
Frederick Alerrell,
Miss Merrell,
Martha Johnson,
Morris Fosdick ,
Harriet Barney,
Caroline Gregory,
Alonzo Gregory, of
Ellicottville,
Wales Butterworth,
AppletonButterworth,
Mary Eaton,
Nelson Hopkins,
William Dibble.
Sarah Dibble,
Helen McMillan,
Selem Sears,
Otis Morton,
Mary Morton,
Anna Moulton,
Betsy Brooks,
Washington Shultu?
Lucy Shultus,
Julia Ann Shultus,
Elias Steele,
Roderick Simonds,
Harriet Evans,
Asaph Potter,
Oliver Canfield,
Orville Canfield,
Samuel Abbott,
Chauncy Abbott,
Stephen Chafee,
Utley and sister.
Hunt of Eden,
Roach of Buffalo,
Eliza Bradley,
Calex Calkins,
Almina Whitcomb,
John Lockwood,
A. A. Arm stead,
A. Pool,
Paul Nobles,
Franklin Spencer,
Calvin R. Davy,
Cyrenius Simmons,
Mr. Wright,
IVIr. Tiffany,
Mr. Conklin,
Mr. Ailen.
Mr. Barney was succeeded by Lorenzo Parsons, as Perceptor^
in 1833 ; he was follow^ed in 1839, by Edwin E. Williams, he
by A. C. Huestis. 1841 to 1843 ^ E. C. Hall in 1844. October,
1845, \Vm. Mosheir. January, 1847, J. W. Earle came. He was
followed by Moses Lane in 1850. Ezekiel Cutler and Eden
Sprout taught next, each for a }'ear, in 1853 and 1854. In 1855,
Wm. S. Aumuck took charge. In the latter part of 1858, Rev-
David Copeland became Principal and continued to occupy the
position till 1865 ; he was followed b)' Charles R. Pomeroy,
and he by W. W. Mclntyre, and he by W. H. Rogers, in 1867.
A. R. Weightman was employed in 1870 and W. H. Rogers
again in 1872. J. W. O'Brien was the next principal, and he
was followed by Samuel W. Eddy in 1875.
The teachers of the female department of the Academy
have been :
Miss Starkweather, Miss Warner,
.Miss Versalla Barber, Miss Case,
Miss Marten,
Miss Emma Clark,
Mrs. Pomroy,
Mrs. E. B. Rogers,
Miss Mary Elliot. Miss Decker,
Miss Sayles. Sarah Houstis,
Miss Chamberlin, Lucretia Murray, Mrs. Aumock,
Miss North, Silena N. Johnson, Miss Field,
Miss Whitlock, Miss Hannah McClure, Miss Emmons.
Harriet N. Murry, Mrs. Carpenter, .Miss Copeland,
Miss O'Brien, Miss Libbie Mayo.
In 1867 the name of the Academy was changed to the
" Griffith Institute," in consideration of the liberal donation
given to the institution by Archibald Griffith, of the town of
Concord.
Mr. Griffith afterwards bequeathed o\'er ten thousand dol-
lars to the institution as a permanent fund, to be used mainly
for the free education of orphans and indigent children ot the
town of Concord.
SKMI-CKNTKXMAl. (EI.KIJRATIOX. 223
In tlic fall of 1875, school districts Nos. 6 and 8 were united
and formed union school district No. I, of the town of Concord.
In (876, the l^oard of Education of Union School district
No. I, adoi)ted the "(iriffith Institute" as the academic de-
partment thereof, with the consent of the trustees of said
institute ; and the ofifices of the said Hoard of Trustees were
then declared \acant, as provided by statute.
The schools were united and ha\'e since been conducted as
one school with four departments, academic, senior, interme-
diate and primary. There are four teachers in the academic
department, and fwc teachers in the other departments.
Samuel W. Edd)' wasthe first principal, and Miss F. M. Sher-
man, the first preceptress; G. W. Ellis was the next principal,
and Miss Sherman the preceptress; Prof. E. \V. Griffith is now
principal, and Mrs. E. W. Griffith preceptress.
Many students of this institution have attained honorable
positions in societ}'. Some have been promoted to high official
positions in this and other states. Asher P. Nichols, Comp-
troller, State of New York ; Addison Gibbs, Governor of Ore-
gon ; Ualeson Smith, United States Senator, Oregon : Renj.
V. Rice, United States Senator, Arkansas; Romanzo Bunn,
Judge of the United States District Court, southern district,
Wisconsin; A. E.Carr, Brigadier General, United States army;
Henry V\ane Armen, M. C, Cattaraugus and Chatauqua counties ;
Albert Haight, Judge Supreme Court, N. Y. ; Timothy T.
Lockwood, E.x-mayor of Buffalo ; Stephen Lockwood, Ex-
judge of Erie County; Allen D. Scott, Ex-senator and Judge
Cattaraugus county ; C. P. Vedder, Ex-state Senator and State
Assessor; Charles H. Reed, District Attorney, Cook county,
Illinois, besides a large number not mentioned here.
THE SEMI-CENTENXIAI, CELEBRATION OF THE OPENING OF
THE SPKINOVILLE ACADEM\ .
The Semi-Centennial Celebration of the opening of the
Spring\'ille Academ}' — (iriffith Institute — was held at Spring-
ville, on Wednesday and Thursday, Sept. i and 2, 1880.
Mr. E. Briggs first .suggested the idea of the celebration, and
circulated a paper for signatures, calling a public meeting to
consider the matter and take the necessary steps, and make the
proper arrangements, which meeting, when assembled, promptly
224 EXERCISES OF THE FIRST DAY.
voted that such a celebration should be held and appointed a
President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer, and an
executive committee. The executive committee was empow-
ered by said meeting to appoint all other committees and
to make all necessary arrangements for the celebration. The
officers were :
President of the Day, - - Hon. C. C. SEVERANCE.
Vice-President, ... - W. G. RANSOM,
Secretary, - - - - A. R. Taber,
Treasurer, - - - - H. G. Leland,
executive committee.
Erasmus Briggs, - . Chainnan,
William McMillan, Henrv M. Blackmar.
George W. Weldon, Russel J. Vaughn.
Charles C. Stanbro, Byron Cochran.
George, G. Stanbro, Chain/iau of Coimnittee of Iweitatiou.
C. J. Shuttle worth, '* " Reception Committee.
M. L. Hall, " " Supper Conimittee.
Frank Prior, " " Finance Committee.
The executive committee authorized and empowered its chair-
man to proceed and make all such arrangements as he should
deem necessary and proper for the occasion which with the sanc-
tion of said committee given from time to time, he proceeded to
do, which duties occupied his time and attention constantl}', for
many weeks.
Mr. Taber also spent several weeks and faithfully performed
the laborious duties of the ofifice of Secretary. General invi-
tation was given and special invitations were sent to nearl}' all
the States and Territories and Canada, wherever it could be
ascertained a former student resided. The good people of
Springvillc and of th(p Town of Concord contributed all the
means necessary to make the celebration a success. When the
appointed time arrived, a large number of students and citizens
of this town and of other towns in this and adjoining counties
assembled — many old students coming hundreds of miles to
witness and take part in the proceedings. A rostrum was
erected in front of the academy and adjoining Franklin street,
and seats were provided and arranged for the accommodation
KXKRCISKS OF rHK SIXOND DAN'. 225
of those present under the shade of the trees on the academy
Ljrounds. At two o'clock on the afternocMi of the first day, the
large concourse assembled, led by Lay's silver cornet band from
the Cattaraugus reservation, proceeded to the place prepared
for the exercises.
After a prayer by the Rev. I. George, of l^'redonia, the Presi-
of the Day, Hon. C. C Severance, congratulated the citizens
and the institution on the great number which had responded
to the call. In behalf of the citizens he then welcomed these
students home again to the institution " in wliose classic halls
they had received instruction." Several letters had been
received from those who, though, imited, were unable to be
present, which were now read by \V. H. Ticknor, Esq.
Two beautiful poems were received from Mrs. James Sweet,
of Nebraska City, and Mrs. Clark M. Carr, of Galesburg, 111.,
and were read by Miss Sule M. Holland.
The Speakers for the afternoon were Samuel Lake, Esq.,
Erasmus Briggs, who gave a brief outline history of the Acad-
emy, and David H. Cochran, President of the Collegiate and
Polytechnic Listitute, Brooklyn, N. Y. At the conclusion of
Dr. Cochran's address, the great throng, headed by the band,
proceeded to the park. Here they partook of a bountiful sup-
per prepared and served up by the ladies of the Town of Concord.
Wednesday evening the speakers were \V. G. Ransom, of
Springville, Ex-Judge Stephen Lockwood, of Buffalo; Judge
Haight, of Buffalo, Professor (i. W . Flllis. of Spring\ille, and
Dr. Van Pelt, of Williamsville. ■
On Thursday afternoon at I o'clock a procession of students
was formed in the park and divided into sections of fi\-e }'ears,
each section bearing a banner on which was inscribed the date
of their student life in the Academy. Headed b\- the band,
they marched down Franklin street to Main, and up Main to
Academy street, and bringing up at last in front of their hon-
ored Alma Mater.
Thursday afternoon the speakers were: Judge A. D. .Scott,
of Flllicottville ; Rev. L George, of Fredonia; Charles H. Reed,
Esq., of Chicago; Samuel Lake, Esq., Alonzo Tanner, Esq., of
Buffalo; Col. Clark E. Carr, of Galesburg, 111.; Colonel Cook,
of Havana, N. Y., and Cyrus Rice. Esq., of Sardinia.
?26
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY SFRINGVILLE ACADEMY
The speakers Thursday evening \\'ere Rev. A. F. Colburn,
Hon. Dolphin, Stephenson, of Phelps, Ontario Co., N. Y.; T.
S. Bunting, Esq., of Hamburg; select reading by Miss KateW.
Bensley, of Chicago ; (ieorge W. Spaulding, Esq., of Concord,
and Hosea Heath, Esq., of Hamburg, who was the last speaker.
A vote of thanks was then tendered to Mr. Briggs, who ear-
nestly labored to make the celebration a success, and also to
Mr. Tabor, who faithfully performed the duties of the office of
Secretary. All these united in singing '^Old Hundred " and
" Auld Lang Syne," after which Rev. A. F. Colburn pronounced
the benediction.
Thus concluded, to the entire satisfaction of students, citi-
zens and visitors, the greatest and b}' far the best celebration
Springville has ever witnessed.
The weather being warm and pleasant, the academ\' grounds
were lit up by a large number of Chinese lanterns, and the
exercises in the e\'ening, as well as in the da}' time, were held
there.
During the exercises the audience was entertained from time
to time with excellent vocal music furnished by a select choir
composed of the following persons: R. E. Hufstader and
daughter, W. W. Blakely, S. Fl. Spaulding
Miss Lucy Sherman, Mrs. Bordon, Mrs. H.
D. Jones.
A list of the names of those who attended the l^lftieth Anni-
versary of the Springville Academy placed under their Princi-
pals, and their present residences given. When the State is
not e"iven New York is to be understood :
Mrs. A. H. Pierce,
G. Leland, Mrs. A.
BARNEY.
Jacob White, Yorkshire Center.
Richard C. Johnson, Sardinia.
Charles Sherman, Springville.
Amos Dow, East Randolph.
John C. Jackson, Ashford.
Charles Arnold. Arcade.
Theodore H. Porter, Springville.
George Marsh, Sardinia.
Mary A. Sampson Bingham, Elkador, Iowa.
Anna Moulton Chafee, Springville.
Julia Rhodes Lincoln, Springville.
Emily Rhodes Britton, East Concord.
Mary Whitney Sherman, Springville.
Elmina Whitcomb Draper, Toledo, O.
HAKNEV AND TARSONS.
Dr. William Van Pelt, Williamsville.
Caleb Calkins, Peterboro.
Hon. Dolphin Stephenson, Phelps.
Samuel M Abbott, M. D., East Hamburg.
Col. Chauncey H. Abbott, East Hamburg.
John Churchill, Springville.
George Williams, Yorkshire.
Laban A. Needham, Concord.
Orson Cochran, Otto.
Peregrine G. Eaton, Springville.
Wil iam Ives, Buffalo.
Mrs. Altczeria Arnold Clark, Ashford.
PARSONS.
Cyrus Rice, Sardinia.
James Otis, Sardinia.
Calvin D. Melven, Cadiz.
Henry T. Wadsvvorth, Springville.
Samuel W. Pratt, North Collins.
FIKTlKril AXMVKRSARN Sl'Rl N( A I I.l.K ACADKMV. 22/
Eugene (Graves, Franklinville.
S. K. S. II. Nott, M. IX, Hambur^r.
Henry Simons, Sardinia.
Oliver P. Buffum, ("olden.
David C . Kingslcy, Sprinsjvillc.
Charles M . Wilder, Chicago, III.
Eunice Salisbury Notl, Hamburff.
Eliza Chafee Cole, East Hamburg.
Lydia Sherman McMillan, Springville.
Sarah L. Wilder, Van X'alkenburg, Hough-
ton Creek.
I'.AKSO.NS ANIl \VILLI.i\MS.
Salmon L. Johnson, Cattaraugus.
Charles Beebe, Sandusky.
Delia A. Sprague Prindle, Fredonia.
Minerva A. Miner Mayo, Springville.
l'.\RSONS, \VU.LI.\MS AND HIESTIS.
David C. Bloom field, Sherman, Chautauqua
county.
I'.ARSONS, HIKSTIS AND HAI.L.
Mary Bailey Weast, Waukegan, III.
EDWIX E. WILLIAMS.
Hubbard T. White, Jamestown.
I'Vancis AVhite, Springville.
Isaac Wilcox, Xorth Collins.
S. H. Nott, Holland.
Jeremiah F. Jackman, Marilla.
Rev. Isaac (reorge, Fredonia.
A. Judson W'iltse, Yorkshire Center.
Alon/.o Tanner, Buffalo.
V. R. Carey, Uoston.
Erasmus Briggs, Springville.
Aurelia Cary Davis, Boston.
Louise Jones Wadsworth, Springville
Maria Rice Finder, Lima, Livingston Co.
Sarah G. Bond George, Portersville, Cal.
Emily S. Clark Frost, North Evans.
Aurora A. Nelson Kingman, Springville.
WILLL-ViMS AND HIESTIS.
Almon Nichols, Morton's Corners.
WILLIAMS, HUESTIS, HALL AND MOSHER.
David H. Cochran, Ph. D., LL. D., Brooklyn.
Martin Wiltse, Yorkshire.
WILLIAMS, HALL A.\D HARI.E.
David S. Ingalls, Buffalo.
HlESllS.
Josiah Emery, .\urora.
F. Kidder Davis, Y^orkshire.
Hon. Arunah Ward, Ellicottvillc.
HIESTIS AND HALL.
Heman Andrews, Springville.
HUE.sriS, HALL, MOSHER AND EARLE.
W. G. Ransom, Springville.
HUESTIS, HALL AND EARLE.
J. Andrew Studley, East Ashford.
HUESTIS AND E.\RLE.
Julia A. French Andrews, Springville.
E. (.. HALL.
Sarah K. Brockway Earle, South Wales.
HAIL, MOSHEK, EARLE AND LANE.
Ivlizabcth J. Melvin Rogers, Holland City,
Mich.
HALL AND EAKLE.
Emily J. Lewis Whittemore, Marshtield.
MOSIIER, EAKLE .\ND LANE.
Phebe W. Starkweather Eaton, Springville.
HALL, EAKLE, LANE, SPKOl T AND AIMOCK.
Sylvia P. Joslin, Springville.
J. \\ . K.\KLE.
William H. Churchill, Maywood, 111.
Edward W. Stanclift, North Collins.
Clark C. Sibley, East Concord.
Philander II. Parker, Arcade.
Henry M. Blackmar, Springville.
Miss Mary Davidson, Buffalo.
Esther Cornwell House, Spi-ingville.
Harriet A. Pierce Low, Springville.
Gertrude E. Van Volkenburg Summer.
Springville.
Louise S. Marsh George, Yorkshire.
E.^KLE .\ND LANE.
Hon. Allen D. Scott, Ellicottville.
Heman W. Rugg, Olean.
Col. Clark E. Carr, Galesburg, 111.
Hon. Charles Harvey Reed, Chicago.
Seth A. Abbott, Abbott's Corners.
Frederick Eaton, Olean.
Rev. Alanson M. Richardson, Cowlesville.
Augusta I. Chafee Clark, Utica.
App. P. Scott, Allison, Otto.
Rosina S. Blake Rowley, Springville.
Helen A. Pierce Kellogg, East Pike.
EARLE, LANE .\ND CUTLER.
Maria Davidson Frye, Collins Center.
EARLE, LANE, CUTLER .^ND SI'ROUT.
Ann H. Peirce, Springville.
Laurette N. Lake Taber, Springville.
EAKI.K, LANK, Cl^TI.KR, SI'ROU T AND AUMOCK.
George P. Kellogg, East Pike.
MOSES LANE.
AbraT< Bartholomew, Buffalo.
Erastus L. Harris, Collins Center.
Daniel Spaulding, Concord.
Richard Frank Powers, Hamburg.
Heniy H. Wibirt, New York City.
Samuel E. Mritton, Lewiston.
Hosea S. Heath, Esq., Hamburg.
William S. Newton, Hamburg.
.Mary J. Beach Chase, Boston.
Mary Ann McLin Barnett, Buffalo.
Caroline A. Rice Schutt, Sardinia.
Phoebe J. Deuel Newton, Hamburg.
Mary Miner Brooks, Olean.
Marion Dutton Chilcott, Ea.st Hamburg.
.Amelia Huntley Lewis, Glenwood.
Susan O. Fowler Chandler. Springville.
228 FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY SPRINC.VILLE ACADEMY.
Maryette Adams Mason, Marilla.
Ann Lincoln, Springville.
Edna J. Beebe, Arcade.
Melinda L. Newton, Holman, Hamburg.
Sophia S. Newton Eaton, Springville.
l..\NE, Cl'TLER AND SF'ROUT.
Asa R. Taber, Springville.
L.\N'E, CUTLER AND .\L'MOCK.
Rev. John Corydon Steele, Attica.
Russel J. Vaughan, Springville.
I.ANE AND AUMOCK.
"Byron A. Churchill, West Falls.
Susan A. Smith Backus, North East, Pa.
I.ANE AND COPELAND.
Lydia A. Post Powers, Abbot's Corners.
EDEN SI'KOUT.
Alexander Hale, North Collins.
SPROl'T AND AUMOCK.
Loren D. Smith, Sardinia.
Benjamin S. Godard, Philadelphia, Pa.
Charles E. Boisford, Springville.
Laban W. Smith, Springville.
Sara Vail Kerr, CoUius Center.
SPROUT, AUMOCK AND COI'ELAND.
Theodoie B. Norris, Springville.
Adeline L. Scobey Warner, Springville.
W. S. .\UMOCK.
Frank M. Stryker, Castile, Wyoming county .
Seward Sears, Sardinia.
Bryant J Davis, East Concord.
Lucinda Reynolds Hopkins, Sardinia,
Mary L. Johnson Crosby, Sardinia
David D. Smith, Yorkshire.
Garrett W. Stryker, Castile
John C. Bump, Buffalo.
Charles M. Newton, Hamburg'.
Harrison L. Newton, Hamburg.
Clark C. Dart, Hamburg.
Bishop Cantield, Vandalia, Cattaraugus coun-
ty-
Albert Fuller, Ashford, Springville P. O.
Marion Lincoln, Springville.
Morris C. Freeman, Springville.
Se.xtus E. Smith, Union Mills, Indiana.
Joseph B. Stryker, Strykersville.
Frank A. Howell, Yorkshire Center.
Hon. Albert Haight, Buffalo.
Martin E. Williams, Bradford, Pa.
Cornelius Ostrander, Springville.
Ray H. Canfield, Concord.
S. N. Blakely, Glen wood.
Marshall D. Scobey, Sandusky.
Walter W. Blakeley, Springville.
Ellen Jewett Godard, Philadelphia, Pa.
Louise Graves Bersee, Millington, Tuscola
county, Mich.
Alice M. Post Payne, Titusville, Pa.
Elizabeth L. Mayo Foster, Collins Center.
Alice Wells Vanatta, Springville.
Betsey Squires Vedder, Ellicottville.
Mary Jane Reed Stryker, Strykersville.
Emma P. Hall Crane, New Canaan, Conn.
Louise Williams Kenyon, West Falls.
Alice D. Marsh Emerson, Springville.
Ella Goodemote Greene, Springville.
Mary Bensley Price, Chicago, Illinois.
Eliza Hammond Hall, Bennington.
M. Louise Dayton CHUman, West Vorkshire.^^^.^ ^^ ^^.^^ ^j^,^.^^^^ Springville
Altheria Squires Treat, East Concord
Mary Curtis Churchill, Springville.
Eliza McLin, Springville.
Addie Greene Park, Fredonia.
Mary A. Pingrey Smith, Springville.
Mercy L. Newton, Hamburg.
AUMOCK AND COPEl.ANP.
Henry F. Norris, Pike, Wyoming county
William H. Warner, Springville.
Chester E. Norris, Rushford.
Chester C. Pingrey, Yorkshire Center.
Fanny M. Sherman, Springville.
Diana King, Springville
Mercy Canueld. Colden.
Eupheme E. Ayars Freeman, Springville.
Ann Johnson Ellis, Sardinia.
Ermina Colwell YanSlyke, Dunlap, Iowa.
Adella Thomas Scobey, Sandusky.
COPEl.AND, POMEROV, ROGERS AND WK.HTMAN
Asa L. Twichell, Springville.
COI'ELAND, POMEROV, MCINTVRE AND ROGERS.
Lucy Twichell Bensley, Springville.
PELAND AND MCINTVRE.
Harlan P. Spaulding, Springville.
DelosD. Crocker, North Branch Station, Minn. ^^^^^^ ^^ Hoiman.VnngviVle.
Maria L. Bowen, Yorkshire.
Carrie Squires Smith, Union Mills, Ind.
Addie McMillan McMaster, Springville.
Elvira Beebe Whitney, East Ashford.
DAVID COPELAND.
Millard S. Avery, North Collins.
Jonathan H. Smith, Clarksburg.
Chester C. McClure. Jr., Buffalo.
Daniel R. Newton, Bradford, Pa.
Addison M. Smith, Arcade.
Frank A. Smith, .Arcade.
COPEl.AND, MCINTVRE AM) ROGERS.
Rev. A. F. Colburn, Springville.
COPE1..AN1) AND KOCiERS.
Emmons D. Tefft, East Otto.
Daniel R. Newton, Hamburg.
C. R. POMEKOV.
Wm. H. Sherman, East Ashford.
Ellen A. Tefft Dunbar, East Otto.
pomerov, mcintvre, rogeks, wight.man and
o'hkien.
Charles Willis House, Holland
KII' riF.ril AX\IVKKS.\I<\ STRINGVILLE ACADKMV. 229
MCIN1 VKK.
Libbic Hammond, East Otto.
Mt IN'I'NKE AND KIH'.KKS.
Klmer O. Leland, Springville.
J. Waldo Norton, Springvillc,
Addison G. Mattlievvson, Springvillc.
Philura L. Clark Bartholomew, Springvillo.
Sarah A. Sibley Baker, East Concord.
MCINTVRE, KOGEKS AND WIOHTMAN.
Alfred A. Churchill, Springville.
.MCINTVRE, KOGEKS, \VK;HT.M^N AND o'llKlKN.
Charles H. Albro, Springville.
' \V. H. KDCEKS.
Seymour Rider, Sardinia.
H. A. Wightman, Eden Center.
. Herman VV'ightman, Clarksburg.
S. Clark Munger, Gowanda.
Charles C. Jewett, Spr.ngville.
Warren Worden, Yorkshire Center.
Charles E. Allen, Gowanda.
Elgin B. Cary Boston, Erie Co.
Owen L. Moss, Collins.
Clara Nichols Millington, Winfield, Kansas.
Helen Nichols Hatch, Morton's Corners.
Ella Chandler Shaffner, East Ashford.
Ida M. Rice Olmsted, Yorkshire
Ida Wilson Severance, Springville.
Horlense Lafferty Greene, Springville.
Libbie Churchill Clark, Morton's Corners.
Ella Brown, Manwaring, Elton.
Alice Stebbins Spaulding, Otto.
Fanny Norris Norton, Springville.
Hattie Sherman Nichols, Morton's Corners.
Mary J. Velzy, Machias.
Lucy Ide'.ia Burroughs, Collins,
Ilia M. Wright, Springville.
Mattie O. Wilco.x, Portersville, Tulare Co.,
Cal.
Elsie M. Cornwall, South Wales.
Ina Woodbury, Hambuig.
ROGERS AND WKiH IMAN.
Perry B. Co.\, EUicottville.
Oliver Hammond, East Otto.
Javan Clark, Morton's Corners.
Jay Drake, Springville.
Augusta Potter Leland, Springville.
Laura E. .Morton, Morton's Corners.
Clara F Lord, Sardinia.
Alice Vedder Tefft, Ashford, Springville P, O.
Jennie A. Wilcox Whcelock, Springville.
Walter J. Allen, Springville.
ROGERS, WIGIIT.MAN AND O'UHIE.N.
Emma Bond House, Ashford, Springville P.O.
Kate W. Bensley, Chicago, 111.
Ell A. Churchi.l, Springville.
ROGERS AND o'liRIE.N .
■ Cora C. Stanbro, Springville.
Mary A. Van Valkenburg, Springville.
Byron S. Tefft, East Otto,
John V. Cole, Springville,
R(k;EKS, WIGHIMAN, o'liKIEN AND KDDV.
James F. X'aughan, Ashford, Springville P. O.
Leonard H. Utley, East Otto.
Willis L. Wecden, Springvilie.
Charles D. Bigelow, Gowanda.
Frank E. Lowe. Springville.
ROGERS, o'ilKlEN AND KDD\ ,
Edwin A. Scott, Hamburg.
ROGERS AND ICDDN .
Man' L. Murray, Glenwood.
Lucy C. Sherman, Springville.
ROGERS, EDDY AND ELLIS.
.Abbey C. Norris, Springville.
ROGERS, WIGHTMAN, o'bKIEN, EDDY AND ELLIS.
Clarence O. Clark, Springville.
A. K. WIGHT.MAN.
Clark E. Churchill, Arcade.
Charles A. Twichell, Springville.
Delavan B Reed, Sardinia.
Franklin Hovvland, Machias.
Ida A. Cutting Hakes, Springville.
Luella Bond Smith, Ashford, Springville 1', O .
Sella Wightman,
\vk;ht.man and o'ukikn.
Karlc R. Vaughan, Lancaster.
WKiHT.-MAN, f)'BK'IEN AND EDDV.
Rhinda M. Churchill, West Falls.
J. \Y. o'liKIEN.
Herbert M. Horton, .•\rcade.
Frank E. Oyer, Springville.
Ida I. Pike, Boston.
Clara Goodemote, Springville.
Emily Holland Cole, East Ashford.
Jennie Rosier House, Holland.
Emma Reynolds Lincoln. East Otto.
o'hkie.n .\nd edd\ .
Ward B. Wiitsie, Yorkshire.
Ernest F. Kruse, Springville.
George E. Reynolds, Collins Center.
Edward M. Shaffner, East Ashford.
W. C. Kruse, Ashford.
George A. Pierce, Springville.
Herbert D. Cole, East Ashford.
Mary E. Holt, Glenwood._
Jennie V. Pool Bigelow, Gowanda,
Chloe R. Bates Pepperdine, Cattaraugus.
Sarah L. Eaton Allen, Springville.
o'nUIEN, EDDY ASD ELLIS.
A. Ulenna Hess, Elk City, Pa.
Myrtie G. Wells, Springville.
Anna F. Tanner, Springville.
Mary H. Bradley, Springville.
Elizabeth H. Shuttleworth, Springville,
Ralph W. Lowe, Springville.
Mary H. Lowe, Springville.
Florence A. Harrison, East Otto.
;30
TEACHERS INSTITUTES.
>;. W. EDUY.
Fred, A . Parmenter, Buffalo.
Elmer C. Sherman, Springville.
Paul Canfield, Boston.
Milton M. Trivett, Woodward's Hollow.
Miriam I. Craig, Colden.
Eva E. Multer, Ashford.
Mary Ticknor, Gowanda.
Lillie V. Cole Demmon, Ashford.
EDDY AND ELLIS.
S. G. Wightman, Clarksburg.
Sewell A. Brooks, Colden
Mark N. Brooks, Colden.
Carroll G. Morton, Morton's Corners.
Wendell J. Morton, Morton's Corners.
John J. k\'hittemore, Buffalo.
Elbert R. Sherman, Dansville, Liv. County.
Walter A. Clark, Springville.
Ella E. Bufifam, Colden.
Sarah M. Titus, Sardinia.
Mary L. Kellogg, Springville.
William A. Staffin, Collins Center.
Thomas A. Fay, Springville.
Albert L. Harrison, East Otto.
CiEuKGE \V. ELLIS.
Lucius I. Clark, Springville.
George A. Persons, East Aurora.
Luther D. Cary, Boston.
Edward D. Wightman, Clarksburg.
James Ellis, East .Aurora.
Henry T. Frank, .\shford.
William J. Bigelow, Ashford.
John W. Pratt, Collins Center.
Frank S. Larabee, Springville.
Lottie L. White, Springville.
Ida A. Beverly, Collins Center.
Estelle Earle, South Wales.
Lillie O. Smith, Springville.
Cora B. Backus, North East, Pa.
Lizzie Murphy, West Valley.
Mary Wells, Springville.
L. Lulu Hadley, Ypsilanti, Mich.
Matie B. Churchill, Springville,
Nancy M. Cary, Boston.
Mabel A. McDuffee, Springville.
Alice M. Eaton, Springville.
Louise E. Wadsvvorth, Springville.
Clara J. Pingrey, Springville.
Carrie H. McEuen, Springville.
Metiie H. Harrison, East Otto.
Some of the person.-, that were known to have attended the
Re-union, and failed to reg^ister their names:
Hosmer L. Agard, Willink.
Thomas L Bunting, Hamburg.
Charles B. Cochran, Rochester.
Arnold J. Emerson, Sardinia.
Norman A. Freeman, Glenwood.
Sidney D. Kingsley, Sardinia.
George L. Dayton, Buffalo.
Judge Stephen Lockwood, Buffalo.
David S. Reynolds, Buffalo.
Anson A. Stone, Sinclairville.
Almon W. Stanbro, Buffalo.
Frank Smith, Eden Center.
J. B. Vanduzee, Buffalo.
L. G. Ray Whiting, Boston.
Girvease A. Matteson, East Otto.
Carrie W. Andrews Bailey, Collins Center.
Olivia Ballou Reynolds, Buffalo.
Estella Batty Freeman. Glenwood,
Ella M. Crandall DePuy, Sea Cliff, L. I.
Mary E. Davis Briggs, Yorkshire.
Philena L. Ferrin Weber, Salamanca.
Maria L. Howell Bowen, Yorkshire.
Persis Harrison Potter, Buffalo,
Frank M. Mills Greene, Fredonia.
Betsy M. Newton Bunting, Hamburg.
Eunice J. Pratt Rogers, North Collins.
Emma S. Wiltse Brand, Yorkshire.
Mary Horton Sweet, Humphrey.
Charlotte McMillan, Gowanda.
Ella Holman Long, Hamburg.
Lora C. Albro McClure, Buffalo.
Luana L. Norris Kingsley, Sardinia.
Ella M. Vedder Crowell, Hamlet.
Rhoda A. Wheeler Norris, Pike.
Jennie C. Baldwin Collins, Colden.
Jennie Dygert Drake, Pike.
Mary Stowell Scott, Hamburg.
Sophia A. Bigelow, Chicago, 111.
Adella Brooks, Colden.
Grace Brooks, Colden.
Clara L. Wheeler, Pike.
Anna Nichols, Colden.
TEACHERS INSTITUTES.
The first Erie County Teachers' Institute was held in W'ill-
iamsville in 1844, second at Aurora in 1845. third at Springville
in 1846. fourth at Lancaster in 1847, fifth at Aurora in 1848,
sixth at Springxillc in 1 S49. These Institutes were largel}' at-
CATALOOUK OF MALE MKMIJKRS.
!3'
tended b\' teachers from all parts of the count}-. The)- con-
tinued two weeks each, and were held for a number of years.
The foUowint^ is a list of the officers, instructors, lecturers and
members of the Institute lield at Sprinj^ville in 1849 • Flrasmus
Hrii;gs, of C(^ncord, President ; Samuel C. Adams, of Collins.
\'ice-President ; Louis \V. (iraves. of Aurora, Secretary.
IxsTRUCTORS — J.H. Karle, Principal of Springville Acade-
ni\-; J. H. Earle. Teacher of Mathematics; Miss Mary J.
Hartoo, Daniel Jones, of Aurora; Miss Cordelia Warner, of
S[)rint^\-ille, M. A. \\'liitne\-, of Aurora, and S. \\\ Craves of
Aurora.
Lecturers — Rev. L George, S. W. Graves, Rev. Milo
Scott, of Aurora, S. Sedwick, of Arcade, Samuel G. Love, of
Gowanda, Rev. H. I{,dd}\ of Springville, E. S. Eddy, of
Williamsville.
CATALOGUE OF MALE MEMBERS.
NAME AND RESmKNCK.
G. W. Andrews, Otto.
Jonathan Briggs, Concord.
Erasmus Briggs, Concord.
A. C. Buffmum, Colden.
E. M. Baily, Ash ford.
L. H. Bugbee, Persia.
Andrew J. Brooks, Boston.
Wm. C. Baily, Holland.
John R. Bensley, Concord.
.\lfred R. Bowen, Sardinia.
A. L. l^radley, Otto.
Romanzo Bunn, Mansfield.
P. S. Baker, Hamburg.
J. F. Brown, Aurora.
I iiram Clark, Collins.
.\lban Clark, Collins.
Lyman Clark, Collins.
Pones Cole, Aurora.
H.M.Carr, Concord.
C. E. Carr, Concord.
B. O. Carr, Concord.
Miles Chafee, Concord.
NAME AND RESIDENCE.
J. B. Colegrove, Sardinia.
Wm. W. Chilcott, Hamburg.
A. T. Cole, Ashford.
E. M.Clark, Eden.
Charles Clark, Aurora.
Elias Borland, Hamburg.
T. C. Estee, Hamburg.
J. H. Earle, Concord,
E. N. Ely, Cheektouaga.
Jesse Frye, Concord.
Wm. M. Field, Concord,
(leorge Kellogg, Concord.
S. B. Littlefield, Hamburg.
Nathaniel Lockwood, Boston.
Charles McCoy, Ellicottville.
J. McAvoy, Collins.
Sidney McBride, Persia.
James Moore, Aurora.
Lucius McBride, Persia.
Owen P. Marsh, Yorkshire.
L. H. Morris, Aurora.
John H. McAvoy, Collins.
2^,2
CATALOGUE OF FEMALE MEMBERS.
Joseph S. O'Brien, Collins.
George Oswold, Otto.
A. E. Packard, Concord.
George Perkins, Concord.
Franklin Pike, Concord.
Asa Potter, Sheldon.
J. W. Porter, Sardinia.
Byron Pratt, Aurora.
Charles M. Plumb, Collins.
Abijah Perkins, Aurora.
L. W. Race, Evans.
H. A. Race, Evans.
Alan A. Richardson, Concord.
W. G. Ranson, Concord.
Joseph A. Rathbun, Persia.
Geo. W. Woodward, Concord.
D. M. Richardson, Concord.
H. W. Rugg, Concord.
J. T. Sykes, Sheldon.
C. C. Stanbro, Concord.
E. D. Stevens, Hamburg.
A. D. Scott, Springville.
Joseph Griffin, Collins.
L. W. Graves, Aurora.
Franklin Hodge, Buffalo.
Charles Howe, Persia.
Luke G. Harmon, PLllicottville.
I). H. Hopkins, Concord.
S. C. Horton, Boston.
David Hershey, Amherst.
Moses Ham, Amherst.
Daniel Harris, Aurora.
J. S. Hawley, Brant.
M. N. Jones, Boston.
D. G. Jones, Aurora.
A. H. Jones, Aurora.
L. A. Kennicut, New Albion.
E. R. Kingsley, Sardinia.
S. D. Kingsley, Sardinia.
Charles Scisler, Aurora.
J. H. Shearer, Aurora.
Geo. W. Sweet, Colden.
Ambrose Southworth, Boston.
E. A. Stebbins, Otto.
C. C. Sibley, Concord.
E. C. Sanders, Ashford.
Ferdinand Taylor, Collins.
Loomis J. Williams, Hamburg.
Darwin Wilcox, Sardinia.
P. F. Warner, Java.
Horatio Whittemore, Collins.
L. D. Weeden, Springville.
M. A. Whitney, Aurora.
Wm. W. Wilson, Concord.
James Wilkes, Sardinia.
O. Wilcox, Sardinia.
CATAL()(;UE OF FEMALE MEMBERS.
NAME AND RESIDENCE.
Laura A. Algur, Concord.
Demis Allen, Collins.
Malinda Arnold, Collins.
Sarah A. Baker, Hamburg.
Ann E. Bloomfield, Concord.
Almira Britton, Boston.
Jane A. Briggs, Concord.
Rosina S. Blake, Concord.
NAME AND RESIDENCE.
E. P. Bartoo, Hamburg.
Eveline C. Bois, Aurora.
Ann Eliza Bois, Aurora.
Mary J. Bartoo, Hamburg.
Mary J. Baker, Hamburg.
Selphina Bowen, Sardinia.
Lucinda J. Bement, Concord.
Roxaiia R. Bement, Concord.
CATAL()(;uE OF i-i;mai.k MKMI'.KRS.
233
Vcstina BlmisIc)', Concord.
Amelia A. Hlakc, Concord.
Maryettc Curran. Concord.
Julia Ann Carey, Concord.
Mar\' Crawford, Concord.
Clara Clark, Ashford.
Esther Cornwell, Sardinia.
Amanda Canfield, Concord.
Annetta Clark, Aurora.
Adaline E. Button, Concord.
Hanna E. Dustin, Holland.
Mary E. Davidson, Holland,
-Sarah A. Button, Holland.
Phebe H. Borland, Hamburi;-.
Mary C. Estee, Eden.
Margaret Flemins^. Concord.
W. A. Fairbanks, Ashford.
Sophia A. Gardner, Concord.
Eudora Griffith, Concord.
Laura G. Grannis, Wales.
Amelia C. Grannis, Wales.
Martha Georj^e, Concord.
Carolina M. Griffith, Concord.
Adaline B. Gibbs. Otto.
Pamelia Guild, Ashford.
Calista Godard, Concord.
Lucinda Griswold, Concord.
Ellen J. Hyde, Concord.
Maria A. Ho\\e, Rice.
Maria Howe, Rice.
Mary E. Hicko.x, Hamburi^.
Elizabeth Holland, Concord.
Amelia Huntly, Concord.
Ann Ingalls, Concord.
S\'lvia Joslyn, Concortl.
Electa M. Jennings, Collins.
Mary E. Jenmngs, Collins.
Martha P. Johnson, Collins.
Mar\- E. jolmson, Collins.
H. A. Johnson, Otto.
Louisa A. Kennedy, Concord.
Prudence Kellogg, Concord.
Louisa Kellogg, Concord.
Eniil)' J. Lewis, Collins.
Sarah B. Mclvin, Concord.
P(^lly Merwin, Concord.
Helen Minor, Concord.
Luc)' A. Newton, \'orkshire.
Sarah Ann Newton, Sardinia.
Harriett A. Newell, Sardinia.
Lucy M. Nichols, Concord,
Harriet A. Peirce, Ashford.
Betsey Peirce, Concord.
Helen A. Peirce, Concord,
Ann H. Pierce, Ashford.
Julia M. Post, Concord.
Marian T. Perry, Aurora.
Jerusha Pratt, Collins.
Esther Pratt, Collins.
Gratia I'armenter, Yorkshire.
Lucinda W. Rundell, Alden.
Elizabeth W. Rundel, Alden.
Clara Richmond, Collins.
Mehala Rider, Sardinia.
Alice Sanderson, Portville.
Lurinda Southworth. Boston.
Martha Stewart.
Phebe Starkweather, Concord.
Olive Sleeper, Holland.
Harriet M. Taylor, Alden.
Ann R. Tuthill, Otto.
Cornelia Ta)-lor, Alden,
Sarah J. Vaughan, Concord.
Harriet N. Wellman, Napoli.
Cordelia Warner, Strykersville.
Jane A. Wolcott, Concord.
M. M. S. Watkins, Concord.
Helen M. White. Hamburo.
234 I^IST OF TEACHERS IN CONCORD.
Mary Wood, Concord. C. M. Willett, Hamburg.
Almira Woodruff, Aurora. Phebe Wood, Concord.
Male teachers 191
Female teachers 93
Total 284
LIST OF TEACHERS WHO TAUGHT SCHOOL IN CONCORD, N.
v., DURINC; THE YEARS 1 844, '45, '46 AND '47 — 112 IN
NUMBER.
Jonathan Brings, Orville S. Canfield, S. L. Cary, Laura D.
Abbott, Milton House, Daniel Noteman, A. G. S. McMillain,
J. B. Sweet, John F. Morse, J. A. O. South, Nancy H. Salis-
bury, David Cochran, Philip Thurbur, Lysander Needham, E.
E. Williams, A. F. Hubbard, W. H. Freeman, B. F. Blake,
Mary Potter, Rosina Blake, Minerva Slosson, Maria Graves,
Lucy Hall, Margaret M. Watkins, Caroline Miner, Juliette
Sibley, Sarah E. Fisher, Desire Little, Mary Needham, Lua E.
Smith, Lucy Blake, Amanda Canfield, Lucretia Murry, Julia
M. Post, Miles Chafee, Apalonia Douglass, Calista Godard,
Roxana Bement, E. P. Kennady, D. M. Richardson, W. W.
P>ench, W. G. Ransom, Mr. Dunham, Daniel Wilson, Martin
Wiltse, Benjamin F". Rice, Mary Wood, Eudora Griffith, Charles
Treat, Mercy Canfield, Melissa Duttdn, J. G. Blake, Lyman
Packard, Russell P"rench, Margery J. Churchill, William A.
Sibley, Jacob Widrig, Suel Briggs, Orrin Baker, William R.
Philips, Mary E. Shaw, Enos Olden. Gilbert C. Sweet, William
Hudson, Cyrus Griswold, B. F. Cary, E. Briggs, A. C. Adams,
Sally Sampson, A. T. Cole, G. W. Richardson, Elizabeth Bloom-
field, Julia A. P'rench, Alpha C. King, Cornelia Holt, Bets)-
Pierce, Miner\'a L. Griswold, Hannah Agard, Hannah G. Parks,
Nancy Nichols, Luc}' E. Maklem, Hannah Parsell. Hester Ann
Martin, Julia E. Martin, Louisa White, Esther Pratt, Almond
Nichols, Lucinda J. Bement, Jerome E. Stac)', E. H. Drake,
Charles Needham, WMlliam H. Watkins, A. Parsell, P. H. War-
ner, Elizabeth Melvin, Mary L. Field, Maryette Curron, Helen
Minor, .Aurora Nelson, Irene Weber, Herma A. Johnson, Miss
Southworth, Mr. Spring, Ahira Loxelace. Miss Stiles, Helen
rilK roWNSENI) HILL SCIIOOI.. 235
Hlods2jct, Jemima Treat, Miss Knaj), Atlaliiie Chafee, Miss
Richardson, Miss Rice, Miss Stewart, Miss Hail}', Kuiiicc
Maklem.
AliOU'l' rilK lOWNSKM) nil. I, SCIIOOI..
A school-house was l)uilt on Townsent! Hill in the earl\- part
of 1S15 and a school taught therein that summer. It was a
framed house and locateci on land now owned b)' B. I*". Williams,
on the south side of the (ienesee Road, about ten rods west
of the transit road. The names of the teachers who taus^ht in
this school in early times were :
1815 — Summer, Waiter Eaton ; Winter, Sally Spaulding-.
1816 — Summer, Mar}- Torrey ; Winter, Benjamin Vi\y.
1817 — Summer, Abbie Cunningham; W^inter, Benjamin F"ay.
1818 — Summer, Rebecca Sawyer; Winter, Amaziah Ashman.
1819 — Summer, Lucy Chapin ; Winter, Enoch Sinclair.
1820 — Summer, Mar\' Chapin ; Winter, William Owen.
1821 — Summer, Patience Bowen ; Winter, Enoch Sinclair.
1822 — Summer, Olive Fuller; Winter, William Owen.
1823— Summer, Caroline Owen ; Winter, John Brooks.
1824 — Summer, Eliza Ayers ; Winter, Elam Booth.
1825 — Summer, Delia Torrey ; Winter, Elam Booth.
1826 — Summer, Lucinda Fry: Winter, Ezra Chaffee, Amaziah
Ashman.
1827 — Summer, Minerva Cochrane ; Winter, Clark M. Carr.
1828 — Summer, PolK' .Spaulding; Winter, Lucinda Fa}-.
1829 — Winter, Oliver Canfield.
1830 — Winter, Oliver Canfield.
1 83 I — Winter, Asa Philips.
1832 — Winter, Asa Philips.
1833— Winter, Asa IMiilips.
1834 — Winter, A.sa Philips.
1835 — Winter, Nelson Hopkins.
1836 — Winter, Nelson Hopkins.
LIST OF I'F.RSO.XS WHO HAVE .MET AX ACCH)ENTA1, DEATH BY
i)Ko\v.\i.\(; OR oiHKRWisr: ix the rowx of concord.
A man b}- the name of Re}-nolds was drowned in the " Big-
Bend," in the Cattaraugus creek — just below the P'r}-e crossing,
in 1839.
236 ACCIDENTAL DKATHS IN TOWN OF C<.)NCORD.
An KiiL^lishman b\' the name of Dunkerh' was drowned in
the Cattaraugus, near the Shultus bridge, about 1852.
A young man was drowned in the Bloomfield mill-pond, in
Springville, in June, 1870; he was a Prussian, name unknown.
About 1848, two small children, one a boy named Rinhart,
and the other a little daughter of Stowel Collins, were drowned
while playing together by the race in Springville, near Frank
lin street. The same year, a boy named Edmonds was drowneci
in Auger's pond in Springville.
A boy named Melancton W'oodham was dro\\ned in Cook's
pond.
In Jul}', 1864, George Severance, a son of Hon. C. C. Sever-
ance, fourteen years of age, was drowned in the Cattaraugus,
midway between the Cook and Shultus bridges.
William Mimmick was also drowned near the Cook bridge.
Levant Stanbro was drowned in the Griffith pond, near East
Concord, in 1879.
About 1880, Theodore Pilger, a young man \\ as drowned in
the Cattaraugus near the Cook bridge.
Jonathan Mayo, Jr., was killed in 1825, \\hile chopi)ing with
his father. A falling tree slewed around as it struck, and
knocking him lifeless to the ground.
In 1832, Jacob McLen, a \-oung man, was killed b}- a falling
tree on Lot 20, Range 7, Township 7.
About 1873, '^ >'oung man named Cyrenus F"uller wa^- killed
\\'hile felling trees on the farm of John F. Morse.
In February, 1869, Arnold Cranston, father of James Crans-
ton, was killed felling trees.
June 22, 1877, Charles Krantz was killed while chopping on
his farm, by a limb falling do\A'n and breaking his skull.
'In 1883, Byron Swain, a resident of S[)ring\ille, was killed
while felling trees in Boston.
In 1852, Henry C. Horton was killed b\- saw logs rolling upon
him at the Janes saw mill, in the north part of the town. He
was 27 years old.
Amasa Loveridge was killed in the same manner, August 7.
1855, at Captain Tyrer's mill in what is now Wheeler Hollow.
He was 67 years of age.
NAMKS OK Slki:AMS I\ COXC-Okl). 21'/
Albert Ostrandcr fell from a scaffold to the barn tloor in his
barn near I^ast Concord, Jan. 8, 1871. and died April 21, 1871.
Samuel Bradley, an early settler and business man of Sprin<^-
ville, fell from the stairs in the Gardner mill in the niijht time,
and received injuries that caused his death soon after.
Cyrus C. Rhodes and Daniel P. Brown, residents of Spring-
ville, were killed by the cars at the Elk street crossing of the
L. S. & M. S. R. R. at Buffalo. June 28, 1856.
Peter Sampson was killed in 1836 by his sleigh slewing"
around on the ice, and sleigh, the load and team going down
the bank from the top of the hill this side of the Shultus
bridge.
Dexter Rlu)tles was killed b}- the bursting of a re\ol\-ing
drum attached to the machiner)- in the Scoby mills about 1878.
Sanford Mayo w;is killed b\' the cars at the Mills crossing
(one mile north of Springville), on the Buffalo E.xtension of the
Rochester & Pittsburgh Railroad, Oct. 2, 1883.
namp:s of streams in concord.
The Cattaraugus creek runs along the south bounds of the
town in a southwesterh- direction.
Spring brook rises on Townsend liill and runs southeasterly
and southerly through Springville into the Cattaraugus creek.
The Cazenox'ia creek rises in Sardinia and runs through the
northeast corner of this town.
The east branch of the Righteen-mile creek rises on Town-
send hill and runs northwesterh- through this town, Boston and
Hamburg to the lake.
The west branch of the Eighteen-mile creek rises in the west
part ot the town and runs northwesterh- through Concord,
North Collins and Eden to the lake.
Smith brook rises north of the Genesee road near Mr. Coop-
er's and runs southerly through Wheeler Hollow and Spooner
Hollow to the Cattaraugus creek. This brook was named after
" (iovernor " Smith who settled at its mouth in 1810.
The Darby brook rises near Nichols' Corners and runs south-
erly near Morton's Corners and down to the Cattaraugus creek,
((^ritrin of the name unknown.)
238 THE ERECTION OF A LIBERTY POLE.
The Wells brook rises near the residence of B}'ron Wells and
runs south into the Cattaraugus creek.
There is also a pond of water near East Concord which has
been commonly called Griffith's Pond.
THE FIRS'l" LIISERTV POLE.
There is a tradition that the first liberty pole reared in the
town was at the Four Corners, a mile east of Springville, and
the place has ever since been known as Liberty Pole Corners.
The time was 18 19, or thereabouts, and on the 4th day of July,
that the pioneers assembled on these corners to celebrate the
day as become the descendents of patriotic sires. Officers
were chosen, a procession formed, an oration delivered, and the
immortal declaration rehearsed ; and in due time a tall and
graceful pole was raised, unfurling to the breeze the flag of our
countr)'.
This interesting ceremony was accompanied with the firing
of guns, the cheers of the crowd, and the sound of the spirit-
stirring fife and drum. Upon this occasion the pioneers were
jovial, and ready to engage in anything laudable for the sake
of having a good time. They saw at a glance how barren the
gathering was of tilted dignit}', anci possessing a faculty that
invented as necessity demanded, they bestowed upon many a
title that did great honor to the occasion. All men are not
trained in the same school, nor are their shining qualities of the
same order, but he who excelled in an}- special province, was
worthy of a title that accorded with it ; and upon this particu-
lar occasion, the gathering included names that were exalted in
the ci\il and military ser\-ice of the land, and had the reporter
been invented, this might have appeared: " General Knox and
President Adams drank from the same Gourd, to health of his
excellency, Governor Smith," etc , etc.
^ To many of the pioneers these titles ever afterwards clung
and the\* became kno\\n to the rising generations by these
a[)pcllations antl no other, such as " General Knox " and " Gov-
ernor Smith." A stor}' is told of Governor Smith in connec-
tion with his title that is worthy of being repeated. The
Governor was a man of commanding appearance, and once
upon a time he happened to meet an old friend, a congen-
iiii-; si'Ri.\(;vii,i.K .Mii.i.. 239
ial spirit, at the old Stone Tavern on the hill. The two friends
became very convivial over their j^lasses, and an Indian who
hajjpened to be jjresent was asked to join them ; this was \ery
willinj^ly acquiesced in. After drainin^r their "lasses the Indian,
looking;- his excellenc)' square in the face, said : " Bc's you the
(lovernor of New York ?" The Gox'ernor replied in his usual
heavy gutteral voice : Not exactly the (iovernor of the State ot
New York, but I am Governor of Dutch Hollow."
THE SrRIxV(;VILLE MILL.
One of the most interesting,' chapters in the manufacturing
and business history of Springville, relates to the " Old Spring-
ville Mill," or " Colton Mill," as it is sometimes called. For
nearly fifty years it has faithfully performed a considerable part
of the milling business for a large section of the surrounding
country. It commenced b)' grinding the pioneer's wheat that
grew among the stumps, reaped with a sickle and threshed
out some keen Winter morning on the barn floor with a flail,
and has continued until the grists received at its doors grew in
the broad open field, and are harvested and threshed by the
approx'ed machinery of modern. times.
Manly Colton, of Buffalo, induced by the excellent water-
power afforded and rhe promises held forth by the productixx^-
ness of the surrounding country, decided to invest a poition of
his cajjital in a larg:; mill at Springville. Work was commenced
on Januar)- i, 1835, and the mill was completed and running
before the close of the year. Thomas Lincoln, of S[:)ring\ille,
was the architect, and Stephen W. Howell, of Buffalo, the mill-
wright. The framework of the mill was of massive proportions
and the " raising " was a memorable e\ent in the earlier histor\-
of the town. The workmanship and materials were of the best
quality, and w hen completed it was pronounced one of the fin-
est and best mills in Western New York. Its cost was $22,000.
The gigantic old water wheel was an object of interest to many
who have stood in the damp wheel-room and looked with some-
thing of a feeling of awe on its slow but certain movement.
This, as well as other jiortions of the machiner\- of the mill,
ha\'e from time to time been replaced b\- that more impnned.
The first miller was John T. Noye, late of the well-known
firm of I. T. N()\'e & Sons, of Buffalo.
240 LOCAL NAMES IN CONCORD.
Soon after being built, through the financial failure of Mr.
Colton, the mill fell into the hands of Dart Bros., of New York.
About 1846 they sold to Rufus Eaton, of Springville, who con-
ducted it for about two years, when it again became the prop-
erty of the Dart Bros., who resold it about 1848 to M. L.
Badgley and Benjamin Joslyn. After a time Mr. Joslyn became
sole proprietor, and about 1854 he sold to C. J. Shuttleworth
and William Barclay, who continued together for about two
years, when Shuttleworth bought the interest of his partner,
which he soon sold to Stephen Churchill and rebought again in
i860. The subsequent year Mr. Shuttleworth sold his interest
to Madison Scoby, and in 1862 sold the other half to Abram
Dygert. Dygert & Scoby continued in partnership two or
three years, when they sold to Shuttleworth & Chafee, who
conducted the mill together until 1874, when Mr. Shuttleworth
sold his interest to Bertrand Chafee, the present proprietor.
LOCAL NAMES IN CONCORD.
" Townsend Hill" was so named from Johnathan Townsend
and family, who settled there at an early day.
" Morton's Corners" was named after Wendell Morton and
his sons, who bought a farm and built a hotel there, which still
stands.
" Nichols" Corners" was so called from Lewis Nichols, who
settled there at an early day, and some of his descendants still
live there.
" Woodward's Hollow" was named after the Woodward
family, some of ^\'hom still reside there.
" The Branch." This localit}-, along the creek, from \W^od-
ward's Hollow to the town of North Collins, is frequently called
" The Branch," from the fact that the west branch of the Eigh-
teen-mile creek flows through it.
" Wheeler's Hollow" was named from the Wheeler brothers,
who now reside there.
"Wheeler Hill" was so named from Benjamin Wheeler and
family, who were the first settlers there.
" Spooner Hollow," so called from the Spooner family, who
li\"ed there at an earl\- da\'.
LOCAL NAMKS IN CONCORD. 24I
" Siblc}- Settlement," so named tiom the Sible)- brothers,
mIio were the first settlers in that neighborhood.
" Chafee District," named from the Chafee family, who w ere
early settlers there.
" East Concord," so called because it is situated in the east-
ern part of the town.
" Waterville," so called because two branches of the Buffalo
Creek meet there, and in former times there were several mills,
all within a mile of that place.
" Horton Hill," named from John and Truman Horton, who
settled there at an early day.
" Colden Mill," the south part of what is called " Colden
Hill," is in the town of Concord and is so named from the town
of Colden, into which it extends.
" Vaughan Street," named from several families of Vaughans
who were early settlers on tliat street, and their descendants
live there still.
" Liberty-Pole Corners," so called from the fact that the first
liberty-pole ever raised in the town was raised there at a \-ery
early day.
" Sharp Street." Tradition says that Sharp street was so
called from a house built by John Gould, which had a very
sharp or steep roof and at that time stood at the end of the
street, on the farm where Yates Gardinier now lives.
" Frye Hill," named from Enoch Frye and his father, the
first settlers there, and Enoch and descendants still live there.
" Shultes' Bridge," named from David Shultes, who owned
the land on which it was built, and lived there:
" Cook Bridge," so named from E. W. Cook, who owned the
land where the bridge stands.
" Scobey Bridge," named from Alexander Scobey, ^\■ho li\ ed
there and owned mills there at the time it was built.
" Frye Bridge," so named from the Frye's, who own the land
where the bridge crosses the Cattaraugus.
'* Block School-House," so called from the fact that the first
school-house ever built there was built of hewed logs.
THE Sl'RINGVILLK RIFLE COMPANY.
This was one of the finest companies raised on the Holland
Purchase. The rank and file was made up of the best of the
14
242 SPRINGVILLE RIFLE COMPANY.
young men. But few of the members are living to-day, and
they rank with our most honored and respected citizens.
The uniform of this company was green frock coats with
brass buttons, white pants with black velvet leggings that
reached half way to the knee, black hats ornamented in front
with a brass shield from the top of which rose a white feather
with a red tip, leather belt around the waist, with shields
affixed for knife and light tomahawk, Axhich every member in
the ranks carried. They were also armed with rifles.
This company was organized in 1820 or 1821, with Chris-
topher Douglass as captain, and Sanford P. Sampson as first
lieutenant. After serving a few years, Douglass resigned, and
by the death of Lieutenant Sampson, the command of the
company fell to Isaac Palmer. He, after serving several years,
was succeeded by Abram Starks, and Starks by Stephen Albro,
Albro by William McMillen, McMillen by Charles C. Bigelow,
and Bigelow by Ephraim T. Briggs, who had command of the
company when they were disbanded by law, and military train-
ing done away with.
TOWN OFFICERS OF CONCORD.
A perfect list of the officers of the town of Concord can not
be given as the records of the town were burned up in the great
fire in Springville in 1868. The list of Supervisors and the
time each served is complete. The list of Justices is complete,
but their term of service could not in all cases be ascertained.
But a complete list of other town officers, or their terms of
service can not be made. But the names of such of the prin-
cipal officers as have been ascertained are gi\'en.
A LIST OF THE SUPERVISORS OF CONCORD FROM ITS FIRST
ORGANIZATION TO THE PRESEN T TIME.
1821, '22, '23, '24, '25, '26 and '27, Thomas M. Barrett ; 1828
and '29, Joshua Agard ; [830, Oliver Needham ; 1831, Thomas
M.Barrett; 1832 and '33, Carlos Emmons; 1834, '35, '36 and
'37, Oliver Needham; 1838, '39, '40, '41, '42, '43, '44 and '45,
E. N. P^rye ; 1846, '47, '48, '49 and '50, C. C. Severance ; 1851,
'52, '53 and '54, S. W. Godard ; 1855, Lucian B. Towsley ;
1856, J.N.Richmond; 1857, Morris P^osdick ; 1858, '59, '60,
'61, '62 and '63, S. W. Godard; 1864 and '65, Philetus Allen;
OFFKKUS OK Till-; TOWN OF CONCORD. 243
1866, C. C. Severance ; 1S67, A. \V. Stanbio ; 1868, C. C. Sev-
erance ; 1869, A. W. Stanbro ; 1870 and '71, Bertrand Chafee ;
1874, Clark S. McMillan and Frank Chase; 1873, C. C. Sever-
ance; 1874 and '75, Erasmus Bri^ijs ; 1876 and '"jj, Henry M.
Hlackmar ; 1878, '79 and '80, William II. Warner; 1881, '82
and "^}t, Erasmus Briggs.
A LIST OF TIIF: JUSTICES OF THE PEACE FOR I'HE TOWN OF
CONCORD.
Ciirist()})her Douglass, Joseph Ilanchett, Rufus Eaton, Fred-
erick Richmond, William V . (}. Lake, Amaziah Ashman, Ben-
jamin Fay, John Brooks, Archibald Griffith, Elisha Mack,
Stephen Albro, Emory Sampson, John Griffith, Robert G.
Flint, Isaac Nichols, Wells Brooks, Seth W. Godard, C. C. Sev-
erance, Hiram G. Smith, Pliny Smith, Byron Cochran, O. S.
Canfield, Morris Fosdick, Fred Crary, Joseph Gaylord, William
Woodbury, Isaac Woodward, Almon Nichols, A. W\ Stanbro,
W. H. Freeman, Frank Chase, E. S. Cady, A. D. Holman,
Harry Foote, C. C. Stanbro, Willis G. Clark.
Town Clerks. — Amaziah Ashman, Noah Townsend, George
Arnold, Johnson Bensley, C. C. Severance, C. C. McClure,
McCall Long, A. W. Stanbro, A. G. Moon, A. R. Tabor, C. C.
Smith, T. B. Norris.
Collectors. — Soloman Field, Harry Stears, Roswell Olcott,
Isaac Palmer, James F. Crandall, N. A. Godard, Clinton Ham-
mond, Joseph Potter, George Thompson, Perrin Sampson, Orvill
Smith, C. J. Shuttleworth, L. P. Cox, A. J. Moon.
Assessors. — Joshua Agard, E. N. Frye, Emory Sampson,
Luther Austen, Truman White, Lsaac Palmer, Ebenezer Dibble,
Benjamin Trevitt, Oliver Needham, Charles Needham, Isaac
Nichols, J. L. Douglass, L. A. Needham. R. T. Foote, Isaac
Woodward, Perrin Sampson.
Commissioners. — Dea Russell, Isaac Knox, Emery Samp-
son, Amos Stanbro, Benjamin Fay, Jeremiah Richardson,
Harvy Andrews, Paris A. Sprague, Robert G. Mint, Abel Hol-
man, Rufus Thurber, Horace, Gaylord, Isaac Nichols, l\. K.
Ostrander, Elbert W. Cook. William W. Blackmar, Ira W'ood-
ward.
244
OFFICERS OF THE TOWN OF CONCORD.
The following are copied from the new town book which
commences in 1869 :
1
Year.
Town Clerks.
Assessors.
1869
A. E. Hadley,
John Nichols,
1870
W. W. Blakeley,
Laban A. Needham,
1871
W. W. Blakeley,
Edward Godard,
1872
W. W. Blakeley,
John Ballon,
1873
W. W. Blakeley,
Alfred Newcomb,
1874
W. W. Blakeley,
Edward Godard,
1875
W. W. Blakeley,
William L. Mayo,
1876
Edwin L. N orris,
Isaiah Gardenier,
1877
W. H. Ticknor.
W. H. Stanbro,
1878
W. H. Ticknor,
Alfred R. Trevett,
1879
W. H. Ticknor,
George Weeden,
1880
W. H. Ticknor,
Isaiah Gardenier,
1881
Frederick G. Myers,
Alfred R. Trevett,
1882
Frederick G. Myers,
William H. Pingrey,
1883
Frederick G. Myers.
George Weeden.
Ykar.
Collectors.
Com's of Highways.
1869
George Mayo,
Henry Blackmar,
1870
George Mayo,
George D. Conger,
1871
George Mayo,
Benjamin A. Fay,
1872
Henry F. Norris,
William H. Warner,
1873
Benjamin A. Fay,
Nelson Scott,
1874
Frank Prior,
William Wiley,
1875
Frank P. Spaidding,
Samuel D. Vance,
1876
Frank 0. Smith,
Nelson Scott,
1877
Frank P. Spaulding,
1878
John H. Melvin,
1879
John H. Melvin,
Marcus B. Churchill,
1880
Edward D. Bement,
Marcus B. Churchill,
1881
Morris C. PVeeman,
A. C. Adams,
1882
Morris C. Freeman,
William H. Warner,
1883
Morris C. Freeman.
A. C. Adams.
ACCOUNTS OK lOWN OF CONCORD FOR 183O.
H5
TOWiV ACCOUNTS AS AUDITED AND ALLOWED ACiAINST THE
TOWN OF CONCORD FOR THE YEAR 1830.
Names.
John Brooks
Joshua A^ard
Amaziah Ashman . . .
Stephen Needham . . .
A. G. EIHott
David Rensley
Abel Holman
Benjamin Sibley
Thomas M. Barrett. .
Homer Barnes
Emery Sampson
Luther Austen
Benjamin Fay
Noah Townsend
Jeremiah Richardson.
Archibald Griffith.. . .
Robert G. Flint
Samuel Cochran
William Smith
Widow Woodcock . . .
Robert Curran
L. B. Tousley
William Vaughan. . . .
Oliver Needham
Silas Rushmore
David Shultus
Roads and Bridi^es.
Common Schools. .
Contini^ent I'und . .
Rejected Tax
Collectors Fees. . . .
County Tax
Total Tax
Claims.
$ 5 00
10 00
6 00
9 75
9 13
2 50
9 50
I 50
8 13
6 00
10 50
14 75
13 24
15 00
11 -'R
1 1 -,(->
4 00
3 50
8 00
7 00
10 00
15 00
2 00
5 00
7 00
5 00
5 00
250 00
180 66
26 69
13 31
61 83
559 10
Total.
$206 88
1,091 59
11,298 47
246 NAMES OF KARLV SE'I TLKRS.
THE NAMES OF PERSONS NOW LIVING WHO CAME TO AND SET
TLED IN THE TOWN OF CONCORD, SIXTY TO SEVENTY
YEARS A(;0, SOME OF WHOM HA\ K REMOVED TO OTHER
LOCALITIES.
Mrs. Ezekiel Adams, ai^cd 96; Mrs. William Ballou, ai:^cd 91 ;
Huldah Townsend Sinclair, aged 86; Lathrop Bebee, aged 87 :
Mrs. Lathrop Bebec, aged 82 ; Orrin Sibley, aged 85 ; Mrs.
Orrin Sible)-, aged i^], ; Silas Wheeler, aged 92 ; Pliny Wheeler,
aged 82 ; Mrs David Wiley, aged 83 ; Alvira Townsend Owen,
aged 80; Mrs. Boyles, aged 90; Mahala Eaton Butterworth,
aged 80; Enoch N. Frye, aged 83 ; M. M. Frye, aged 80; John-
son Chase, aged 82; Susannah Phillips Chase, aged 80 ; Mrs.
Truman Horton, aged 83 ; Sally Foster Needham, aged 82 :
Acsah Wheeler Townsend, aged 80 ; Eliza Shultus Reynolds,
aged 80 ; William Southworth, aged over 90 ; Col. Sylvenus
Cook, aged 88 ; Luke Simons, aged 85 ; P'anny Wheeler Gould,
aged 90; Windsor and Stary King, Mrs. Stary King, Windsor
Chase, Calvin Killom, Vincent M. Cole, Almira Chafee Black-
mar, Eliza Chafee Cole, Vernam C. Cooper, Betsey Cooper
Simons, Mrs. Calvin Smith, Erastus Mayo, Martha King-
Wheeler, Samuel Wheeler, P\anny P^ay Pleld. James P"ay, John
T. Wells. Mrs. John T. Wells, Mrs. Isaac Palmer, Samuel,
Joseph and Abram Hammond, Hosea W. Townsend, Asa R.
Trevett, Sally Trevett Clark. Hannah Philips l\vichell, Asa
and Marcus Philips, Henry Ackley, Cornelia Drake Wood,
Thomas M. and Jonathan Briggs, George Barrett, Jane Plem-
ing P'ield, Mary P'errin Barrett. William Sampson, Mrs. Isaac
Nichols, Saban A. Needham, Mrs. Marion Twichell Needham,
Mary King Vance, Mary Ann Sampson Bingham, Samuel
Shaw, Salmon Shaw, Mrs. Esther Pike 85 ; E. H. Drake, I. E.
Drake, Julia Rhodes Lincoln, P^mily Rhodes Britton, George
E. Crandall, William McMillan, T. H. Potter, Lucy Twicheh.
William Kellogg, T. H. Gary, Mrs. Martha Olcott Trevitt, Mrs.
Mary Wheeler Drake, John S. P\>sdick, Jesse Fosdick, Mar\-
P^osdick Getty, Alice P^osdick Andrews, Mrs. Harvy Andrews,
aged 82 ; Mrs. William Dye, about 90; Constant Trevitt, aged
96; Reuben Wright, 82, Stanbury Wright.
THK V()Si;UR<; MURDKR CASK. 247
RKSIDENTS OF CONCORD WHO SliRNKD IN Illl': WAR OF l8l2.
Isaac Knox, Samuel Cochran, Benjamin Fay, Amaziah Ash-
man, Solomon Field, Isaiah Pike, Smith Russell, Nicholas
Armstead, Joseph Hanchett, Isaac I>ush, Chaniiing Trevitt
Thomas McGee, George Killom, Lewis Trexitt, Joseph Yaw>
Uavid Shultes, Charles C. Wells, FJijah Parmenter, William
Weeden, Samuel Burgess, William Shultes, John Drake, John-
athan Townsend, jr., Christopher Douglass, Gideon Parsons,
Hale Mathewson, T. M. Barrett, Comfort Knapp.
THK vosiJiJRc; murdkr cask.
FLarly in the Fall of 1S35. one Joseph Carter was conducting
an asher)- on what is now Fast Franklin street, near Main street,
Springville, for the manufacture of potash. At this time the
" Big Mill " was being built by Manly Colton. of Buffalo. Mr.
Colton had in his employ one — Vosburg, of Buffalo, as fore-
man of the mason work on the mill. Vosburg made the
acquaintance of Carter, and was accustomed after his day's
work was done to repair to the ashery, where Carter kept up a
fire during the night in the arch under the huge caldron in
which he prepared the potash. Heie the two men would
i.ndulge in card-playing by the light of the fire. On the night
of the supposed murder. Carter and Vosburg were joined in
their pastime at the ashery by a vagabond character named
Goodell, who had no fixed home or occupation. On the night
in question it api)ears the trio indulged freely in the ardent.
The next morning the lifeless bod}' of Vosburg was found out-
side of the asher\- building, his clothing saturated with the black-
salts from the boiling caldron, and signs that he had been
dragged from the inside of the building to the outside. At
once a very general impression [)re\'ailed that the man had
been murdered b}- his two companions either by striking on the
head with some murderous weapon and then throwing the
body into the. caldron to cover suspicion or b)- the more hor-
rible method of throwing him by force into the boiling salts.
Carter and Goodell claimed that Vosburg fell accidently into
the caldron and so met his death. They were arrested for the
murder, tried in Buffalo in the proper Court and acquitted.
248 THE OTIS MUKDKR.
The evidence submitted b\- the prosecution being neeessarily
circumstantial.
The defence proved that it was possible for a man to fall into
such a place and get out before death would occur — such .m
instance ha\'ing occurred some time previous in Sardinia.
IIIE OTIS MURDER.
Ransford Otis came from Vermont to Sardinia, and in 1826
came from Sardinia to Concord; he lived on Lot 18, on the
Cattaraugus creek, south of Springville. April 21, 1840, he
was murdered by Major McEllery, an Irishman, who was living
at his house. He had lived there but a few weeks, but had
lived about the forks of the creek for some time. At that time
there was a grist mill up at Richmonds, and they had been up
to mill and returned and were at the barn putting out the team
in the forepart of the evening, when McEllery, who was a
larger and much stronger man than Otis, stepped up behind
him and grabbed him around the neck and choked till he
thought he had killed him, when he laid him on some boards
on the barn floor next the hay ; but Otis came to and said,
" Major, you don't mean to kill me ? " Then McEllery pounded
him till he was dead. He then set the barn on fire. Presently
the people on the creek and some from Springville saw the fire
and came running down, and McEllery was there, and they
enquired of him where Mr. Otis was, and McEllery said he had
gone over to Mr. May's, who was his brother-in-law. and lived
over across the creek where Warren Ransom lives now. And
some of those present went over to Mr. May's and found that
Otis had not been there, and when the barn had fallen in and
was burning fiercely, McEllery was seen to put his hands up to
shade his eyes and look sharply through the smoke and flames
at some object burning in the fire and on the hay. The people
mistrusted him and had him arrested then and there, and he
was committed to jail, and in due time tried and convicted and
made a confession before he died. He was hung on the 19th
da)- of January, 1841.
THE OEl) SPRIN(^.VILI,E HOTEL.
The old hotel was built in i<S24 b\' Rufus C. Eaton, assisted
by his brother, Elisha. At that time, Main street had not been
riii'; oi.i) si'kiN(;vii,i.i-. iiori;!,.
249
opened but two or three years, and there was not a building on
the south side of the street, from the Liberty Pole west to
Waverly street, and forest trees were standing on the lots
opposite the hotel. Rufus C, kept the hotel several years and
then sold it to Johnson Bensley, who also run it a few years.
In the Sprino of 1833, Richard Wadsworth. father of H. t!
VVadsworth, bought it and kept it until the Spring of 1836,
when he sold it to Edwin Marsh, of Buffalo, who turned it into
a boarding house for a short time. Within a year, Marsh sold
it to Varney Ingalls, and the title remained with him and his
heirs about twenty-two years. During that time it was rented
and run by Mr. Wing and son, by Phelps and Tisdel Hatch, by
(iaston U. Smith, by James V. Crandall, William Olin, George
Shultus, jr. Constant and Abner Graves, Brand and Harrington,
Ballon and Stanbro, Miles Hayes, Mortimer L. Arnold, and
James Razee. In 1859, I'erigrine Eaton bought it of Mr.
Severance and SyKester Eaton's family kept boarders then,
afterwards Mrs. Rumsey kept boarders. In 1866, E. S. Pierce
bought it and kept hotel there, " Hat "' Holmes and George
Goodspeed each rented it and run it, and E. S. Pierce kept it
again. In i8;i, Rust and Dygert bought it, soon after Dygert
sold out to Rust, who kept it till the Spring of 1876, when it
went into the hands of E. Briggs, assignee, who sold it in
the Spring of 1877 to Alvo Axtell, and he sold it to
Joseph Capron, and he to H. G. Leland, in the P'all of 1877.
In 1879, ^Ir- Leland took down the old house and erected in its
stead the present new, enlarged and tasty hotel building.
When the old hotel was first built, there were no meetino-
nouses m Sprmgville, and religious meetings were sometimes
held in the hall. The lodge of F. & A. M., in this town, some-
times held their meetings there. There the )^oung people
occasionally had their social gatherings. The hall was occupied
in 1844, by the Whigs as a club room, there they held their
meetings, made their sjieeches, and sang their songs. The
post-office was kept there for a while when Major Blasdell was
postmaster. Town meetings were held there once or twice.
At various periods during its existence of over half a century,
many of the lawyers and doctors, and business men of the vil-
lage, made it their boarding place and their home for vears.
250 PANTHER STORIES.
In early times, before the railroad days, there was considera-
ble emigration passing through Springville to the West, and
quite an amount of travel from Cattaraugus county through to
Buffalo. Frequently the hotel barn would be full, and the
,beds all full, and sometimes the bar-room floor would be full,
(and occasionally a customer would be in the same condition).
Many and great changes have taken place since the old hotel
was built, not only in this town and county, but throughout the
world. Then no railroads for carrying passengers had ever
been built ; then no steamships were carrying passengers across
the ocean. The telegraph had not been invented. Then
there were no sewing-machines, mowing-machines or threshing-
machines in being. The Erie canal had not been completed ;
then the assessed value of the real estate of the town of Buffalo
was less than half what the assessed v^alue of the real estate of
the town of Concord is now. Then there was not a cook-stove
or a bugg}^ in this town. The old hotel has passed away and
will be seen no more, although it \\as small in size and inferior
in style and dingy in appearance, yet it abounded in good
cheer, and many a good time had been enjoyed there. And just
as good eatables and drinkables ha\'e been served up there as
in the great hotels of New York or Saratoga.
PANTHER STORIES.
A short time before David Shultus came and located on his
place on the C.attaraugus creek, an Indian family camped
down there on the flats, they had a child just old enough to
run around outside the wigwam. One day just at dusk, a
panther caught the child and killed it, about that time the
Indian, who had been out hunting, came home and shot the
panther. The Indian buried the child there on the flats and
put in its gra\e such articles as was their custom. The Indian
came there after ]\Ir. Shultus located there and related the cir-
cumstances of the case to him, and showed him the child's
grave, and the bones and claws of the panther. He had the
skin of one foot and part of the leg for a tobacco pouch, and
said he should have it buried with him when he died.
Soon after Truman White settled on what is now the John
Wells farm, within the corporation of Spring\'ille, and when there
A Illkll.l.IXi; IJKAR Sl'ORV. 2$ I
was nothiiiL^ but a path throui^h the woods where the road is
now. His son. Tompkins White, then a boy, started from the
house to come north in the patli, and a panther came down
from the hill on the east side and confronted him, they faced
each other awhile and when the boy stepped forward the pan-
ther did the same. The boy concluded it was best to retreat
towards the house, which was close by, which he did without
beins^ molested by the panther.
In 1816, Da\-id Wiley, David Shultus and (jeorge Shultus
went over to the Heaver Meadows in Cattaraugus county,
twelve miles from Springville, after cattle on a pleasant day
about the 20th of Noxember, they had to stay ail night and as
there were no settlers there, the)' built up a rousing fire in the
woods and sta)'ed by it. In the night a furious snow storm
arose and the panthers screamed around them and one came
so near that the\- ccnild see his eyes glimmer in the darkness.
David Shultus went over bear-footed and in the morning the
snow was about a foot deep, and he had to dance around quite
lively to keep from freezing. At that time there were
several beaver dams and beaver houses along the creek on the
Beaxer Meadows.
A BEAR STORY.
The following bear story is related b}- the late David Oyer,
father of Jacob Oyer, of Springville : " It was some 60 or more
years ago since I went to the town of Ashford. Only a few^
settlers were there at that time, and the few cows they po.s-
sessed were suffered to roam, through the woods. The few set-
tlers would take turns in looking them up at milking time.
The ex'ening in question it fell to my lot to bring the cows
home, and it being Sunday I did not take my gun along, as was
customar)- with me, but I coaxed all the dogs in the settlement
to accompany me, and I started out in an easterly direction,
and it was not long before I could hear the tinkling of the bells.
All at once the dogs set up a terrible outcry in the direction
that I was going, and I quickened my footsteps and soon came
up with the dogs, who had a bear at bay. He sat upright upon
his haunches with his back to a large tree, and whenever a dog
<jot within his reach it receixed a terrible bloxv from Bruin's
252
NAMES OF PARTIES TAKING DEEDS
paw, and whenever he turned and attempted to climb the tree
the dogs would seize him and haul him back. What was to be
done ? My only arms was a pocket-knife, but this stood me
well in hand ; with it I cut a heavy cudgel, and by keeping the
tree between myself and the bear, I was able to approach near
enough, and by stepping to one side I dealt him a stunning
blow across the nose, and a few more over the head finished
him. That bear was dressed and divided up among the set-
tlers, who enjoyed a feast.
LANDS DEEDED IN CONCORD.
The names of persons who took deeds of land from the Hol-
land Compan}', the number of the lots and parts of lots, the
number of acres, and the date of- purchase :
TOWNSHIP SIX. RANGE SIX.
Lot.
Acres ; Subdivision. ' Date of Deed.
140
126
100
123
I 22
217
140
60
100
lOI
50
50
125
76
63
48
120
100
TOO
75
70
9'
70
30
50
e pt . .
w pt . .
s pt . . .
m pt. .
n pt . .
spt. .
n pt . .
s-e pt .
n-e . . .
m pt. .
s-w pt.
n-w pt.
s-w pt.
n-e pt .
m pt. .
n-w pt
spt...
m pt. .
n pt . .
s-e pt .
s-w pt.
A\' m pt
e m pt
n-e pt .
Nov. II, 1841
Nov. I. 1840. .
Dec. 7, 1815 . ,
Jan. 21, 1818. .
Jan. 21,1818,
Sept. 24, 1823,
Dec. 3, 1823 . .
Sept. 25, 1833,
Dec. 29, 1837 ,
Jan. 13, 1834..
Dec. 10, 1834 .
Mar. 8, 1833 . .
July 17,1827..
Dec. 31, 1836 .
Sept. 29, 1831 .
Jan. 22, 1846. .
July I, 1839...
July 22, 1834..
June 14, 1832.
Jan. 16, 1834. .
Sept. 20, 1838.
May 26, 1836.
Aug. 23, 1832.
Jan. 16, 1836. .
April 10, 1832.
Name.
Eaton Bentley.
Joseph Harkness.
Samuel Cochran.
Joseph Yaw.
Christopher Douglass.
Rufus Eaton.
John Albro.
Charles C. Wells.
Silas Rushmore.
James Hinman, Jr.
John Van Pelt.
Varne)' Ingalls.
Noah Cuher.
Jedediah Stark.
Benjamin Nelson.
Elijah Matthewson.
Marsena Ballard.
Joel Chaffee.
William Weeden.
John Russell.
Francis White.
Aimer White.
William Weeden.
Rob. Auger.
Jar\-is Bloomfield.
FROM THE HOLLAND COMI'ANV.
TOWNSHIP SIX, RANGE ?,\X—Conti,uied.
25;
25
26
26
Lot.
Acres.
Subdivision.
Date of Deed.
Name.
8
100
n-w pt . . .
Jan. 14, 1834. .
Samuel Cochran.
8
100
n-w pt . . .
Jan. 14. 1834..
Samuel Cochran.
9
245
w 1
Dec. 2, 1817 . .
Abraham Mid da ugh.
10
162
w 1
Mar. 18, 1823 .
Benjamin Rhodes.
1 1
50
s pt
Aug-. 31, 1830.
Elizabeth Austin.
1 1
50
s m pt . . .
Mar. 2, 1829.. .
Harvev' Andrew.
II
75
m j)t
Aug. 30, 1 83 1.
Julius Bement.
II
75
n pt
Oct. 4, 1826.. .
Phineas Scott.
12
bo
^^- 1
Oct. 31, 1832..
Jarvis Bloomfield.
13
100
e pt
July 15,1834..
Thomas Johnson.
13
82
w pt
Nov. 30, 1837.
Giles Churchill.
13
50
n pt
Aug. 31, 1830.
Luther Austin.
14
185
\\- 1
Dec. 30, 1836 .
Elbert W. Cook.
15
50
•^ pt
Dec. 30, 1836 .
Elbert W. Cook.
15
58
n pt
Jan. 3, 1857...
Jarvis Bloomfield.
lb
^7
•- pt
Jan. 29, 1842. .
David Wiley.
lb
42
m pt
Jan. 3, 1837...
Jarvis Bloomfield.
17
84
^ pt
Oct. 25, 1838. .
Ebenezer Dibble.
17
50
m pt
Mar. 25, 1837.
Jarvis Bloomfield.
17
10
11 m pt . . .
June 17, 1828.
J. White.
17
69
n pt
Jan. 23, 1837..
Truman W'hite.
18
7«
s pt
Oct. 9, 1837...
Ransford Otis.
18
b9
n pt
Jan. 23, 1836. .
Truman White.
19
126
w 1
Sept. 10, 1822 .
George Shultus.
20
150
w I
May 25, 1829 .
Orrin Ballard.
21
125
w 1
Oct. 21, 1819. .
William Shultus.
22
140
^^• 1
Feb. 18, 18 14. .
David Shultus.
23
47
s c pt . . . .
Oct. 14, 1836..
Abel Holman.
23
50
s-w pt. . . .
Sept. 6, 183 1 . .
David Shultus.
23
4>
n pt
May 22, 1835 .
Jabez Weeden.
24
79
M^t
Mar. 2, 1832. .
Abel Holman.
24
40
11 pt
Jan. 8. 1835...
Abel Holman.
25
80
■M^t
Dec. 30, 1837..
N. A. Bowen.
25
43
m pt
Aug. 13, 1838.
George Richmond. Jr.
25
34
11 pt ]
Jan. 7, 1835.. .
Nathan Hull.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN. RANGE SIX.
365
95
50
s-e pt .
n-e pt .
Sept. 21, 1809.
Dec. 29, 1836. .
Dec. 29, 1836. .
James Vaughan.
Asa Wells.
Jonathan Mayo.
254 NAMES OF PARTIES TAKING DEEDS
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, RANGE SlX—Conlinued.
Lot.
Acres.
50
Subdivision. Dai e of Deed.
Name.
26
s m pt .
. Dec. 29, 1836. .
Willard W. Cornwell.
26
50
n m pt . .
. Dec. 29, 1836. .
Hiram Mayo.
26
50
s-\v pt. .
. June 5, 1834. .
Mary Rouse.
26
50
n-\v pt .
. Oct. 9, I •'-32.. .
William Smith.
^7
62
s-e pt . .
. July 18, 1839. •
P. C. Sherman.
2J
63
n-e pt . .
. Dec. 29, 1836..
Archibald Griffiths.
27
62
s m pt .
. April 18, 1840.
James Bloodgood.
.27
62
n m pt .
. May 17, 1836..
Archibald Griffiths.
27
88
.s-w pt . .
. June 19, 1837.
William B. Wemple.
.27
32
n-w pt .
. Nov. 22, 1830.
Archibald Griffiths.
28
175
s pt. . . .
. Oct. 14, 1 83 1 . .
John M. Bull.
28
175
n pt . . .
. Nov. 22, 1838.
Amos Stanbro.
29
47
s-e pt . .
. Mar. I, 1838. .
Amos Stanbro.
29
47
e m pt .
. Dec. 29, iN36 .
William Olin.
;29
94
n-c pt. .
. Auo-. 13, 1836.
Abraham Gardiner.
29
70
s-w ])t. .
. May 14, 1832..
H. J. Vo.sburo-h.
29
24
vv m pt.
. April I, 1839. •
\W P. Powers.
29
94
n-w pt. .
. Sept. 13, 1836.
Abraham Gardiner.
30
100
e pt . . .
.. Oct. 12. 1842..
John Cotrell.
30
100
m pt. . .
.| Oct. 12, 1842. .
Joseph Cotrell.
.30
154
w pt . . .
., July 18, 1839. .
P. C. Sherman.
.31
65
m pt. . .
. Dec. 29, 1837..
Arnold Wilson.
31
TOO
w pt . . .
. April I, 1839. •
William P. Powers.
32
TOO
e pt . . .
. Oct. 26, 1836. .
Alexander Butterfield,
32
7^:>
m pt. . .
. Julv 18, 1839. •
P. C. Sherman.
32
50
w pt . . .
■ July 8, 1833- •■
William L. J add.
33
50
s-e pt . .
. Sept. 25, 1837.
Charles Wells.
\ Seth W. Godard and
33
50
-S-w pt . .
. April 20, 1843 •
( Eber Brooks.
33
137
m p . . .
. Oct. 17, 1837. .
Benjamin Freeman.
33
87
n-e pt . .
. June 7, 1836. .
Asa Wells.
33
50
n-w pt .
. Sept. 20, 1837.
Jo.seph McMillan.
34
50
s-e pt . .
. May 5, 1832. .
James Bloodgood.
34
100
n-e pt . .
. Dec. 30, US36. .
William Smith.
34
50
s m pt .
.; Mar. 11, 1S35.
James Bloodgood.
34
50
s-w m pt
. Dec. 27, 1836 .
Josiah Graves.
34
50
n m pt .
. Dec. 21, 1838..
Moses W. Griswold.
34
55
w pt . . .
. . Jan. IT, 1837..
Seeley Squires.
35
50
.s-e pt . .
. . June 19. 1837.
William B. Wemple.
35
89
e m i)t .
. Nov. 17, 1838.
William B. Wemple.
35
50
n-e pt . .
. . Jan. 17, 1828. .
A. Griffith.
35
139
n-w pt .
.: Feb. 15, 1834..
Jonathan Mayo.
FROM THE HOLLAND COM LAN V.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN. RANGE S\X—Con(inued.
255
Lot.
Acres.
Subdivision.
Date of Deed.
Name.
35
50
w m pt. .
April I, 1839. •
William P. Powers.
35
50
n-w pt . .
Jan. 3,1838...
James Wilson.
l^
100
e pt
Dec. 28, 1837 •
Mor. L. Badgley.
36
59
em pt . .
Nov. 13, 1837.
P^dward Cram.
36
100
w m pt. . .
Aug. u, 1836.
David Meeker.
37
127
spt
July 18, 1839..
P. C. Sherman.
37
50
n m pt . .
June 19, 1837.
Rebecca Putman.
37
60
n pt . . . .
April I, 1839. •
W. P. Powers.
37
1 10
5f npt...
Jan. 18, 1851. .
Phineas Scott.
3«
31
s-c pt . . .
Dec. 26, 1837.
John Griffith.
38
ICX)
s m pt . . .
April I, 1839. •
D. H. Chandler.
38
116
n-e pt . . . .
Nov. 27, 1837.
Hez. Griffiths.
38
62
n-w pt . .
April I, 1839. .
W. P. Powers.
39
113
^^ pt
June 16, 1843..
George N. Williams..
39
164
m pt . . . .
April I, 1839. •
D. H. Chandler.
39
100
n pt
\ June 14,1837
( or 1836.. . .
Homer Barnes.
40
50
^ pt
Jan. 21, 1833..
Abner Wilson.
40
200
s m pt . . .
April I, 1839. •
W. P. Powers.
40
100
n pt
Auo. 23, 1838.
Chauncey Dunbar.
41
60
■'^ pt
Jan. 31. 1837..
Josiah D. Graves.
41
233
m pt
Jan. 3, 1837...
Ashley Holland.
41
100
n pt
Dec. I, 1823.. .
Samuel Bradley.
42
100
s pt
Aug. 31, 1 810.
Luther Curtiss.
42
100
s m pt . . .
Dec. 30, 1836..
Amos Stanbro.
42
47
n-e m . . . .
Feb. I, 1839.. ■
David L. Sweet.
42
53
n w ni . . .
Nov. 6, 1838. .
John Gould.
42
73
n i)t
Mar. 7, 1857. .
Hiram Mayo.
43
43
43
20
Feb. I, 1839.. •
F^eb. 1 , 1856. . .
Erastus Mayo.
Weston Waite.
55
50
s-e pt . . . .
Feb. 15, 1834..
Jonathan Mayo.
43
75
w m pt..
Dec. 31, 1836..
James Curtiss.
43
96
n-e pt . . . .
Dec. 31, 1836..
Calvin Smith.
43
TOO
n-w pt . .
Dec. 20, 1837..
Prentis Stanbro, Jr.
44
70
s-e pt . . . .
Dec. 6, 1836...
Dax'id Campbell.
44
70
n-e pt . . .
Dec. 6. 1839.. ■
Samuel Jocoy.
44
91
s m pt . .
Feb. 5, 1838.. .
Arnold Cranston.
44
50
n m pt . .
Oct. 31, 1838. .
Amos Stanbro.
44
50
w m pt..
April 7, 1838..
Prentis Stanbro, Jr.
44
50
w pt . . . .
April 7, 1838. .
Prentis Stanbro.
45
30
s-e pt . . .
Oct. 21, 1837. .
Samuel A, Jocoy.
45
65
s-w pt. . .
1 June 9, 1838. .
William Smith, Jr.
256 NAMES OF PARTIES TAKIXC; DEEDS
TOWNSHIP SEVEN. RANGE SIX— Continued.
Lot. Acres. Subdivision. Date of Deed
Names.
45
100
45
100
45
100
46
133
46
50
46
50
45
50
46
100
47
143
47
100
47
125
48
288
48
75
48
100
49
66
49
75
49
100
49
100
50 ,
50
50
75
50 i
40
50 I
100
50 !
25
50 1
40
51 !
42
51 i
90
51 j
100
51 1
102
5-
64
52
50
52
128
52 1
102
52
68
53
83
53
75
53
79
53
51
53
50
54
364
55
152
55 !
100
s m pt . . . i Dec. 26, 1 833. .
n m pt. . . I Dec. 25, 1838..
n pt I Nov. 21, 1837.
s pt I July i<S, 1839..
s m pt . . . : A\n-'\\ 1, 1839. .
e m pt. . . I June 16, 1845 .
w m pt. . . I April 9, 1 828 . .
n pt I April i, 1839. •
c pt j July 18 1839. •
m pt 1 Aug. 23, 1838 .
w pt [ June 5, 1837. .
e pt , July 18, 1839..
m pt j Sept. 22, 1855 .
w pt April I, 1839. •
s pt Dec. 28, 1836..
.s m pt . . . Feb. 6, 1833. . .
m pt ! Oct. 10, 1829. .
n pt : Aug. 27, 1824.
s pt j Aug. 10, 1830.
s m pt. . . ! Feb. i, 1834.. .
m pt April 2, 1838. .
n pt Jan. 6, 1836. . .
n-e pt. . . . Dec. 27, 1838..
n-w pt. . . Dec. 27, 1838..
s-e pt . . . . ' April 2, 1838. .
n-n-e pt.. June 17, 1835.
.s-w pt. ..^ Oct. 17, 1833..
\v m pt. . Feb. 28, 1831..
e pt July 18, 1839..
em pt. . . June 12. 1838.
n-e & m pt Mar. 26. 1853..
n-w pt. . . t April 2. 1838. .
n-\v pt . . . Dec. 18. 1840..
s pt Mar. 26. 1853..
.s m pt . . . Mar. 10, 1841. .
n m pt. . . July 24, 1853..
n-e pt.. . . ' Sept. 29, 1855 .
n-w pt. . . Oct. 23, 1841 .
Dec. 25, 1817..
w m & -s-e . J une 8, 1 849 . .
n-e pt . . . . Jan. 4. 1839. .
David Smith.
Patrick Hogan.
I Ephraim Needham.
P. C. Sherman.
' W. P. Powens.
J George N. Williams.
; Aaron Cole.
D. C. Chandler.
P. C. Sherman.
Chauncey B. Dunbar,
i Wheeler Drake.
i P. C. Sherman.
Julia Anne Abbott.
W. P. Powers.
David Shultes.
Varney Ingalls.
Varney Ingalls.
Varney Ingalls.
Abraham Fisher.
Daniel Tice.
Amos Stanbro.
Zimri Ingalls.
Zimri Ingalls.
Caleb Ingalls.
Amos Stanbro.
Amos Stanbro.
James Flemmings.
Amos Stanbro.
P. C. Sherman.
Amos Stanbro.
Philip Ferrin.
Amos Stanbro.
i R. C. Eaton and
( Otis Butterworth.
\\'illiam Smith, Jr.
Ephraim A. Briggs.
Stary King.
Stephen Churchill.
Edward Goddard.
Jonathan Sibley, Jr.
Orrin Sibley.
S}l\'ester Abbott.
FROM rilK IIOI.I.AM) COMI'ANV.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN. RANGE S\X- Continued.
257
Loiv
55
56
56
56
56
56
57
57
57
57
57
5«
58
58
58
59
59
59
59
60
60
60
60
60
61 ;
61 i
61 I
62 !
62
62 I
62 j
63 I
<33 :
63
63
64
64
64 I
64 !
49
Aches. Smnivi^iox. I Daye ok Deed.
Namf.s.
50
50
90
100
75
75
50
75
75
55
55
39
81
64
72
72
56
56
114
75
123
50
50
20
50
125
1 10
50 1
98
50
100 !
50 ^
125
56
54
59
75
57
47
47
104
j .s-w i)t. . . ,
.s-w pt . . .
^■pt
c m [)t . . .
I s m pt . . .
.s-w })t . . .
! n-w pt . . .
.s-e pt . . . .
! .s-w pt . . .
n-c pt. . . .
n m pt . . .
n-w i)t . . .
s-e pt . . . .
n-e ])t . . . .
m pt
w pt . . . .
s-e pt . . . .
n-e pt . . . .
m pt
M' pt
e pt
s m pt . . .
n m pt . . .
s-w pt . . .
n-\v pt . . .
s pt
m pt
n-e pt . . . . j
s-e pt . . . . '
s-w pt . . . . !
m pt
n pt
s pt
n-e pt .... ;
n m pt. . . i
n-w pt . . . I
s-c i^t . . . .
c m pt. . . i
n-c pt. . . .
n m pt . . . I
w pt . . . . j
m 6v: s-c pt
Jan. 13, 1829.
Oct. 20, 1 84V
Mays, 1835^..
June 4. 1834. ,
Dec. 26, 1837..
Dec. 26, 1837..
Nov. 15. 1836.
Nov. 5, 1841 . .
' Feb. 22, 1836..
f Oct. 25. 1838. .
I Oct. 18, 1851 . .
I Sept. 14, 1836.
I Dec. 26, 1838..
Dec. 2j, 1838..
April I, 1839. .
April 19, 1837.
June 27, 1838.
Dec. 10, 1834..
Jan. 9, 1829. . .
Feb. 6, 1837.. .
Mar. 26, 1853..
June 6, 1836. .
April I. 1839. .
Oct. 3. 1836...
Nov. s, 1836. .
Feb. 7, 1838...
July 18, 1839. •
Feb. 24, r83i..
Sept. 13, 1845 ■
June 22, 1835 .
April 2, 1838. .
Dec. 27, 1831..!
Mar. 6, 1828.. .j
Dec. 1 3 or 30/36:
Dec.i2or3i,'36i
Dec. 13, 1836.1
Dec. 30. 1836. . I
July 20. 1836. .1
Dec. 30. 1 836. . I
Dec. 30. 1836. .j
April I, 1839. .
Mar. 22, 1854.
, Orrin Siblc}-.
j Trumbull Carey.
Sylvester Abbott.
Caleb Abbott.
William A. Calkins.
Henr)' Smith.
D. Lewis.
! Carlos Emmons.
Carlos Emmons.
Alanson Wheeler.
! Benjamin Wheeler, Jr
Varney Ingalls.
Benjamin \Mieeler.
Caleb In<Talls.
W. P. Powers.
John House.
Ebenezer Blake.
Benjamin Fay.
Benjamin Fay.
; Nehemiah Fay.
Philip Ferrin.
Noah Townsend.
W. P. Powers.
Constant Trevitt.
Thomas Stephenson.
Amos Stanbro.
Pardon C. Sherman.
J. Southwick.
Jacob LeRoy.
William Field.
Joshua Afjard.
H. E. Potter.
Joshua Agard.
Abijah Sibley.
Joshua Agard.
Benjamin Sibley.
Michael Curran.
Moses Leonard.
Oliver Dutton.
Orange Wells.
W. P. Powers.
Elnoch N. Frve.
2 5«
NAMES OF PARriES TAKINCi DEEDS
RANGE SEVEN, TOWNSHIP S\X— Continued.
Lot.
Acres.
30
Stbdivision.
n-e pt . . . .
Date of Deeo.
Name.
49
Mar. 4, 1854 . .
Jesse Frye.
49
75
m pt
Oct. 27, 1836. .
Enoch N. Frye.
49
75
w m pt. . .
June 12, 1834.
Jesse Frye.
49
25
s-w pt . . . .
Nov. 8, 1852..
Jesse F'rye.
49
74
n-w pt. . . .
July 10, 1834..
James S. Erye.
56
140
w 1
Dec. 4, 1833.. .
Isham & D. G. Williams
57
35
e pt
Dec. 4, 1833...
Isham & D. G. Williams
57
108
w pt
Oct. 15. 1852. .
William Weber.
58
100
w 1
April 18, 1838.
Michael Smith.
59
86
e pt
April 12, 1838.
Michael Smith.
59
86
w pt
July 23, 1839..
Tristam Dodge.
60
159
w I
Dec. I, 1855 • •
Michael Smith.
61
193
e pt
Mar. 4. 1854. .
Jesse Frye.
61
75
\\' pt
July I, [838...
Abraham Van Tuyl.'
62
132
s-e pt ....
March 4, 1854
Jesse Frye.
62
100
n-e pt . . . .
Jan. 28, 1854. .
Morgan L. Badgley.
62
125
w pt
March 22, 1854
Enoch N. Frye.
66
105
' s-e pt . . . .
Dec. 27, 1838.
\ B. G. Kingsbury and
( John Haveland.
66
104
e m pt . . .
Sept. 28, 1837.
Luther Austin.
66
50
s-w pt. . . .
Dec. 28, 1837..
Jacob Hufstater, Jr.
66
50
n pt ....
Oct. 27, 1836. .
Jacob Hufstater, Jr.
67
50
n pt
Jan. 12, 1839. .
T. B. Marvin.
67
Dec. 4, 1833...
\ Daniel G. Williams
141
w pt
( and Isham Williams.
68
70
spt
Jan. 10, 1834. .
John Williams.
58
95
n pt
March 28, 1836
Aimer White.
69
70
s pt
Sept. 21, 1837
John Williams.
69
100
n pt
July 18, 1839..
r. C. Sherman.
70
138
^\' 1
July 18, 1839..
P. C. Sherman.
71
123
s pt ...... .
Oct. 14, 1841 . .
Daniel Green.
71
240
" P
Feb. 16, 1854.
Morgan L. Badgeley.
72
60
■^ pt
March 4. 1854
Jesse Frye.
78
274
•^ pt
Jul}- 18, 1839 .
P. C. Sherman.
78
50
n-\v pt ...
Nov. 1, 1840. .
Charles Watson.
78
50
n pt
Oct. 23. 1840..
Evert Van Buren.
79
223
ept
July 18, 1839..
P. C. Sherman.
79
50
m pt
Sept. 2, 1854. .
James S. P"rye.
80
50
e pt
Jan. 2, 1856.. .
Alexander M. Bruce.
80
100
e m pt . . .
Oct. 6. 1838...
Amos Stanbro.
80
103
m pt
July 18, 1839..
P. C. Sherman.
80
100
w pt
Sept. 28, 1 841 .
Charles l^ringle.
Vinni till'. IIOLI,AND COMPANY.
RANGE SEVEN, TOWNSHIP SIX— Co»/inue</.
259
Lot.
Acres.
Subdivision
Datk of Deed.
Name.
81
65
. Nov. 17, 1838.
David Jerman.
81
SO
s m i)t . .
. July 1. 1838 . .
Abraham Van 'l\n-l.
81
60
m i^t . . . .
. lunc 25, 1842.
Mile M. Baker.
81
100
n 111 pt . .
. Jan. 15. 1842. .
Hosea P. Ostrander.
81
100
n i)t . . . .
. Feb. 7. 1838. .
Alanson P. Morton.
S2
120
s pt
. Jul)- 18, 1839..
P. C. Sherman
82
.SO
s m pt . .
. March 28. 1843
Moses T. Thompson.
82
so
m pt. . . .
Dec. 29, 1838..
Milo M. Baker.
82
91
n-e pt . . .
March 10, 1838
Alanson P. Morton.
82
49
n-w pt . .
Oct. I I, 1837..
David Witherel.
86
160
c pt . . . .
Dec. 30, 1836..
Samuel Churchill.
86
50
m pt. . . .
Oct. 20, 1843. •
Jacob Le Roy.
86
183
vv pt . . . .
July 18, 1839..
P. C. Sherman.
87
105
■'^ pt
. Oct. 23, 1840..
Everet Van Buren.
87
100
m pt. . . .
Aui^. 4, 1856. .
Charles C. Empson.
87
131
n pt
. July 18, 1839..
P. C. Sherman.
88
2SS
\y\
. March 15. 1851
Frederick Whittlesey.
8q
100
e pt
. June 2, 1838. .
John Van Pelt.
8q
97
m pt. . . .
Oct. 6. 1838.. .
Amos Stranbro.
89
30
s-w m pt
Ma)' 26, 1855..
John Shear.
89
30
n-w m pt
. Oct. 15. 1853..
L. V. Nicholas
89
75
w pt . . . .
. Nov. 18, 1839.
Charles Prini^le.
90
70
s-e pt . . .
. June 29, 1832.
Eleanor Curtis.
90
72
s-w })t. . .
. Jul)- 1, 1838...
Abraham Van Tu\-1.
90
100
m pt. . . .
. Dec. I r, 1840 .
James Wheeler.
90
60
n m pt. .
. Sept. 27, 1854.
Levi Wheeler.
90
60
n pt . . . .
. Dec. 20, 1838.
Isaac Nichols
91
50
s-e pt . . .
. Jan. 24 1843..
Jeremiah Richard so n .
91
50
s-e m pt .
. Jan. 31. 1838..
Jeremiah Richardson.
9<
45
n-e m pt.
. Dec. I I, 1840 .
James Wheeler.
91
55
n-e pt . . .
. June 15, 1848.
Jeremiah Richardson.
91
SO
n-w m pt
. Dec. 29, 1836..
Jeremiah Ricliardson.
81
83
w pt . . . .
.1 May 25, 1839..
Jeremiah Richardson.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN RANGE SEVEN.
60
83
150
50
ISI
spt ..
s-w pt
m pt.
n pt .
s pt ..
Jan. 8. 1839..
Feb. 22, 1836
April [, 1839.
Nov. 8, 1839 .
Jan. 28, 1837.
Carlos Emmons.
Carlos Emmons.
D. H. Chandler.
Varney In gal Is.
Varnev Ingalls.
26o NAMES OF PARTIES TAKINO DEEDS
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, RANGE SEVE^—Coiilmiied.
OT.
1
Acres.
2
50
2
50 1
2
75
317
4
169
4
119
4
50
5
25
s
SO
5
16
5
25
5
50
S
116
5
50
6
121
6
50
6
60
6
90
7
60
7
40
7
50
7
50
7
50
7
50
7
52
7
52
<s
100
8
66
8
50
8
50
8
52
9
241
9
100
lO
26
lO
34
lO
33
lO
114 1
lO
114 '
I I
100
e m pt . . .
w m pt. . .
n pt
\\- 1
e»2)t
m &n-w pt
s-w pt . . . .
s-e pt . . . .
.s-e m pt . .
e ni pt . . .
s-w pt . ...
s-w m pt.
n m pt . . .
n pt
•'^ pt
e m pt . . .
n-e pt . . . .
n-w pt . . .
s-e pt . . . .
S-A\' pt . . . .
w m pt . . .
e m pt . . .
m pt
n m pt . . .
n m pt . . .
n pt
■^ pt
c m pt
w m pt. . .
n-e m pt. .
n pt
^ pt
n pt
s-e pt . . . .
s m pt . . .
m pt
n pt
s-w pt . . .
^■-e pt . . . .
Name.
March 10, 1824
March 10, 1824
March 16, 1836
June 17, 1835.
Feb. 24, 181 5..
Dec. 20, 18^7..
Dec. 21, 1848..
Dec. 29, 1849 •
Nov. 22, 1838.
March 25, 1854
Dec. 30, 1854..
July 18, 1839..
March 25, 1854
Ma)^ 24, 1842. .
July 18, 1839..
Dec. 29, 1835 .
Feb. 12, 1836 .
April I, 1839..
Aug. 26, 1830.
Oct. 14, 1835 ..
Feb. 8, 1832.. .
Dec. 29, 1838..
Nov. 7, 1836. .
March 27, 1846
Jan. 7, 1837.. ■
Jan. 7, 1837...
Dec. 31, 1836. .
Dec. 31, 1838..
June 14, 1839 ■
June 20, 1849.
Jan. 5, 1837...
July 18, 1839..
June 2},, 1855.
Feb. 23, 1853 .
Feb. 23, 1854 .
Feb. 23, 1853..
Jan. 3, 1837...
March 14, 1842
Jan. 20, 1848. .
I Trustees of 1st Con-
- gregational Church,
( Concord.
\ 1st Baptist Society
( of Concord
Jedediah H. Lathrop.
Jedediah H. Lathrop.
Jonathan Townsend,
Amaziah Achniune.
Phineas Scott.
J. O. Canfield.
Reuben C. Drake.
Reuben C. Drake.
Phineas Scott.
Pardon C. Sherman.
Elam Booth.
Parley Martin.
Pardon C. Sherman.
Oliver Needham.
Sellick Canfield.
Daniel H. Chandler.
Hosea E. Potter.
Hosea PL. Potter.
John Brooks.
Lemuel H. Twitchell.
P. B. Brush.
George Winship.
Peter Bradley.
George Winship.
William Dye.
Worcester Holt.
Palmer Skinner.
Ira Woodward.
Ebenezer Drake.
Pardon C. Sherman.
Abraham Van Tu\-L
Samuel Wheeler,
(i W. Hawkins.
Ely Page, Jr.
Varncy Ingalls.
Peter Cook.
Phineas Scott.
FROM rilE HOLLAND COMPANY.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN. RANGE SEVEN— CV«//««<.y/.
261
Lot. Acres Subdivision Date of Deed
3
4
4
4
4
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
6
6
6
6
6
6
7
7
7
7
8
8
8
8
8
9
9
9
20
131
90
100
100
lOI
33
100
143
106
107
58
50
100
8
3«
30
50
24
50
29
40
60
50
52
54
50
50
60
40
50
61
100
158
41
41
116
64
64
66
1 12
1 12
167
n-e pt . .
w pt . . .
s-e pt . .
.s-w pt . .
n-\\' pt .
n-c pt . .
s pt...
m pt. . .
II pt .
.s-\v pt .
.s-e pt . .
m pt . . .
n pt. . .
.s-e pt . .
.s-\v pt . .
s pt . . .
s m pt .
s m pt .
ni pt . . .
m pt . . .
n m pt .
n ni pt .
n pt . . .
.s-e pt . .
s-\v pt .
s m pt .
m pt . . .
n m pt .
n pt . . .
s pt...
s pt . . .
III pt . . .
n pt . . .
s-e pt . .
-s-w pt .
Ill &; n-e pt
n m pt .
n-\v pt .
e pt . . .
Ill pt . . .
w pt . . .
e pt . . .
Name.
March 17, 1855
Oct. 30, 1837.
Jan. 7, 1839..
Jan. 7, 1850. .
Sept. 28, 1850
Dec. 24, 1836
July I, 1838..
Nov. 26, 1842
Aug. 26, 1853
Mar. 18, 1852
Feb. I, 1849.
14, 1835.
14, 1835.
17- 1853
10, 1853
7. 1835.
21, 1838
20, 1829.
Oct.
Oct.
Dec.
Dec.
Aug.
Dec.
Jan.
Sept
Dec.
Dec.
Dec.
Dec.
Dec.
Jan.
Dec.
Feb.
Dec.
Nov.
Nov.
Oct.
29.
29,
29,
■9'
1845
1836
1836
1836
1 84 1
29, 1836
3, 1839- •
28, 1836
4, 1854.
I, 1836.
8, 1856.
8, 1856.
I, 1853..
June 28, 1855
Jan. 3, 1837. .
Jan.
Dec.
1837-
„i, 1836
Dec. 9, 1835.
April 26. 185 I
Nov 4, 1836.
Sept. 2, 1828.
Jan. 12, 1839.
May 10, 1839
Amasa Loveridge.
Lewis M. Trevitt
Phineas Scott.
Phineas Scott.
Phineas Scott.
01i\'er Arnold.
Thadeus Heacocks.
Abial D. Blodgett.
Thadeus Heacocks.
William L. Adams.
Uriah D. Pike.
Theodore H. Potter.
Hosea E. Potter.
Hosea E. Potter.
T. H. Potter.
William Twichell.
Solomon P. P'ield.
H. E. Potter.
Lemuel Twichell.
Jacob LeRoy.
Joseph Potter.
George W. Thurber.
Hezekiah Drake.
Christiana Bridgeman.
Lewis Janes.
William Potter.
William Potter.
George W. Drake.
Wheeler Drake.
M. D. Scott,
Marvin Hartman.
Amasa Loveridge.
Samuel W. Algar.
Clark Carr.
Josiah Alger.
James Tyrer.
Benjamin Trevitt.
Sally Martin.
Joseph M. Spaulding.
Jonathan Spaulding.
F. B. Marvin.
J. r. (j. .Spaulding.
262 NAMES OF PARTIES TAKING DEEDS
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, RANGE SEVEN— Con/im^ed.
Lor.
ACKES.
20
84 i
20
83
21
50
21
114
21
100
21
64
22
123
22
TOO
22
100
23
50
23
103
23
99
23
•53
23
50
24
50
24
50
24
41
24
50
24
25
24
50 ;
2S
100 i
25
50
25
50
25
50
25
71
26
150
26
so
26
107
26
50
27
45
27
79
27
100
27
100
28
1 1 [
28
80
28
100
28
46
28
45
29
148
29
202
30
115
m pt.
w pt .
s-e pt
n-e pt
s-\v pt
n-\v pt
s pt .
m pt .
n pt .
s-e pt
e m pt
s-w pt .
w in pt
n-w pt
s m pt
s-w pt
e m pt
^\^ m pt
n-c pt .
n-w pt
s pt..
n-c pt .
n-w pt
n m pt
w m pt
s pt. . .
n-e pt .
m pt .
n-w pt
e pt . .
c m pt
m pt. .
w pt. .
s-e pt .
n-e pt .
m pt. .
s-w pt .
n-w pt
spt...
n ])t . .
s pt. . .
Names.
Dec.
Apri
Dec.
Dec.
Mar.
Apri
July
Dec.
Mar.
Dec.
July
Sept.
July
July
July
July
Jan.
Dec.
Nov.
Jan.
Jan.
Nov.
Oct.
Nov.
Oct.
Jan.
July
Nov.
Mar.
July
July
Jan.
Aug.
Jan.
Dec.
Oct.
Feb.
Apri
Dec.
Jan.
Auo.
3I; 1836
1 I, 1839.,
2, 1839.
12, 1835
8, 1823.
1 I, 1839.,
I, 1838.,
26, 1839
24, 1823
4. 1838.,
18, 1839
. 21, 1836,
I, 1838..
I, 1838.,
I, 1838.,
I, 1838..
3. 1837...
31, 1838,
15, 1 84 1 .
7, 1836. . ,
12, 1839..
1 , 1 84 1 . .
20. 1855. .
24. 1855.
9. 1844 ••
7, 1839...
12, 1851 .
2. 1855..
17- 1855-
1, 1838...
26, 1856..
7, 1839...
I I, 1812.
28, 1857..
31, 1836 .
15,1835..
6, 1836 ..
I I, 1839. .
14, 1820 .
15, 1842. .
23. 1851.
Hira C. Lusk.
Daniel H. Chandler.
Benjamin Trevitt.
Healey Freeman.
Benjamin Trevitt.
Daniel Chandler.
A. Van Tuyl.
Isaiah Pike.
Isaiah Pike.
Isaiah Pike.
P. C. Sherman.
Lewis Trevitt.
A. Van Tuyl
A. Van Tuyl.
A. Van Tuyl.
A. Van Tuyl.
Samuel Fosdick.
Wm. Curran.
John S Fosdick.
Ebenezer Ellis
¥ B. Marvin.
Pliny Wheeler.
James Tyrer.
James Ouinn.
Joseph Dennison.
Horace U. Soper.
T. M. Briggs.
James Tyrer, Jr.
Benjamin Trevitt, Jr.
A. Van Tuyl.
Carlos Emmons.
H. U. Soper.
Samuel Eaton.
Carlos Emmons.
Asa R. Trevitt.
Everett P'isher.
Emery Sampson.
T. A. Canfield.
John Andrews.
\ A. R. Trevitt & Levi
( Ballon, Jr.
Andrew Adams.
FROM Till-; HOLLAND COM I'AW.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN. RANGE SEVEN— (Vw/Zw/W.
Names.
265
Lot.
Acres.
Subdivision.
Date of Deed.
30
108
ni pt
lulv I, 1838.. .
30
53
n-c ])t . . . .
Dec. 18, 1835 .
30
53
n-w pi . .
April I, 1839. •
3>
50
s-c pt . . . .
; Sept. 21, 1836.
3'
50
s-c m pt. .
1 AiifT. I I. 1845 ■
31
60
c m pt . . .
Mar. 27, 1834..
31
47
n-c pt. . . .
Jan. 23, 1839..
31
51
s-w m pt .
Sept. 13. 1845
31
50
.<-\v pt . . . .
Nov. 19, 1853.
31
100
n-w pt . . .
Auo-. ,. ,838..
32
100
M^t
' April I, 1839. •
32
49
.^ ni pt . . .
Jan. 10. 1857..
32
60
n ni pt . . .
(Jet. 14, 1842..
33
120
spt
Sept. 16, 1822.
33
60
e m pt . . .
Dec. 29, 1836. .
33
60
w m pt . . .
Dec. 29, 1836 .
33
129
n pt
Aui;-. 18. 1825 .;
34
100
•M^t
June 25, 1838.
34 !
79
e m pt . . .
' July 22, 1833..!
34
21
\\' \w i)t. . .
July 22, 1833.. 1
34
55
m pt
July I, 1838...;
34
52
n m pt . . .
Sept. 10, 1840.
35 ,
200
c & n-c pt
Nov. 29. 1836.'
35
50
.s m pt . . .
Julys, 1839...;
35
•15
w pt
July 18, 1839..
36 '
50
.s-c pt . . . .
Mar. 20, 1833 .'
36
50
n-c pt . . . .
Oct. 20, 1843. •
36
100
c m pt . . .
July 18, 1839 ■
36
101
cm pt . . .
July 1. 1842. . .
36 1
87
w m pt.. .
May 24, 1843. .
36
80
w pt
Dec. 17, 1839 •
37 ;
100
n pt
Feb. 2, 1855 . .
37 :
50
•'^ pt
Dec. 15. 1855..
n
30
s m pt . . .
Dec. 15. 1855 .
37 ^
100
n pt
Sept. 8, 1855..
38 i
122
.s-w pt . . .
Feb. 2. 1855. .'
38 1
52
n-e pt.. . .
Mar, 31, 1854.
^l \
119
n-w pt . . .
April 1 1, 1845.
38
150
s-e pt . . . .
Nov. I, 1840. .
]
A. Van Tu\l.
Ezek. Adams.
D. H. Chandler.
Lewis Trevitt.
Joseph Hawkins.
Lewis Trevitt.
Alphonso Cross.
Jacob Le Roy.
Truman Vanderlip.
\ D. Burr and T. T.
( Sherwood.
Daniel H. Chandler.
Truman Vanderlip.
\ Francis H. Tattu and
) M. M. Tattu.
Lewis Nichols.
Calvin Johnson.
Joshua Steel.
Ezekiel Goodell
Israel Sly.
Zeb. Simmonds.
Luke Simonds.
A. V^an Tuye.
Phineas Peabody.
Emery Sampson .
William Sampson.
P. C. Sherman.
Emery Sampson.
Jacob Le Roy.
P. C. Sherman.
Thomas Pound.
Lat^rand W. Douglass
Emery W. Sampson.
Ciilbert C. Sweet.
C hristopher Brick.
Thomas Thiel.
Jonathan Stearns.
Gilbert C. Sweet.
Truman Vanderlip.
Urial Torrey.
Ezekiel .Adams.
.•264 NAMES OF PARTIES TAKIXCi DEEDS
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, RANGE SEVEN— Con/inufd.
Lot, Acres Subdivision. Date of Deed
39
372
39
50
40
50
40
50
40
50
40
93
40
100
41
100
41
80
41
62
41
70
42
40
•42
40
42
10
42
307
42
100
43
87
43
32
43
63
43
107
44
50
44
52
44
121
44
50
44
50
45
100
45
50
45
50
45
50
45
50
45
50
46
55
46
58
46
47
46
75
46
50
46
52
47
235
47
50
47
50
47
75
48
67
e s & w pt
n-e pt . . .
s-e pt . . .
s-w pt . . .
\v m pt . .
n-e j)t . . .
n-w pt . .
e pt . . . .
e m pt . .
\v m pt . .
w pt . . . .
s-c pt ...
.s m pt . . .
n-e pt . . .
w m pt . .
w pt . . . .
e pt . . . .
e m pt . .
m pt . . . .
w m pt . .
w m pt . .
w m pt . .
e pt ....
e m JO t . .
m pt
s pt
s w pt . .
ni pt ...
m pt . . . .
n m ])t . .
n j)t ....
.s-e pt . . .
c m pt . .
n-e pt . . .
.s-\v pt . . .
w ni i)t . .
n-w pt . .
s & w pt .
.s & m pt
n-e pt . . .
n-e pt . . .
.s-e pt . . .
Feb. 3, 1834 ..
April I, 1839. .
March 5, 18 10.
Sept. I, 1855..
Oct. 24, 1851 . .
Jan. 5, 1856. . .
Jan. 26, 1853 . .
July I, 1838 . .
Feb. 1 1, 1856. .
July 18, 1839. .
Nov. 5' 1855 ..
Dec. 21, 1836. .
Dec. 21, 1836 .
April 8, 1856. .
Oct. 5, 1853...
Dec. 21, 1841 .
Nov. I, 1841 . .
Nov. I, 1 84 1 . .
Nov. I, 1 84 1 . .
Feb. 19, 1853..
Oct. 3, 1841 .. .
Nov. I, 1841 . .
April I, 1839. •
Dec. 27, 1837..
Aug. 31, 1853.
Jan. 20, 1855. .
Sept. 6, 185 I . .
May 3, 1856 ..
Oct. I I, 1S56. .
Sept. 6, 1 85 I . .
Oct. 10, 1837. •
Sept. I, 1856. .
March 17, 1855
March 27, 1852
April 14, 1855.
Oct. 29, 1849. .
No\-. 1, 1841 . .
Jul)- 18, 1839. .
July 8, 1842 . .
Dec. 16, 1842..
July I, 1838..
April I, 1839. •
Names.
Benjamin Dole.
Daniel H. Chandler.
Thomas M. Barret.
George Myer.
P. Hagelbergier & wife.
George Barrett.
Jacob Myers.
Abraham Van Tuyl.
William S. Fessenden.
Pardon C. Sherman.
John Nichols
Luke Simonds.
Zebedee Simonds.
Ira N. Fuller.
Ezra H. Heath.
Jasper Tabor.
John Healands,
J. How.
Isaac Woodward.
William Bates.
James Collvil.
Alexander Richley.
D. H. Chandler.
William Andre.
George Vance.
Jacob Heavy.
Zacheus H. Preston
Thomas Thiel.
John L Unger.
Jonathan Stevens.
Truman Vanderlip.
George Roth.
Ira Stebbins,
Ira Stebbins.
Nicholas Reading.
Orvilla Kirby.
William Horton.
P. C. Sherman.
Michael Hagelberger.
(jeorge Myers
Abraham Van Tuvl.
D. H. Chandler.
I
I'ROM Till'; IlOLl.AXD ('OMI'AW.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, RANGE SEVENS— Co?innitfd.
265.
Lot
Acres.
Subdivision.
Date ok D ed.
Names.
48
48
48
48
50
50
s-c pt . . . .
n-e 111 pt . .
n-\v m pt .
!1-\V pt . . .
April 5. 1839..
April 5, 1839. •
Dec. 20, 1838..
April I, 1839. •
Ira Woodard.
Benjamin Rathbun. jr.
Daniel Morton.
D. H. Chandler.
SOCIETIES.
Concord has eight beneficiar}- and secret societies besides a
lodge of Free Masons located as follows: five at Springville,
two at Woodward Hollow and one at East Concord. The fol-
lowing statistics relate to the several lodges :
E. A. v., SPRIN(;VILLE UNION NO. 36.
This society was instituted in December, 1879, with twelve
charter members ; present membership, 112. The following is
a list of the original officers ; James N. Richmond, President ;
Mrs. A. Blackam, Vice-President ; Mrs. E. S. Van Valkenburg,
Auxiliary ; William Stone, Treasurer ; A. R. Taber, Secretary;
A. J. Moon, Accountant ; George R. Clark, Chanc; A. L.
Vaughan, Advocate ; Rev. E. T. Fox, Chaplain ; P. A \'an
\'alkenburg. Watchman ; William Blackam, Warden.
A (). U. W., SPRINCVII.LE LODGE, NO I 55
The lodge was organized Jan. 28, 1878, with seventeen orig-
inal members ; charter members, forty-one ; present member-
ship, fifty-seven. The following were the original officers : W.
H. Warner. M. W.; R. W. Tanner, G. T. R.; Philip Herbold,
O.; George H. Barker, R.; George B. Clark, T.; John P. Myers.
Receiver.
R. T. OF r., S1'RIN(;\ ILLE COUNCIL. NO. 5 I.
Organized June 21. i87iS. with fourteen charter members:
present membership, 135. The original officers were; J. W.
Reed. S. C; L. D. Chandler. V. C; W. H. Jackson. P. C; A.
F. Bryant, Chap.; Miss Ida Reed. Sec: X H. Thurber. Treas.;
J. B. Flemings. Herald ; Miss Lizzie Billings. (luard ; N. G.
Churchill, Sen.
266 BENEFICIARY SOCIETIES.
C. M. B. A. (Catholic Mutual Benefit Association), LOCATED AT
SFRINGVILLE.
The Association was organized in the Spring of 1879, with
twenty-one charter members ; present membership, the same.
The original officers were: Peter Weismantel, Pres.; Frank
Weismantel, First Vice-Pres.; Nicholas Rassell, Second Vice-
Pres.; Fred Fox, Treas.; John Bolender, Cor. Sec; Camille
Hugel, F"in Sec; Marshall Demult, Marshal; Jacob Heire,
Guard ; Victor Collard, Nicholas Rassell, Peter Heire, Matthew
Metzler and Sigismund Schewrtz, Trustees.
G. A. R. — (T<ARY POST, NO. 87, LOCATED AT SPRIXGVILLE.
Organized Aug. 15, 1881 ; charter members, eighteen; pres-
ent membership, twenty. The original officers were: H. P.
Spaulding, Commander; J. P. Meyers, S. V. C; J. Oswald, J.
V. C; O. M. Morse. Adj't ; E. L. Hoops, Q. M. George H
Barker, O. D.; S. E. Spaulding. O. G.; W. H. Agard, Chap.
C. VVaite, Surgeon; E. D. Bement, S, M.; \V. H. Warner, Q.
M. Sergt.
E. A. C, EAST CONCORD UNION, NO. I 50.
Instituted Sept. 14, 1880; charter members, sixteen; present
membership, forty-six. The original officers were James Crans-
ton, Chan.; Sterling Titus, Advocate; George L. Stanbro.
Pres.; Charles Spencer, Vice-Pres.; B. E. VanSlyke, Aux.; L.
A. Stanbro. Treas.; Libbie M. Van Slyke, Sec; Amelia Hor-
ton, Acct.; Annis Titus, Chap.; Sarah Baker, Warden ; Morris
Baker, Sen.; Edward Bayless, Watchman.
E. O. M. A., LAST CHANCE LODGE, NO. 93, WOODWARD HOLLOW.
Instituted May 28, 1879; charter members, twenty-seven;
present membership, thirteen. Original officers ; George W.
Briggs, Pres.; Job Woodward, Vice-Pres.; Charles Hartley,
Rec Sec; Layton M. Goodcll, Fin. Sec; Philo Woodward,
Treas.; C. C. Alger, Chap.; Charles Kn()wles, C; Myron E.
Palmerton. 1. G.; Josiah Woodward, O. G.; W. M. Woodward,
P. P.
E. A. C, CONCORD C.NION NO. IO3, WOODWARD HOLLOW.
Instituted Ma\' 28, 1 880 ; charter members, twent}'; present
NKWSI'AI'KkS. 267
niciTibcrsliip, thirty, (^n'^inal officers: William Woodward
Chan.; Isaac Woodward, Adxocatc ; l\rry T Scott, Pros,
(amcs L. Tarbox, Vicc-Pres ; Mianda Tarbox. Aux.; Philo
Wootluard. Trcas ; W. G. Clark, Sec ; Mrs. Viola Woodward.
Acct.; Mrs. Susan Scott, Chap; Albert Potter, Warden; Mns,
Anna Woodward, Sen.; Andrew Geif^er, Watchman.
NEWSPAPERS.
The first newspaper in the town was the Springville Expriss,
l)ublished by E. H. Hough, commencing in 1844, continuing
four years.
The Springville Herald was started May 4, 1850, and had a
long and influential career, ardently advocating the principles
of tlie Whig and Republican parties. E. D. Webster & Co,
were the founders, but after the second week Mr. Webster
assumed the sole proprietorship, holding it until December,
1856, when he disposed of the establishment to J. B. Saxe.
The latter continued to publish the paper until 1863, when, on
account of the excessive cost of publishing in war times and to
devote himself to the ministr\- and to agriculture, he discon-
tinued the paper.
The American Citi'^cii, started in 1855, was published during
the presidential campaign of 1856 by E C Saunders.
The Poiiiy Weekly, a local paper, diminutix'e in size, was pub-
lished by W. A. P'errin several months in 1858.
In January, 1864, Augustine W. Ferrin, who formerl\' had
assisted Mr. Saxe in editing the Herald, returned discharged
from the army, in which he had served faithfully until physi-
cally disabled. Leasing Mr. Saxe's office and procuring con-
siderable new material, he started the Chro>neU\ wliich he pub-
lished until March, 1865, when he was attracted to Buffalo to
fill the position of city editor of the Express.
The establishment was then leased b)- N. H. Thurber, who
from March, 1865, until Januar\-, 1866, published the 'fribiine.
Mr. Ferrin then bought the material and took it to Plllicott-
\ille, founding the Cattaraitii^ns Repitblieaii.
W. W. Blakcly started the Springville Journal March 16,
1867, and has continued the publication ever since. Receiving
from Mr. Saxe the old files of the Herald, he resolved to per-
268 NEWSPAPERS.
petuate the name of the respected predecessor, and therefore
re-christened his "p^.'^er Journal and Herald. J. H. Melven be-
came a partner in the enterprise in November, 1867, and con-
tinued as such until March, 1873, v\hen he sold his interest to
his partner.
The Students Repository was for several months, be<^inning"
in 1867. published in the interest of Griffith Institute by W. R.
De Puy and J. H. Melven.
The Local Ncivs, edited and published by J. H. Melven, long
connected with the Herald 3.nd other papers, and F. G. Meyers,
was started in Springville, Nov. 9, 1879, ^'''<^ i"^ ^till jDublished
b)' the same parties.
The first power printing press arrived in Springville in
August, 188I, for printing the Journal and Herald. In Octo-
ber, 1883, Melven & Meyers procured one for the "Loeal Neivs.
The people of this and surrounding towns have shown their
appreciation of local papers by giving a generous support.
One of the strongest indications of the town's growth, prosper-
ity and intelligence is the fact that about three thousand copies
of these local papers, the Journal and Herald ?ind Loeal Neivs,
are issued every week.
liKXiRAI'ilK AI, SKKICIIKS. 269
CHAPTER XVI.
FAMILY HISTORIES OF THE TOWN OF CONCORD.
IAMIL\ II [STORIES.
The family histc^rics that fcjllow the general history of each
town in this volume have been compiled at an expenditure of
much time and labor. Diligent care has been exercised to
make them correct, but, notwithstanding, in some cases desir-
able data has not been obtainable, and some errors and omis-
sions seem unavoidable.
It has been the general aim not to indulge very much in
eulogy, but to present the facts and let the reader draw his own
conclusions.
Much space has been allotted to family records, not only to
furnish general information, but to enable successive genera-
tions to trace their genealogy.
Much of the matter relating to pioneer times and other
topics has been placed in connection with the family histories,
as the relations of the persons with it seems to make it a more
suitable ])lace to insert it.
Ainaziali A.shinaii.
Amaziah Ashman was born in Connecticut, in 1783. From
there, he removed to Ontario county, and resided in the Town
of West Bloomfield some years. He came from that place to
this town in 1809. and located land on lot 4, township seven,
range seven, on Townsend hill. He moved his family here in
May, 1 8 10. John Stuart and his wife, another young married
couple, came out with Ashman and remained one year and then
went back. It took them three da}-s to come from Buffalo to
Townsend hill. They had to cut their own road part of the
way. The\' built a small house or shanty, covered with bark,
and moved into it — -without floors, door or windows.
At that time, there were no families either east or west
nearer than ten miles, and the nearest on the north were at
270 inOGRAl'HICAL SKETCHES.
Boston, and, f)n the southeast, at or near Sprhigville. Mr.
Ashman taught school occasionally in earh' time. He also
kept hotel for a few years on his farm on Townsend hill. He
served as a soldier on the Niagara frontier in the war of 18 12-
15, and was in skirmishes and engagements on both sides of
the river. He was once taken prisoner. He was at the burn-
ing of Buffalo. He was Town Clerk the first year after the
Town of Concord was organized, and when it contained Con-
cord, Sardinia, Collins and North Collins, and was elected to
that ofifice si.xteen years in succession. He also held the oflfice
of Justice of the Peace for eighteen years, and frequently pre-
sided at town meetings. For the first twenty-five years after
its organization, he was one of the leading men of the town.
He cleared and owned a large farm, on which he resided until
he died, in i85i. He was seventy-eight years of age at the
time of his death.
His wife. Thankful Ashman, died March 14, 1881, in the
ninety-fourth year of her age. She was a resident of this town
about seventy-one years, which is a longer period than any
other person ever lived here who was twent}'-one years of age
when they came.
Their children were :
John H., born 181 1 ; married Frelove King; for second wife.
Sally Turner, died in Illinois, September 1874.
Hannah, born 1813; married Augustus Bonnel ; lives in
Illinois.
Alonzo Curtis, born 1815; married Hannah Tj-rer ; lives in
Brooklyn, N. Y.
Ariette, born 1818; married first, Thurber, second, Saunders;
died in 1854.
Malvina, born I820; married John V'^arren ; he is dead, she
lives in East Otto.
Sarah, born 1822; married Samuel Wheeler; lives in this
town.
Levi, born 1825; died young.
Alma, born 1828; married Cyrus Hurd ; lives in Kl.ma, this
county.
Alzora, born 1832 ; married Norman Cook ; died in 1855.
Helen, born 1834; died 1845.
HKXiKAI'IUCAI. SKKICUKS. 2y\
John Albi'o.
]o\\\\ Alhi'o, one of the two first settlers in this town, was
born in Rhode Island, in 1776; in 1792, he remo\'ed to Sara-
toga count\% N. v., and from there he enii<^rated to the Town
of Concord, in 1807. He first located on lot forty-one, town-
ship seven, rant^^e six, b\' the bi^ sprin<j^ where Luzerne Katon
now li\'es. Wlien he first canie to this town, his famil}- con-
sisted of his wife and three children — Emery D., Malvina and
Maria. In the Summer of 180S, Mrs. Albro died ; at that time
there was only one other famil\- in the Town of Concord, that
of Chrif^topher Stone, who li\'ed about where Mr. Joslyn's
family Wvc now, and there were no families h'vn'ni^ in an\' of the
adjoining towns except Boston. At that time, there was no
minister living an}'where in this part of the country, and the
best that could be done to gi\e Christian burial to the departed
was to send to Boston for Deacon Richard Cary, who came ten
miles through the woods, accompanied b\- some of his neigh-
bors, to lead in the funeral serx'ices.
After the death of his wife, Mr. Albro went East and re-
turned the second Spring. He married a second wife in Pitts-
tord, Monroe county, N. V. He did not remain on lot number
lorty-one but a short time, when he purchased the north part
of lot eight, township six, range six, now within the corpora-
tion, and moved onto it. He built him a log house near where
the old hay-barn now stands, on the east side of BufTalo street,
just south of the forks of Sharp street and the Tounsend Hill
roads. He kept ta\'ern there and cleared up a farm. The first
town meeting lield in the Town of Concord, when it contained
.Sardinia, Concord, (^)llins and North Collins, was held at John
Albro's log tavern, in 1S12. The first school ever taught in
the Town of Concord was taught b}' Anna Richmond, in the
Summer of 18 10, in a small log barn of Mr. Albro's that stood
on the west side of Buffalo street, nearly opposite his house.
Mr. Albro lived in this town over twenty years, when he sold
out his farm to Mr. Jlewett and remoxed to Gowanda, where
he kept hotel several years, h'rom there he removed to Wayne,
Du Page county, Illinois, in 1S53, where he died Feb. 2, 1861,
at the age of eighty-five years. His second wife died at the
2/2 BIOGRArillCAL SKETCHES.
house of her daughter in ]-5uffa!o, Jan. 4. 1862, aged sevent\-
five years. Her chikh'en were Ira, Ehza C, James R., Augus-
tus G., Almyra. Jerome B. and Harriet C.
Emory D. Albro resided in this town, but died in Wyoming-
county.
Malvina died in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Maria married Harry Keeny, and died in Warsaw, Wyoming
county.
Jerome B. went as a soldier, and died in the hospital in
Annapolis, Md.
Ira Aibro is a prosperous farmer in Wa)'ne, Du Page county,
Illinois.
James R. is a farmer and lives in Clymer, Chautauqua county,
N. Y.
Augustus G. is a farmer and li\'es in New Brighton, Bea\er
county, Penn.
Harriet C. married John Benson and died in Buffalo.
Almyra died in Gowanda, Cattaraugus county.
Emory I). Albro.
Emory D. Albro was born in Saratoga county, in 1802, and
was brought to this town by his parents in 1807 ; he was married
to Polly Seymour, May ist, 1824, and removed to Warsaw,
Genesee count}\ In 1828 his wife died. He returned to
Springville in 1851; married Caroline C. Cochran, P"eb. 14
1847. She died April 1, 1879, aged sixt}'-six years, one
month and seventeen days.
Emory D. Albro's children were Elaenor, married to Mr. Bris-
tol. Lives in Gainsville, Wyoming count}'.
Hellen M., died in Buffalo, in 1854, aged twenty-five years.
Gary R., married Olive S. Smith, in Illiiu^is, in 1861 ; died in
1864 ; left one child.
Plumb Albro, born March 26, 1841 ; Dec. 25, [866, was mar-
ried to Ella L. Richardson, at West Concord, by Rev. B. C.
Vanduzee ; have one child — Ellen E. Albro. He died at
Gainsville, April 16, 1881.
Rollin J. Albro, was married to PVancena Barnett, May 5,
1 87 1. He died May 13, 1879, ''"• this village, aged thirty-six
years and six months. Left one child.
BIO(;RAI'ni(AL SKETCHES. 2/3
Lora, married C. C. McClurc, Jr. Tlicy live in Buffalo.
Charles N., lives in Springville, at the old homestead.
Byron C , lives in Canada.
Joshua Aj^ard.
Joshua Al4.ux1 was born April i6, 1789, in Connecticut, where
he was married in March, 18 14, to Lucy Sibley, who was born
fune 18, 1792. lie came to Concord in 1816, and located on
lot sixty-three, township seven, range six, where he lived until
his death, Sept. 18, i860. His wife having died June 9, 1831
he married a second time, Nov. 15, 1831, Mrs. Electa Canfield,
who died Feb. 23, 1880, aged seventy-eight years. By his first
wife he had five children.
Maria, born July 12, 1818 ; married in 1840 to Ira E. Drake.
Mary, born Juh' 25, 1821 ; married in 1842 to Luman
Churchill.
Amelia, born Nov. 9, 1822; married 1847. to Horace Lan-
don ; 1861, to Judson Wait.
Austin, born Jan. 9, 1825 ; married in 1852 to Emily Field.
Hannah, born Oct. 21, 1828; married 1857 to John Hill;
1870 to Marvin Field.
By his second wife he had one daughter, Mellisa, born Apri[
4; 1839 ; married Marvin Field in 1863 ; died April 27, 1865.
Mr. Agard was a prominent man in the early history of the
town. He was assessor for many years and was an officer in
the militia and Deacon of the Baptist church. He was also
Supervisor of Concord.
Kzekicl Adams.
Ezekiel Adams, son of Joseph Adams, was born in the town
of Old Salisbury, Mass., on the i6th -day of Oct.. 17 19. Piis
father was a ship-carpenter by trade, but dying when Ezekiel
was but fifteen years of age, he was left to shift for himself.
When he had reached the age of eighteen years he was appren-
ticed to a Mr. Hale, to learn the carpenter and joiner's trade
The terms of his services were that at the end of his apprentice
ship of three years he was to receive a freedom suit and a set of
tools. Both the agreement and the reward were faithfully
carried out. In the meantime his widowed mother moved to
Plymouth, Grafton county, N. H. As soon or soon after his
1=;
274 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
term of service expired he joined her there. In i8i2,he\vas
married to Miss Mary Hickok. In 1816, on the first day of
May, he left Plymouth in company with a brother-in-law for the
Holland Purchase. They came through horse-back. After
their arrival here and after visiting a few days among friends,
both went to Buffalo to find employment Mr. Adams found
work at his trade on the old Court House, then in course of
construction. He received one dollar per day, x\fter his day's
work was done his evenings were spent in sawing wood for the
villagers, making nearly as much at this as he received for his
daily wages. Mr. Hickok hired out to work on the brick-yard
and by performing the work of two men he received double
pay. After the close of the building season they returned to
Concord and invested their summer's wages in securing a home.
They bought James Pike's claim of 200 acres on the north part
of lot thirty, paying him some $400 for the same (3n it a few
acres were cleared and he had built a small log-house.
That Fall both returned to Plymouth. Early in the new
year Mr. Hickok was married to Miss Roda Pike and soon after
they both set out for their home on the Holland Purchase,
where they arrived on the twenty-eighth day of Feb., 1S17.
They put their horses together and came through with a wagon.
Adams and Hickok divided their claim soon after tlieir return.
Adams taking north one-hundred acres and on this the remain-
der of his days were passed. He died Sept 2, 1847, aged fifty-
five years. His venerable wife survives, aged at the present
writing, nearly ninety-six years. The fruits of this marriage
were four sons and one daughter. Three are living to-da}-. \iz :
Abner C, born April 6, 1820 at Concord.
Andrew, born March 16, 1823, at Concord.
William L., born Sept. 13, 1824, at Plymouth, N. H,
Caroline, born April 28, 1826, at Concord ; died March 2, 1870
Ambrose, born Aug. 10, 1829, at Concord ; died Jul}-, 1882.
A. C. Adams.
A. C. Adams, son of Ezekiel Adams, was born April 6, 1820,
on lot 30, township 7, range 7, and lived with his parents until
he was twenty years of age, when he went to Black Rock and
hired out to drive team for ten dollars per month. In the Fall
hto(;rai'iii(AL sketcfies. 275
of 1 84 1, li(j attended school at the Siblc}- settlement to Augus-
tine Sibley, teacher. In the VaW of 1842, he taught school at
Morton's Corners, after which he followed teaching Winters
and working at home Summers until 1850, when he married
Elsie A. Chase, of l^oston. He then moved onto the okl home-
stead and lived there two years, after which he moved to Bos-
ton, where, in company with Truman Vanderlip and Seth T.
Newell, he ran a tanner}' and dry goods store. In 1858, he
commenced surveying, which he has followed ever since. Soon
after he sold out and in company with George A. Moore, of
Buffalo, bought the William Adams place of five hundred
acres, where Norman Moore now lives, which place they ran
for eight years. This he sold and bought the Mills' place,
where he now lives. His children are:
John O., lives at home.
Alvin married Virgie Mason, anci li\es at home.
Jennie L., married Charles Churchill and li\es in Springville.
Carlton, lives at home.
Clinton, lives at home.
Ethan, died about 1872.
Andrew Atlams.
Andrew Adams was born in this town in 1823. His father's
name was Ezekiel Adams ; his mother's maiden name was
MaryHickok; his grandfather's name was James Adams ; his
grandmother's maiden name was Mary Currier. Ezekiel Adams
came to this town from New Hampshire in 1817. He settled
on lot 30, township 7, range 7, where he owned and occupied
land until his death, in 1847. Andrew Adams resides upon the
land which his father settled upon in 1817. He was married
in 1848 to Vanila Francisco. Their children are:
Lenna R.
Leona A., married Milton Trevett.
Clellie M.
Edwin Anwator.
Edwin -Vnwater was born in the town of Collins Oct. 1 1,
1854, lived in North Collins and came to Concord in 1857; his
father's name is David Anwater ; his mother's maiden name,
was Margaretta Basler. Thev emigrated from Wurtemburir
2/6 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH HS.
Germany, in 1854; his father and mother are now living with
him ; he is unmarried. The children are :
Edwin, born Oct. 11, 1854.
Mary, born July 18, 1858.
Charles, born Sept. 14, i860.
When Edwin was three years old, one afternoon he went out
into the fields and strayed into the woods. Night came on with
a snow storm, it being in the month of November, The family
and neighbors searched for him until 2 o'clock A. M., and did
not find him. In the morning the search was renewed, and his
mother found him under a log that rested on a stump, he came
out all right and gives this narrative.
Henry Ackley.
Henry Ackley was born in Guilford, Vt., April 26, 18 14. His
father's pame was Henry Ackley; his mother's maiden name
w^as Chloe C. Putnam. Mr. Ackley came to this town when
two years of age with his mother, and Uncle Daniel Putnam,
the latter locating on lot 38, range 7, township 7. Mr. Ackley's
grandfather, Jcssee Putnam, having precceded them in 1 808 or
'09, and located on lot 32, range 7, township 7. He died about
1834 at Pine Grove, Penn. He- was one of our very earliest
pioneer settlers. To illustrate the primitive condition of civil-
ization in the early days of our town, Mr. Ackley relates that
upon the death of his grandmother, Mrs. Putnam, about 1820,
at the residence of his son, Daniel Putnam ; her remains were
placed upon a rude bier and carried by men on foot through
the woods all the way to the Boston cemetery, to be interred.
Mr. Ackle}' has always resided in to\\n and been engaged in
farming, excepting five or six years subsequent to 1842, when
he was employed in Harvey & Weston's tannery, then situ-
ated at what is now known as Fowlerville. He was married in
1835 to Janette Drake. The\' had two daughters:
Eouise, died in 1861.
Emma, married to Alphonso Smith, in 1871.
01iv<M* E. Alger.
01i\er E. Alger was born in the town of Concord, Januarx'
12, 1842; is an engineer by occupation; was married May 10.
1864. to P'lorence J. Hinsey, of Pekin, Tazewell county. 111.
I'.IOC.RAI'IIFCAI, SKKTCHKS. 277-
His father's name was S. W. Alt^cr, wlio was born in the \car
1803, came to Boston, Erie county, N. Y., in 1826, and served his
time as an apprentice with Hatch & Alger, tanners, and settled
in Concord in 1830. His mother's maiden name was Louisa
Carr, who was a dau<^hter of Elder Clark Carr.
David D. Barrett.
Mr. Barrett's father, Thomas M. Barrett, was born at Wood-
stock, Conn., March 20, 1777; from there he moved to the vil-
lage of Schenevus, Otsego county, N. Y., where he was mar-
ried to Hannah Chase, daughter of one of the first settlers of
Otsego, and sister of Judge Chase of that county. In 1810 he
removed with his family to Concord, settling on lot fort}', in the
northwest part of the town. He bought his land of the Hol-
land Company, paying $90 for fifty acres, and taking a deed,
his deed being the first one given for land in the territory com-
prising the present town of Concord, previous settlers simply
having their land articled to them as it was termed. Mr. Bar-
rett came with a span of horses and cut the first road through
from the Boston Valley road on to Horton Hill. When set-
tled in his new home he found himself surrounded for a con-
siderable distance on either side by the primeval forest, as yet
undisturbed by man. He related that in going in search of his
cows, he sometimes found them feeding quieth' in company
with a herd of five or six deer.
Although meager educational prixilcges found Mr. Barrett at
20 years of age with scarcel)' the rudiments of an education ;
his energy and perseverance secured sufficient education so that
he taught school and understood surveying. He brought a
compass with him to Concord, but ne\XM- practiced surve)-ing.
He was the first Supervisor of the original town of Concord,
and held the ofifice eight years. He was also Supervisor of the
present town of Concord eight years. The title of Major he
acquired from the position he held in the militia while a resi-
dent of Otsego count}'. He lived where he first located till his
death in September, 1844. His wife died in 1867 or 1868.
They had a family of twelve children, six girls and six boys.
The five oldest were born in Otsego county : their names were
Betsey, Clarissa, George, Liberty, Manly, Temperance, Josiah,
278 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Hannah, Reuben, lH?iy, Elvira and David. They all lived to
years of maturity, but Reuben and David are the only ones
now living.
David D. Barrett was born March 20, 1829, in Concord, in
which town and Colden he has since been a resident. He is a
farmer by occupation, and in 1882 was the candidate of the
Greenback party for County Clerk. He married Sophina Pike,
daughter of Isaiah Pike. They have no children, except an
adopted daughter.
The Brigg-s Family.
MRS I A I.RIGGS
Captain Samuel Briggs li\-ed in Taunton, Mass., during the
time of the Revolution. In his \-ounger da}-s he was Captain
of a whaling vessel that sailed from New Bedford, Mass. His
wife's maiden name was Ruth Paul. In after years he removed
from Taunton to P'ranklin county, and bought a farm and mills
on Miller river in the town of Orange. On a certain occasion,
during a flood, he was attempting to save some logs which
were going over the dam, when he was struck by one of the
logs and knocked over the dam upon the rocks below and
killed. Captain Tyrer, an early settler in this town who was at
that time a young man and worked for Captain Briggs, ran
down and picked him up and carried him to the house. Cap-
tain Brigg's widow came to this town in 18 16, and lived until
1830, when she died at the age of eighty-five years.
HIOdRAI'IIKAI. SKKTCHKS. 279
His children were five boys: John, Samuel, Shubel, Simeon
and Ephraim A., and three girls : Sylva, Nancy and Ruth. All
of the boys except the youngest lived and died in Massachu-
setts. Sylva married Sylvenus Bates. They moved here in
the winter of 181 1 and 18 12 on an ox-sled from Massachusetts
and settled in Collins where she died. Nancy married John
Cobb. About 18 16, John Cobb with his family came here,
went to Olean and floated down the Allegheny and (3hio and
went up the Wabash to Crawford county, 111., where they set-
tled and lived and died. They had a large family of children.
One of them, Amasa Cobb, enlisted in the time of the Mexi-
can war. After his return he studied law and was elected to
the State Legislature of Wisconsin, first to the Assembly then
to the Senate. When the late war broke out he raised a regi-
ment and was appointed Colonel, and served under McClellan
in the Peninsular campaign, after which he was promoted to
Brigadier General. When he came home he was elected to
Congress twice from Wisconsin. After a few years he removed
to Lincoln, Neb., where he is now one of the Judges of the
Supreme Court.
Ruth married Nathan Godclard.
Ephraim Alien Briggs.
Ephraim Allen Briggs was born in Taunton, Plymouth
county, Mass., in 1783. He went with his parents to Orange,
Franklin county. In 1806, he was married to Sally Townsend,
of the town of New Salem, Franklin county, and they resided
there until 18 15. They had five children born in Massachu-
setts. They came here with horses and wagon, and were four
weeks on the road, and settled on Townsend Hill on the east
part of lot sixty, township seven, range six, and cleared up a
farm. In 1839, they removed to the middle part of the unim-
proved lot fifty-three, township seven, range six, and cleared up
another farm on which the\- resided until his death, which
occurred on the 25th of February, 1 861. He was seventy-eight
years of age at the time of his death. After several years she
went west to visit her children in Wisconsin and Minnesota,
where she died at the residence of her daughter, Sally Briggs
Canfield, in Waseca county, Minn., June 25, 1869.
28o BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
After a long life of useful toil they rest from their labors.
They came here when the country was almost an unbroken
wilderness, and they labored earnestly and continuously and
cleared up two farms, and reared a large family of children.
Although they never possessed a very large amount of this
world's goods, yet they were generous and free-hearted, and no
one in need who desired aid went away from their door empty
handed, and the same might be said of most of the old pion-
eers. My mother always enjoyed excellent health, and she
endured and accomplished very much, beside doing the neces-
sary household work and caring for a large family of children
she spun and wove and frequently consumed the mid-night oil
over her work. She carried us all safely through the measles,
scarlet fever and other ailments, and doctors were very seldom
seen at our home. Throughout her life of crowded care she
did not worry or scold, but quietly and pleasantly pursued the
even tenor of her way. She never spoke evil of others, but
always found something in the character of every one that was
entitled to a kind word. In life she "fought the good fight
and kept the faith," and she approached the grave " soothed
and sustained by an unfailing trust in the life to come."
Their children were :
Mary Elvira, born May 9, 1 808.
Ephraim T., born June 8, 18 10.
Sylvia, born August 5, 181 1.
Thomas M., born March 23, 1813.
Jonathan, born Eebruary 12, 1815.
Erasmus, born August 31. 1818.
Suel, born Ajjril 7, 1820.
Sally, March 17, 1823.
Cindcrrella, born October 5, 1825.
Christopher, born March 21, 1828..
Chandler C, born Jul}^ 20, 1830.
Mary Elvira married William Field and died March 19, 1847.
Ephraim T. married Jane Flemings. He was a carpenter and
joiner by trade and also a farmer, and was at one time Captain
of the Springville Rifle Compan)-. He died June 30, 1848,
aged thirty-eight years.
Their children were :
bio(;rai'hical sketches. 281
Jane Ann, George W., Maria S. and Viola.
Jane Ann followed teaching for several years previous to her
marriage and was an excellent teacher. She married William
Baker of Buffalo, and died July 16, 1865, aged thirt\'-t\\o years
and four months.
Maria S. was also a teacher and died Januar)- 31. 1865, aged
nineteen years and nine months.
George W. died young.
Viola married Ira C. Woodward and resides in Springviile.
Sylvia married Stary King.
Thomas M. married Phcebe Spaulding ; he is a farmer, and
resides in La Crosse county, Wisconsin. They reared a family
of seven children — Allen, George, Morris, Adelia, Fayette,
Sarah and Chancey, who are all living in Wisconsin, except
Fayette, who died in 1870.
Jonathan is unmarried, and his principal business has been
teaching here and in the West, in which calling he has been
very successful. When gold was discovered in Colorado he
was among the first who went there to engage in mining. He
is now and has been for several years engaged in teaching in
Garnavillo, Clayton county, Iowa.
Erasmus lives in Springviile.
Suel married Phoebe Ballou ; he is a farmer, and li\es in La
Crosse county, Wisconsin. He has been elected Justice of the
Peace and Supervisor a number of times, and was also once
elected Assemblyman.
Sally married Orville S. Canfield, and lives in Wanseca
county, Minn.
Cindcrrella married William Smith, and died Jul\- 5th, 1874,
aged forty-eight years, nine months.
Christopher married Jane Colburn. He is a farmer, and
lives in West valley, Cattaraugus county. They have one child,
Charlotte, who married John West, and lives near West valley.
Chandler C. married IMioibe J. Woodward, in Concord, Oct.
5, 1853. She was born in North Collins in 1834. He is a far-
mer, and lives near Blue-earth City, Minn. They have two
children :
Arthur A., born July i8th, 1859.
Suel C, born Nov. 29th, 1865.
^82 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Julius Benieiit.
Julius Bcment was born in Oneida county, N. Y., in 1789.
He came to this town from there in 181 1, driving a yoke of
oxen all the way. He stopped in Buffalo three months
and cut cord wood, reaching this town in August. He bought
land on lot 11, range 6, township 7, upon which he always
resided until his death, in 1876. He was married in 1824 to
Sallie Chafee
Their children were :
Diana Bement, married Sherman Jacobs.
Roxana Bement, married Daniel Willson ; reside in Illinois;
farmer.
Lucinda Bement, married Franklin Blake ; reside in Orleans
county, N. Y.; merchant.
Elmore Bement.
Albert Bement, married Esther Twichell ; reside in Golden ;
merchant.
Edward D. Bement, married Sophia Wilson ; reside in
Springville; barber.
Elmore Beineut.
Elmore Bement was born in this town in 1834. At twenty
years of age Mr. Bement went to California via Nicarauga, and
engaged in gold mining, which he pursued for five years, when
he returned via Panama and engaged for two years in the grain
commission business at Chicago. In 1861' he again visited Cal-
ifornia,via the Isthmus, and remained about five years, devoting
his time to gold and silver mining, lumbering and the duties of
a soldier. He was sixteen months in the volunteer service of
the United States army, being attached to Company G, Second
regiment California cavalry. The movements of his regiment
led him into the wilds of Arizona and Nevada. Mr. Bement's
experience and observations on the Pacific slope have been
varied and extensive. He now resides in town and is a farmer.
He was married in 1867 to W'ilhelmina Splattar. They have
three children :
First — Frank C.
Second — George L.
Third— Carlotta M.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 283
Wells Brooks.
Wells Brooks was born in 1804. In an carl\- dax' his parents
came to the town of Boston. Subsequently tiiey removed to
this town. Wells, when a young man, taught school occasion-
ally. He studied law, was admitted to the bar, and practiced
his profession for eighteen or twenty years in this town. While
living here he held the office of Justice of the Peace, was twice
elected Member of the A.ssembly, and in 1849 was elected
County Clerk of Erie county, and removed to Buffalo. He
was afterwards elected to the office of Supervisor from
the Tenth ward for several terms. Mr. Brooks was a good law-
yer and possessed fine talents and sound judgment. In all
positions and relations of public life he enjoyed an enviable
reputation, and deserved praise for the fidelity and ability he
manifested in the discharge of his duties. Mr. Brooks married
Helen McMillen, daughter of Joseph McMillen of this town,
Jan. I, [833.
PARENTS.
Wells Brooks, born April 21, 1804: died Dec, 23, 1859.
Helen McMillen, born Nov. 30, 18 14; died Feb. 26, 1872.
CHILDREN.
Imogene, born Sept, 4, 1835; died March 13, 1841.
Preston, born March 17, 1837; died Oct. 23, i860.
Sarah, born Dec. 21, 1S31 ; died June 6, 1^64..
Howard, born Aug. 14, 1839.
Henry Wells, born Nov, 13, 1840.
Willis Herbert, born Jan. 12, 1843.
Helen McMillen, born Dec. 16, 1844.
Henry W. Brook.s.
Henry W. Brooks, son of Wells Brooks and Helen McMillen
Brooks, was born in Springville in 1841. When he was five
years of age his parents removed to Buffalo, where he lived
until 1875, when he became a resident of Springville. He was
one of a family of seven children, three of whom are living —
Henry W., the subject of this sketch, Willis H., who resides in
Kent county, Mich., and Helen M., who married Charles G,
284 BKXiRAPHICAI. SKETCHES.
Coss, and resides in Glean, X. V. The three oldest, Imogene,
Preston and Sarah, are dead. Howard, the youngest, was
drowned near St. Louis, Jul}' 4, 1881.
Henry W. Brooks was married in 1863 to Amanda J. Hart-
man. They have five children living: Robert W., Lillian W.,
Henry \\\ jr.. William M. and Charles \V.
They have lost two — Sarah A. and Loui.sa May.
Eaton Beiisley.
Eaton Bensley was a soldier in the war of 181 2. He came
to this town from Herkimer county, N. Y., in the Spring of
1 8 16, and built a saw mill near the mouth of Spring brook, and
engaged in farming. He resided in town until his death, in
1878. He was twice married, first to Sophia Russell, by wiiom
he had six children, as follows :
John R. Bensley, died when a child.
George E. Bensley, married Anna L. Tanner; is in the grain
commission business at Chicago.
D, Cytherea Bensley, married Rev. L. W. Olney ; reside in
Chicago.
^ S. Vestina Bensley, married x\lanson Chaffee ; both are dead.
John R. Bensley, married Mary A. White, first wife ; Au-
gusta Euller, second wife ; is in the grain commission business
at Chicago.
]-: Sophia Bensley, married Herbert Scoby ; reside in Union-
town, Kansas.
Mr. Bensley's second wife was Agne.s McCaa, by whom he
had seven children, as follows :
^- Agnes L Bensley, married Madison C. Scob}', stock dealer in
Chicago.
Mary J. Bensley, married Elbert Cornwall, first husband ; M.
L. Price, second husband ; United States surgeon, in Texas.
David W. Bensle}', married Luc\- H. Twichell ; hardware
merchant at Springville.
Malona Bensley, died in 1.^59.
Louis K. Bensley, grain shipper at Denison, Iowa.
Katie W. Bensley, resides at Chicago ; is a teacher.
1!I()(;rai'iii(AI. skktcmes. 285
J)jivi<l W. Bi'iishy.
David W. Benslcy was born Nov. 9, 1845, near Springville»
In 1864 he went to Chicay,"o and engaged for eleven years in
the grain business, when he returned to Springville and became
a hardware merchant. He was married in 1^74. They have
four children, as follows: Agnes H., William Iviton, Bernes L.
and Lucy.
Mr. Benslcy's mother, Mrs. Agnes Iknisley, died April 7,
1880, aged sixt)^-seven years ten months.
Mr. D. W. Henslc}- died in the Spring of 1883.
Slam Bootli's Statement.
I came to this town in February, 18 17, was not married at
that time. I came from Tolland county, Conn., with John
Brooks. We came with a yoke of oxen and span of horses,
and were five weeks on the road. We came in the Spring to
the Susquehanna river, Penn., staid there till the next Winter
and then came through by way of Painted Post, Cayuga lake,
Canandaigua and on to Buffalo. We staid at Heacox's tavern
and next day went out to the Indian village and staid over
night. We had to ford one branch of Buffalo creek, the ice
was running. We got stuck in the creek, had to unload part
of our goods, and wade out with them on our backs. Next
day we got as far as Green's tavern, two miles south of Potter's
Corners (Hadwin Arnold place) and staid over night. Next
day came to Boston Corners and staid at Torrey's. Next day
went up to where the State road and the valley road fork where
Brooks had made a location and put up a shanty.
I was born in May, i8oi,and was in mj- sixteenth year. I
taught the first school in the Sibley neighborhood in the Win-
ter of 1817-18, it was not an organized district school for there
was no district organized at that time. I think the Sibley
school house was built about 1821, and I think Mahala Eaton
Mrs. Butterworth) taught the first Summer school in the new
house, and Oliver Needham the first Winter school. I tausfht
the Liberty Pole school in the Winter of '22-'23, the Townsend
Hill school in the Winter of '24-'2 5, and in the Sibley district
in '26-'27.
286 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Mr. Booth died Nov. 2, 1882, aged eighty-one years, five
months and eight days.
Warren Booth.
Warren Booth was born in this town September 13, 1836,
His father's name was Elam Booth. His mother's maiden
name was Sibyl Ingalls. He has always resided in town, is a
farmer by occupation. He was married in 1864 to Dora Rob-
inson. Their children are :
Nettie L., born April 10, 1870.
Day E., born Aug. 26, 1878.
Mr. Booth is a member of the A. O. U. W., and Past Select
Counselor of Boston Lodge No. 79, Royal Templar of Tem-
perance.
Morgan L. Batlgley.
Mr. Badgley was born in Cortlandville, Cortland county, in
this State, December 29, 1808. In 1831 he removed to Buffalo-
and was employed in the drug store of Messrs. Pratt, Allen &
Co., and soon thereafter he became one of the proprietors. In
August, 1832, he was married to Miss Harriet A. Colton. In
1835 ^^^ removed with his wife and child to Springville and
entered into business. He came to Springville as the principal
clerk and manager of the business of his brother-in-law, Manly
Colton, then a merchant and the builder and owner of the
mill still known as the Colton mill, on Main street. In 1836-7
Mr. Colton failed as did many others at that time. Mr. Badgley
suffered much by the failure. However he was enabled soon
after to engage in the mercantile business.
By his ability and integrity he soon gained the confidence of
the citizens of this communit}' and prospered in his business to
such an extent that he in the course of time accumulated a
large property. He was in the mercantile business tor a long-
time, and at one time owned the Colton mill. In the latter
part of his life he loaned money and dealt in notes and mort-
gages. He was kind to the poor and persons in sickness and
distress. He and his wife suffered the great affliction of their
lives in the death of their only son Heniy, who died May 10,
1845, aged eleven years and seven months. The shadow cast
by his early death never departed from their lives.
HIOCJKAl'IIU AI. SKETCMKS. 28/
Mr. Badijlcy died March i8, 1878, in the seventieth year of
his age.
Mrs. Badi^ley continues to reside at her home in Springville
Henry M. Blackmar.
The ancestors of the Blackmar famil)' were of En<4iish descent.
The}- located at an early day near the Connecticut River, in
Connecticut, from whence Mr. Blackmar's grandfather, Martin
Blackmar, emigrated to Greenfield, Saratoga county, N. Y.,
about 1780. He was a prominent and influential man and a
surveyor ; possessing talent and skill suflficient to manufacture
his own surveying instruments. He was accidentally shot in
181 2, while hunting bears with others, in the Green Mountains.
The bear-skin cap which he wore being mistaken for a bear, he
became the unfortunate target of a brother hunter.
Mr. Blackmar's father, William Blackmar, was born in Green-
field, Saratoga county, N. Y., Oct., 19, 1805. In Oct., 1825, he
came to Erie county, being a passenger on the first regular
packet-boat that passed over the Erie canal. He li\ed in Ham-
burg three years, where he learned the trade of carpenter and
taught school. In 182 1 he went to Buffalo and served two
years as jailor under Sheriff Lemuel W'asson.
He was married in 1831, to Almira Chafee and followed his
occupation in Buffalo and Hamburg until 1837, when he
moved to Concord, where he has since lixed. He now resides
with his son, Henry M. He has seven children li\ing, resi-
ding in different states.
Henry M. Blackmar was born in Buffalo, Oct. 24, 1831.
When six )-ears of age he came to Concord where he has since
resided. His occupation is farming. Mr. Blackmar takes an
active and prominent part in public affairs. He was Commis-
sioner of Highways eight or nine }'ears and twice, 1 876-1 877,
represented with energy and fidelit}' his town on the Board of
Supervisors.
He was married in 1862 to L\'dia Ferrin. The\- ha\e had
two children :
Helen May, born March 20, 1867 ; died May 31. 1879.
Roy, born June 29, 1872.
288 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Lothop Beebe.
Lothop Beebe came from the town of Silasbury, Addison
county, Vt., to this town in 1816, and remained two years, then
started to return to Vermont. He stopped at East Bloomfield,
Ontario county, and remained there about three and a-half
years and worked at blacksmithing. He was married Feb.,
1820 to Sally Bemus and returned to Springville in June, 1821.
He has lived in Concord about forty years of his life, and in
Ashford about twenty, and has followed the business of black-
smithing and farming.
In 1825, he built a blacksmith shop on Main street, in Spring
ville, extending from George E, Crandall's store to the west.
In 1826 he built a dwelling house where Richmond's brick store
stands, on the corner of Main and Mechanic streets. He car-
ried on the business of blacksmithing here several years. He
served as a soldier in the war of 181 2-1 5, in the eastern country
and after he came here he held different ofifices in the militia
and was made Colonel of the 248th Regiment, with Homer
Barnes, Lieutenant Colonel and David Bensley, Major. Mr.
Beebe and Mrs. Beebe are both living at East Ashford ; he is
eighty-seven years old and she is eighty-two. Their children
were :
Martha, born 1822; married Hiram H. House; she died in
1845.
Marshall, born May 1823,; married Caroline Fairbanks;
he died in 1877.
Maria, born Sept. 1826; married Hiram H. House ; she died
Aug., 1854.
Edward Cheever, born April, 1S23, he died Aug., 1861.
Norman, born May, 1834; married Susan Davis; lives at
Lake Christal, Minnesota.
Sally Ann, born Sept., 1836; she died August, 1861.
Elvira, born Jan. 17, 1840; married Jehiel D. Whitne)- ; li\"es
in East Ashford.
Dr. Moses Blakeley,
Son of Moses and Phoebe Blakeley, was born in Bennington^
Vt., Jan. I, 1796, and in 1814 he was united in marriage to Miss
Irene Washburn, and fourteen children were the fruits of this
union. Nine of them, with the \'enerable wife and mother, are
RTOCRAI'HICAL SKETCIIKS. 289
still li\inL(. He mo\-cd to the town of C^iilins in 1838, and for
sixteen years he very successfully practiced medicine in this and
the surrounding country. In 1854 he moved to the village of
Aurora, where he enjo\'ed a lucrative practice in his profession
up to the time of his death He served on the lines during the
war of 1 8 12 and 181 5, and his venerable widow now recei\'es a
pension for his services Dr. Blakeley acquired quite a local
reputation in the practice of medicine. He died at his home
in 1868. Family record :
Isaac C, born Oct, 31, 1817; married Anna Tanner, Oct. 30,
1S42.
Angeline, born 1820; married Nelson Hills; died in 1877.
Moses, Jr., born 1822 married Polly Beckwith ; lives in Mich.
Ansel W. born 1824; married Caroline Adams and Viola
Thompson.
Nancy, married Elijah Bull; died in 1862.
Melissa, married Schuyler Jones; li\'es in Nebraska.
Edgar, born 1827.
Julia, married John Wheeler; died in 1872.
Mary, married Robert Willett ; died in i8m.
Andrew J., married Almira Tyrer.
Wellington, married Emily Brandymore.
Maria, married Joseph Wiser.
Edgar and Edwin — twins.
Dr. Isaac V. Blakeley.
Dr. Isaac C. Blakeley was born Oct. 31. 1817, and came to-
Concord in the }-ear 1838. His father's name was Moses
Blakely, who died in 1868. He was a soldier in the War of
1812; was at the Battle of Plattsburgh ; he was a practicing
physician. His widow, surviving him, gets a pension. His
mother's maiden name was Irene Wasburn. His occupa-
tion is a doctor, has practiced medicine fort\'-two years. Was
married Oct. 30. 1842, to Anna Tanner, who is a descendant of
the Wilbur famih' of Collins.
Emma A., born Aug. 19, 1843 '- niarried to James Wells.
Mortimer C, born Nov. 10, 1845.
Araminta A., born March 8, 1847; died Oct. 18, 1862.
Ansel W., born Aug. 8, 1849.
John W., born Aug. 19. 1855 ; married to Suella Doniker.
:2gO BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Edgar Blakeley.
Edgar Blakeley was born Nov. ii, 1827, in the Town of
Java, Wyoming county, N. Y. His father's name was Moses
Blakeley ; his mother's maiden name was Irene Washburn —
both born in Burlington, Vermont. His father was a practicing
physician. Was married, Feb. 18, 1847, ^^ Miss Anna Knight.
His occupation is a farmer and dealer in live stock. The names
of his children are :
Alburtus E., born June 21, 1849; married to Annita Jones.
Galen E., born Sept. i, 1852 ; married to Rosa Blakeley.
Celia, born Oct. 22, 1855 ; married to Lindsey Thompson.
Addie, born Aug. 18, 1862.
Chester H. Briggs.
Chester H. Briggs was born in the Town of Collins, April 25,
1849, and came to Concord in the year 1878. His father's
name was Oliver Briggs, who died April 30, i860; his mother's
maiden name was Keziah Berry, who died Sept. 2, 1870. He
is a farmer by occupation ; was married Oct. 22, 1873, to Mary
A. Carroll, daughter of Patrick Carroll, of Angola.
His brother Charles Briggs, enlisted in the Tenth New York
Cavalry and served three years, and then re-enlisted for the
war.
They have one child, Frankie Briggs, who was born June 15.
1874.
Ansel Blakeley.
Ansel Blakeley was born Oct. 30, 1824. His father's name
was Moses Blakele)' ; his mother's maiden name was Irene
Washburn. He was married Dec. 31, 1850, to Caroline Adams,
who died March I, 1870, and he was married to Viola Thomp-
son, June 4, 1871, His children are:
Ledra, born Dec. 25, 1855 ; died June 28, 1858.
Sophronia, born Feb. 7, 1857.
Duane S., born April 24, 1859.
Elmer E., born July 2, 1863; died Oct. 9, 1871.
Dee A., born Feb. 24, 1870.
AVilliain Ballon.
William Ballou, Sr,,was born in Richmond, Cheshire county,
New Hampshire, Dec. 26, 1792. From there he removed to
BIOC.RAPIIICAI. SKETCHES. 29 1
Rutlaiul count}-, Vermont, and from there to Zoar in Collins,
in 1817, thus becoming one of our early pioneers. He resided
in Zoar until 1844. when he moved to Sprini(\Mlle, where he died
in 1866. He was married in Vermont, in 1813,10 Eunice Cook,
daughter of William Cook, who settled in Zoar about 1815,
where he kept tavern at one time. He died in 1853, Mrs.
Ballou was born in the same town that her husband was, and,
what is an uncommon coincidence, at the same date. They
had eight children, the three oldest being born in \"ermont.
\'iz :
Hetsc}-, born in 1814; died in 1 81 8.
Laura E., born in 181 7; married John T. Wells.
Lucy S., born 1820; married Clinton Hammond.
John, born 1822; married Mary Perigoo.
William, born 1826; married Louisa Evans.
Oliva, born 1828; married Da\id S. Reynolds.
Philana married Jerome Barnet,
Josephine, born 1837, died in 1863.
William Ballou is an extensive jeweler at De Kalb, 111.: he
has a famil}' of four children.
James BloodgooU.
James Bloodgood was born January 5, 1801, in the town of
Columbia, Herkimer count}', \. Y. ; occupation, a farmer.
Came to this town in June, 1827, was married (3ctober 10, 1830,
to Nancy Vaughan, who was born November 30, 18 10. Her
father's name was James Vaughan. Mr. Bloodgood has been
a resident of the town of Concord for a period of fifty-five
years. His history is part and parcel of the histor}- of many of
the early settlers of Concord. Perhaps an extract from a pub-
lication entitled. " The first fift}' years of the ^L^dison Uni-
versity," is appropriate :
" James Bloodgood, born in Columbia, Herkimer count}-,
January 5, 1801, came to the Seminar}- in '24 and left in "27;
settled as a farmer in Springville, Erie count}- ; married Nancy
\^uighan of Oueensburg, N. Y. ; taught school much in con-
nection with his farming. His only son graduated at Madison
University in 1852."
Referring to the same publication :
:292 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Delevan Bloodgood, born at Springville, August 20, 1831,
entered in '48 and graduated '52. Married at Washington, D.
C, to Jennie, daughter of the late John Ruger. After study
of medicine in Ann Arbor, Mich., and Philadelphia, Pa., took
M. D. from Jefferson, Md., College. Studied at medical
schools in Pittsfield, Mass., New York city and Buffalo, N. Y.
Visited Europe in '55. In '57 Assistant Surgeon in United States
Navy."
His first cruise was of two and a half years in the flag .ship
of the Pacific squadron, the steamship Merrimac, afterward
the Rebel iron clad. Visited principal ports on western coast
of North and South America, and the islands of the" Pacific ;
in '60 ; at Boston Navy Hospital. Next in steamer Mohawk
captured two slavers. In arduous service during the war in the
Gulf. After battle at Port Royal, on transport Atlantic, con-
veying sick and wounded north. In '62 Surgeon on the Daco-
tah, watching the Rebel ram Merrimac ; cruised after Semmes
and other privateers ; two years on the coast of the Carolinas,
in chase of the Chesapeake. Detached from Dacotah, caught
by Rebel raiders at Gunpowder river, Md., but soon escaped.
Recruited in N(n\- York. In '65 made cruise on the lakes in
the Michigan. In '66, on receiving ship Vermont, New York
harbor. In '67 sent to the Jamestown at Panama, which was
suffering from yellow fever ; the passage of sixt\--six days
from Panama to San Francisco a terrible one, every sixth per-
son having died. Spent following winter in Alaska ; next
summer cruising on the coast of North America. Had a cruise
on coast of Mexico in Lackawana, then ordered to Na\'y Yard
New York, where he still remains.
The Blotlgett Family.
Abial D. Blodgett and famih- lived man\' \-ears and the chil-
dren attended school on Townsend Hill. They were all apt schol-
ars. They removed from this town about 1845 to McHenry
county, 111., and settled near Harvard. Albert, the eldest child,
enlisted in the army and went to Mexico during the Mexican
war, and came homesick. He did not recover and died in 1852.
Ellen married I'rank Diggins, Helen married I. E. Baklwin and
lUoOKAl'llICAI. SKKTCHKS. 293
Hattic married H. C Jerome. The)- all li\e at or near Har-
\ard, McHenr\- c<)uiU\'. 111.
Abial D. Rlod^ett died in McHenry cinintw in 1861. Susan,
his wife, died in McHenr)- county, in i<S66.
Dolo.s A. I51«Klj'«'tt.
Delos A. l^lodi^ett was born in Otse<^o count}', X. \\ , and
was brouL^ht to the town of Concord by his parents, when a
child. He received his education in this town in the cominon
schools and Springville Academ}-. He removed with his par-
ents to McHenry count}'. 111. After he had started out for
himself and obtained some means of his own, he in\x'sted the
same in pine lands in Michiy^an, and continued to so invest for
many years. i(S48 he engaged in the lumbering business in
which he has continued ever since Besides a large lumber
manufacturing establishment in Muskegon and extensive pine
lands in the north part of the State, he has .several farms. Mr.
Blodgctt is a public spirited citizen, ready to assist in any need-
ful public enterprise. Though not a professor of religion, he
built a church and presented it. a free gift, to the people of
Hersey, the village in which he lived. His wife's maiden name
was Jennie S. Wood.
Their children are :
John \V., aged t\\ent}'-three, and Susie R., aged eighteen.
Mr. Blodgett has taken great pains to educate his children.
His son, besides receiving a good busidess education, has
attended the Militar}- Acadeni}- at Worcester. Mass.. two years.
J. S. Baruett.
Mr. Barnett's father, Gilbert Rarnett, was born in Bridge-
water, near Utica, N. Y., Dec. I2, 1791. He removed with his
family to Springville in 1833, and leased of Col. E. W. Cook, a
site for a foundry ^\hich he built and had in operation in 1834.
It was the first foundr}- in town, and the first work done was
making the castings for tlie "Big" mill. He operated the
foundry about four years then sold it to a Mr, Kennedy. Mr.
Barnett died in Wisconsin, June 14, 1899. He was married
November 16, 1812, to Betsey Dickinson, who was born near
Utica, N. Y., February 23, 1794.
294 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
They had eight children, namely :
Jedediah S., born Nov. 15, 181 3.
Frederick M , born March 26, 1817, died, June 14, 1856.
William D., born Dec. 8, 18 19, died about 1870,
Gilbert, jr., born Sept. 4, 1822.
Elizabeth, born Nov. 29, 1824.
Miles A., born March 18, 1828.
Jerome B., born May 31, 1831.
Lucy A., born April 13, 1835.
Jedediah S. Barnett was born in Sullivan, Madison county,
N. Y., came to Springville in 1834, While engaged in the
foundry business with his father, he cast the first cook stove
and plow made in town. He was proprietor of the foundry at
Springville for a while and was employed for twelve years in
the foundry at Gowanda, N. Y. He was married Dec. 25, 1839,
to Lydia Demon.
Have had four children .
Morris D., born March 27, 1841 ; married Mary Hurd ; resides
in Springville.
Francena, born July 27, 1845 ; married Rollin J. Albro.
Agnes M., born Nov. 27, 1848 ; died Sept 19, 1853.
Albert M., born Sept. 2, 1859; married Lillian Davis,
X. Boleiider, Jr.
N. Bolender, Jr . was born in Varysburgh, N. Y., Oct. 7,
1853; came from the town of Sardinia to Concord in the \-ear
1876. His father's name is N. Bolender: his mother's maiden
name was Catharine Bensinger; his occupation is milling; \\as
married to Miss Julia Rose June i, 18 10.
N. Bolender, Jr., & Bro., are the owners of a farm of eighty-
seven acres, three-fourths of a mile south of Morton's Corners,
upon which was a saw mill and flouring mill of four run of
stones, with all appliances complete, and doing a good busi-
ness. March 22, 181 2, the flouring mill was burned with its
contents, consisting of grain of all kinds and seeds, with a
quantity of flour. The mill was valued at $5,000, and about
$1,000 in stock; A\as insured for $2,500. They have since
rebuilt their mill the same size as before. They are also own-
ers of a custom mill at Collins Center ha\^in<>' t\\\) run of stone ;
I'.iocRAi'iricAi. SKi:T(.in:s. 295
are also running;" a cider mill and shinL;ie mill in connection
with the custom mill at Collins Center. There are three good
dwelling houses on their farm.
Anson lilasdoll.
Anson Blasdell was born March 30, 1S41, in the town of
Collins, Erie count)', N. V., and came to Concord in the )'ear
1864: was married Nov. 15. 1873, to Miss Juliette Gaylord.
I lis father's name was Ah'in Blasdell ; his mother's maiden
name was Al/ana Irish ; his grandfather's name was William
l^lasdell ; his grandmother's maiden name was Tamar Allen.
Mr. Anson Blasdell says: My grandfather, although seventy
years of age, enlisted in the late war in the State of Iowa, and
died in a hospital in Illinois. He was a soldier in the war of
18 12. The)' have two sons :
Ja)^ born March 5, 1875.
Lee, born July 22, 1876.
Byron E. Bristol.
Byron E. Bristol was born in Si^ringville in 1842 ; his father's
name was Adoniram Bristol ; his mother's maiden name was
Lucinda Harvey. Mr. Bristol enlisted Sept. 24, 1861, in Com-
pany A, One Hundredth Regiment, New York Volunteers.
He was Orderly-Sergeant of his compan)- ; he was first with
McClellan's army in the Peninsula campaign, and took part in
the battle of Fair Oaks ; he was afterwards transferred to Mor-
ris Island, under the command of General GihiKn'e, ^\•hich \\as
intended for the besieging of Charleston. In this siege he was
sexerely wounded, four balls striking and penetrating his breast
simultaneous!)', two of which have never been removed. From
Charleston he was removed to Virginia, where he participated
in the siege of Petersburg, at which place he was mustered out
of the service Sept. 24, i^'64.
Mr. Bristol was married in i860 to Julia E. Grover. They
have one child — Frank E.
AVarner Bond.
The Bonds came from New Salem, Mass., nearl)- sixty years
-ago, and settled in the north part of Ashford, Cattaraugus
296 BIOGRAPHICAI, SKETCHES.
county, N. Y. Warner Bond's father, John P. Bond, bought
land of the Holland Land company, on which he settled and
lived until his death, Sept. 26, 1879. He was one of the first
settlers of the town, a hardy pioneer ^\■hose dexterity in wield-
ing the axe was rarely equaled.
He married Sally Shultus. Of their children three lived to
mature years :
Abbie J., married Adelbert Tainter, and died in Ashford in
1877.
Perry, died in 1871.
Warner, who was born Aug. 7, 1846, in Ashford, where he
has always resided as a farmer; was married in ib6g to Linda
Goodemote. They have three children — Carl, Lula M. and
Cliff.
tTosepli BrittOTi.
Mr. Britton's father, John Britton, came to Boston, Erie
county, from New Jersey, in 18 10. He served as a soldier on
the Buffalo frontier, in the war of 181 2. He died in Boston.
Joseph Britton was born in Boston, N. Y., Feb. 17, 1817;
removed from that town to his present home in Concord, in
1855. He was married in 1845, to Emily C. Rhodes. They
have one adopted daughter, Mrs. Carl Waite, of Springville,
Edward D. Benient.
Edward D. Bement was a son of Julius Bement, one of the
earliest pioneers of Concord, a mention of \\hom is made in
another part of this work. The subject of this sketch was born
in Concord, Aug. 8th, 1842, where he has since resided, except
two years residence in Buffalo — 1 870 and 187 1 — where he was
engaged in the flour and grain trade.
Mr. Bement enlisted Aug. 3, 1861, in the i T6th New York Vol-
unteers, Co. F. He left Fort Porter for the scene of the war
Sept. 5 ; went into camp at Fort Chapin, near Baltimore ;
left there Nov. 6, for Ship Island, off the coast of Mississippi.
On account of sickness he was left off at the hospital at Fort-
ress Monroe ; not recovering his health he was discharged on
account of reasonable disability, Dec. 11. 1861, and returned
home.
lilOCRArillCAI, SKF/KHKS. 297
He was married Nov 21, 1866, to Miss Sophia 11. Wilson ;
they have one child, Burtic K., born May 21 1870. Mr. Be-
ment was Collector of the town of Concord in 18S1. He is at
present proprietor of a livery stable and a well equiped suite of
barber rooms in Sprint;ville.
IJlakcley Faiuily.
John D. Blakeley was born in Greenville, Cireene county,
N. Y., ini8i3, of New En<;^land parents, who, in 1815, when. he
was two \x'ars old, moved to the town of Willink, now Aurora.
He worked upon the farm near the village of East Aurora,
teaching school winters, until 1846. Four years he was con-
nected with a woolen-factory at West Falls. Moved to Spring-
ville, Sept. 10, 185 1, where he has since resided, for the first
few years in the harness business, then a spinner in a woolen-
factory and a carpenter. During the last twent)'-two years he
has been in mercantile life, and by steady industry and careful
management has acquired a fair competence His son
Walter W^ Blakeley, N\as born in Aurora, in 1846, is editor and
publisher of the Journal and Herald, a local newspaper which he
began publishing in 1867 as the Springi'illc Journal. He is also
proprietor of an extensi\'e and well arranged book and sta-
tionery store, and takes an acti\'e interest in movements that
tend to build up the moral and intellectual culture of his town.
flarvis Blooinficld.
Jarvis Bloomfield was an early settler here. He was a farmer
and owned until his death the mill now owned b}' C. J. Shut-
tleworth. He had four children : Hiram, the oldest, lives near
Rochester ; David C, lives in Sherman, Chatauqua county ;
Maria, married P'rank Fargo, and lives in Warsaw ; Homer,
when last heard from, lived in California. Mr.- Bloomfield died
Ma\' 12, 1856, aged si.xty-eight years and eleven months.
Samuel Bradley.
Samuel Bradle\' \\as an earh' settler in this town, and built
and managed the first woolen mills ever built in this town. He
afterward bought, in compan)' with his son-in-law, Silas Rush-
more, the Gardner grist mill. A few years afterward, while
tendintr the mill at ni<>"ht, he fell from the stairs and was
298 HIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
injured so badly that he died in a short time. None of the
family or descendants have lived in this town for forty or fifty
years.
Charles E. Botsfoitl, C. E.
C. E. Botsford was born in Syracuse, N. Y.. in 1837. When
he was five years of age, the family moved to Yorkshire, N. Y,,
and to Springville in 1847, where he has ever since held a
residence. He attended school three years at the Springville
Academy, where he developed a rare proficiency in mathemat-
ics, which resulted in his becoming a professional civil engineer
and surveyor.
About 1856, he became assistant engineer in the construc-
tion of the Brooklyn city water works. He remained in this
position se\'en years, at the expiration of which time he gave
his attention to the locating and construction of railroads for a
period of ten years, principally in the States of New York,
Pennsylvania and Connecticut. Besides being actively engaged
in the building of railroads, he made a great many preliminary
surveys. Among the roads which he assisted in building are
the Rondout & Oswego, in New York ; the Sull'van & Erie in
Pennsylvania, and the New Haven, Middletown & W'illimantic,
in Connecticut. Of the last-mentioned, he was chief engineer,
and also of the Rochester & Pittsburgh.
Mr. Botsford has undoubtedly the largest prix'ate librar\- in
Erie county outside of Buffalo. His collection now numbers
one thousand volumes of standard works.
Mr. Botsford was married in 1876, to Roselia M. Parmenter,
a graduate of GrifTfith Institute. They have two sons, Charles
and Heman.
The Bhike Faiuily.
Ebenezer Blake came to this State from Canada about 1816,
and after stopping at several different places for a while, finally
settled on Townsend Hill, in 1829, He reared a large family
of children :
Adonirum J., the eldest, died in Cuba, N. Y.. in 1843.
John G. lives in Mount Carroll, 111.
Rosina (Blake) Rowley lives in Springville.
Benjamin F. lives in Gaines, Orleans county.
HKJCRAPHICAL SKKTCHKS. 299
Chirinda died in 1848.
Louisa (Blake) Willis died in I <S6o.
Charles E. died in 1873.
Harn- li\'es in Rome, N. Y.
Cephas lives in Gaines, Orleans county, N. V.
Saphronia M. lives in Blaine, Porta<^e county. Wis.
Sylvester H. Barnhart.
Mr. Barnhart was born at Dickinson's Landin<^, Stormont
county, C. W., Sept. 19, 1842. His parents were of Canadian
birth. He received instruction in the hi^ijjhcr branches from a
private instructor, and tauLjht school four }'ears in his native
county, then relinquishcil the pursuit on account of his health;
in 1864 he went to St. Catharines, C. W., and worked for
three years at cabinet and undertaking' business ; from that
time up>.to the present he has mainly followed the occupation
of harnessmaker and saddler in \'arious places in New York,
Pennsylvania, and in the cities of Cleveland, Chica<^o, Detroit,
and Cincinnati. He is at present (1883) located in Springville.
While at Corr\', Pa., he was engaijed for a while in the electro
gold and silver plating business. He was also engaged for a
hardware firm in Cleveland, O., for some time.
In the manufacture of harness, Mr. Barnhart is a \-er\' skillful
workman, his wcM'k taking first premium when ])ut on exhibi-
tion.
<ir<M>rj»-e 1). I5ra<ltVn'd (Colored).
George D. Bradford was born in the cit}' of New Orleans,
La., June 8, 1850. At the commencement of the rebellion in
1861 he joined a division of Rebel-General Longstreet's army,
stationed in New Orleans, in the capacity of an officer's waiter.
He filled this position until the occupation of New Orleans by
the Union army, under General Butler in 1862, when he joined
the Union forces, and became an assistant in the One Hun-
dred and Si.xteenth regnnent New York volunteers, with
which he remained during all the hard-fought battles in which
it took part and until the close of the war in 1865, when he
came to Springville with Capt. Charles F. Crary ; after Captain
Crar}''s death he became an inmate of Mr, J. N. Richmond's
300 lilOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
family, and expresses thanks for their kindness and the educa--
tional privileges they gave him.
Statement of Mrs. Boyles.
I was born in Connecticut ; my father's name was Abel Ab-
bey ; my name was Melinda Abbey ; came from Connecticut
to Lyle. Broome county, this state, in 1803; my father came
to Sardinia in 181 3 and bought of Sumner Warren a saw mill
and a quarter section of land where Sardinia village now is;
he moved his family on in March, 1814; was about three weeks
coming through ; he came with two span of horses and a yoke
of oxen ; stayed the last night of our journey at Jackson's, east
of Arcade ; on coming into the town of Sardinia we passed
where a Mr. Eaton and another man had made a beginning
where Rice's Corners are now, but both had gone east on
account of the Indians, and one of them never moved back ;
we found General Knott on his place, and IVIr. Mariam and
Cartwright about where Thomas Hopkins and Mr. Hosmernow
live, and Godfrey and Palmer lived just west of Colgrove's Cor-
ners, on the Andrc\\s place. The saw mill that father bought
of Warren stood about where Mr. Simonds' mill is, and the
little log house stood about where Andrews' grocery stands
now ; there was no other house where Sardinia village now is,
nor nearer than Godfrey's west of Colgrove's Corners.
Mr. Warren had built a shant}' on the place where Hiram
Crosby now lives, but not long after he, Godfrey and others
were called out on the lines to serve as soldiers, and his wife
went up and stayed with Mrs Godfrey while they were gone.
Old Mr. John Wilcox lived on the Olen place, lot thirty-four,
township five, range seven.
Ezekiel Smith lived at the foot of the hill as you come down
towards Springville.
A man by the name of Wolsey lived on the old Carney place.
John Johnson lived oii lot fifty-six about where his son Rich-
ard now lives, and John and Jeremiah Wilcox had commenced
on the next lot below.
Morton Crosby was on the Jonathan Madison place, and Com
modore Rogers lived next this side ; then Capt. Charles Wells ;
then Jedediah Cleveland ; then Richmond's folks were next.
iiloCRAl'lIKWl, SKF/ICIIKS.
^OI
Horace Rider and the Sears fami!>- li\ed on the hill on lot
fifty-seven, a half or three-fourths of a mile nearly north of the
Hakes brids^e.
Ezekiel Hard}' li\'ed on lot fort\--two.
lacob Wilson, Benjamin Wilson and Daniel Hall lived in the
eart i)art of the town near where the railroad junction is now.
These are all the families that were in town at that time that
I can remember.
In June, 1814, Adelia Sears, a yount;' woman, luini,^ herself
with a skein of \-arn, in the barn, where she was at work wea\--
ini^; her family and friends never knew what caused her to do
the act. I remember that Mr. Warren and his wife and four
more of us rode down on horseback fixe miles throu<^h the
woods to where the Sears family lived at the time.
In the Summer of 1814 I taught school in Sardinia. It was
in a log house east of Colgrove's Corners, that stood near New-
ell Hosmer's present residence.
All the men liable to do military duty had been called to the
frontier, only two or three who were exempt from age remained.
When in the school room that Summer we could hear the can-
non at Fort Erie, Chippewa and Lund)''s Lane distinctl)-.
We sometimes felt rather lonesome back in the wilderness and
most of the men gone to the war.
In 181 5, my father and Deacon Russell were highwa)' com-
missioners, and laid out the road through Springville on West.
In 1815, I was married to Jeremiah Wilcox b}' Christopher
Douglass. Escp, and moved down and commenced keeping
house on the creek, about t]iree-c]uarters of a mile east of the
Hakes bridge On the 29th of Februar\-, 1S16, there was
a caucus down at Richmond's, and m\- brothers and others
came down from the east part of the tt)wn to attend the cau-
cus ; I, too, went down to \isit with the Crosby folks, and left
the house alone, and before we returned, the house and every-
thing in it burned up. We went to the Barny Carny place and
staid one year, and then went back onto the creek and kept
tavern
The girls in the Richmond famil\- were Anna, Betsey, Sally,
and Louisa; the boys, George and Frederick. Richmond's
log house was used for various kinds of public gatherings. I
b
302 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
remember that when the town meeting was held there once or
twice when the four towns were all in one ; militia trainings
were held there ; religious meetings were held there also, and
they had good meetings, too. I remember that when Mr. Fay,
of Townsend Hill was married, that for their wedding tour he
and his wife, each with a good horse, took a horseback ride in
good style down to Richmond's on Sunday to meeting. Social
gatherings were held there, when sometimes nearly all from
Sardinia village to Springville were present.
In those early days we had to endure many hardships and
privations, but the people were generally friendly and we
enjoyed ourselves very well, and had some very good times.
In 1820, we moved up on to lot thirty-three, township seven,
range six, where the brick house now is, on the west side of
Vaughan street. The families living on or near that street at
that time, are Archibald Griffith, at East Concord, Nathan
Godard and Cyrus Cheney, on the Steele place, William
Wright, on the Bloodgood place, Jonathan Mayo, west of the
road. Captain Wells, on south part of lot thirty-three, John
Henman, Elijah Matthewson, Hale Matthewson, on the Hor-
ton place, Abner Chase on road running west from Vaughan
street, Culver lived where William Pingry does, Douglass lived
down on the creek, old Mr Madison lived on the Byron Wells
place, Deacon Jennings lived where William McMellan does and
Ben Rhodes lived on the Jabez Weeden place.
When I first came to Springville, David Sticknex' kept hotel
in a small log house near the Opera House. W^hen we passed
from one room to the other had to step over a log. Fred Rich-
mond traded a little and Jinks and Stanard traded on Buffalo
street, between the Methodist and Baptist churches. Not long
after that Rufus C. Eaton kept hotel in the old yellow house
that stood back of the Universalist church near the pond. I
went to some shows there in 1819. The first frame house built
in Springville was by David Leroy ; it stood a little south of
the Presbyterian church. Dr. Daniel Ingals lived in it after-
wards. Don't know for certain what year the old hotel on
Franklin street opposite the park was built, but I remember I
went to a ball there in 1 82 1. Harry Sears kept it then. I
think the Eaton grist mill was built before 1820 I came here
HIOGRAI'IIICAI. SKKTCHES. 303
and had wool carded in 1817. I think there niust have been a
carding machine before Bradley came. I think Elliott com-
menced trading in 1825 or '26. Dr. Churchill did some busi-
ness in early times. Dr. Rumsey was a young man and died
at Mr. Henman's house of consumption in the summer of 1816.
Dr. Woodward was next and Dr. Reynolds, then Drs. Daniel
and Varnc)' Ingals. My father sold out in Sardinia to Dudley
and Horace Clark and went to Elyra, 0.,and died there. Two
or three years after we moved to Vaughan street we raised a
fine crop of wheat, but could sell it for only three shillings, or
three and six per bushel ; we also had to sell sheep for fifty
cents a head.
Mr. Wilco.x died in Ashford, March 24, 1843.
My son John A. died in Minnesota.
Sardis, Abel and x\lfred died in Calif(^rnia.
Carlos E. died in Mexico.
Albert Tracy died in Kansas.
M\^ daughter, L. C). Wilcox, died in 1839, ^ged eighteen
years.
Maria married Janies Goodemote and lives in Ashford.
Lucy married Alden Kellogg and li\'es in Pennsylvania.
Mr. Boyles died in Nov. 1877.
Murray Cliaiirtlor.
Murra\- Chandler, son of Elam Chandler and Sail)- Fleming
Chandler, was born in Concord, Jan. I, 1847. He was married
March 29, 1876, to Filena Smith, daughter of Calvin Smith,
Esq. of Springville. They have one child, Robert Smith
Chandler, born Feb. 6, 1879. ^^^- ^- '^ '^ cheese maker and
farmer. His father came to Concord from Vermont, and was
engaged for a time in mercantile business at Ellicottville, N.
Y.; now lives at Yorkshire, N. Y.
Georg'e Cosliiie.
George Cosline was born Dec. 15, 1844, in the town of Bos-
ton, Erie county, N. Y., came to Concord in 1857; is a farmer
and was married Nov. 9, 1859, ^^ Janette Hickok, of the town
of Concord. They have one son, George S. Cosline, who was
born May 15, 1864. His brother, Henry Cosline, enlisted and
304 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
served three years in the late war, and until discharged. George
Cosline was drafted and paid $300 for a substitute. He was in
the Mississippi Valley for seven years and cut two thousand
cords of steamboat wood.
Albert Crosby.
Albert Crosby was born June 28, 1853, in Sardinia. His
father's name was Hiram Crosby, and his mother's maiden
name was Susan Jackman. He has worked at the business of
farming and cheese making. He was married in 1874 to Miss
Ella Smith, daughter of William Smith and Cinderrella Briggs
Smith. They own and occupy a farm on lot fifty-three, town-
ship seven, range 6, in the town of Concord.
They have two children :
Alonzo Erasmus^ born June 18, 1875.
Elsie E., born March 30, 1877.
Statement of Vernain C. Cooper.
I was born in the town of Kingsbuiy, Washington county,
N. Y.; my father's name was Samuel Cooper; my mother's
maiden name was Betsey B. Armstead ; my father came to this
town in 1809, and took up lot thirty-three, township seven,
range six, but did not settle on it. and soon after sold it ;
he returned East. In May, 181 1, my father started from
Washington county to move to this town. The family con-
sisted of father, mother, myself and my younger sister Betsey.
My uncle Nicholas Armstead and a small boy, George Arm-
stead, came with us ; we came with two yoke of oxen hitched
to our wagon and drove two cows ; we were three weeks com-
ing through and were compelled to camp out nights, frequently
in the woods ; one or two basswood trees were cut for the cattle
to browse upon ; mother prepared something for us to eat and
we slept under the wagon ; I was so young that I cannot tell
for certain the route we came, or all the incidents that occurred,
but I think we came b\' w<iy of Pike and Arcade ; I remember
when we passed the Tice place in this town ; they were burning
brush on the sides of the road, and it was so hot that we could
hardly get through safely; we arrived on the 7th of June and
located on lot nineteen, township seven, range seven, on land
r.KXikAl'IIICAI. SKKIIIIKS, 305
nf)\v owned b\' G. VV. Spauldin<4' ; our house was built some
distance west of liis house on the south side of the road ; there
was no saw mill in this town, and our house had to be built
without lumber; the bod\' was of logs, the roof was shingled
with bassu'ood bark, and the floor w<is made of plank sjjlit out
of basswood logs, called " puncheons," and all the planing,
matching and fitting they received was performed with an axe ;
the door for the first Summer was a blanket hung up.
Thomas McCx^e came in soon after we did and located on lot
eleven, the place that Laban Smith now owns.
James Brown came in soon after and settled on lot twenty,
township seven, range seven.
His son. Obadiah Brown, located on lot twenty-eight, town-
ship seven, range seven.
Isaac, Ezra, Hira and Daniel Lush, four brothers, came
and settled on lot twenty-seven, township seven, range seven,
where Hira C. Lush now lives. They came from Augusta.
Oneida count}'.
Smith Russell came and settled on lot twelve, townshij)
seven, range se\'en, on the north side of the Genesee road, on
land now (iwned by Henry Scott.
Channing Tre\itt came and located on lot eighteen, township
seven, range seven, and put up a saw mill in 18 1 3, where the
Wheeler Brothers now are.
Alexander Clements came and located where Samuel Stevens
now li\"es.
All the above-named families came in and located before,
and lived in this neighborhood during, the War of 1812-15.
Most of them were called out to serve as soldiers on the Nia-
gara frontier; some of them went more than once. My father
was drafted twice but hired substitutes each time. The first
time he hired his brother-in-law, Nicholas Armstead, who got
badh' wounded ; the second time, he hiretl Isaac Lush. Dur-
ing the fore part of the war. the settlers feared that the Indians
on' the Cattaraugus and Buffalo Creek reservations might side
with the British and make war on the settlers; but. when the}'
learned that those Indians took sides against the British and
assisted the Americans when desired, that fear passed away.
The Indians were always very friendly with us, and used to
16
306 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
stay at our house over night frequently, and mother, out of
friendship and matter of policy, went down to the reservation
visiting.
Immediately after the close of the war, settlers began to
come in quite fast, and within two or three years the following
families came to our neighborhood: Jonathan Spaulding,
Benjamin Trevitts, John Andrews, Everett Fisher, Daniel Per-
sons, Samuel Eaton, Asa Philips, Roswell Olcott, James Tyrer,
Ambrose Cram, Ebenezer Merrick, Frederick Wood, Cary
Clements, Samuel Sampson, Emery Sampson.
There was no grist mill in this town for several years after
we came, and we had to go to Boston to get our grinding done^
until Jonathan Townsend built his mill on Smith brook,
in 1816.
People from Collins used to come to our house on their way
to Boston to mill, and stay over night, and take our wagon and
go on to Boston and get their grists ground, then come back
and stay another night at our house, then in the morning hitch
on to their drays and go winding through the woods with noth-
ing but a path to follow to their homes in Collins.
A great many people used to sta}' at our house over night,
some going to mill, some looking for land or moving, and fre-
quently there would be six or eight there at a time. Once,
father was digging a well, and, in order to prevent accidents,
laid rails over the top at night, but one of our oxen recklessly
walked onto the rails and went to the bottom ; but, by the use
of ropes and the assistance of travelers stopping there that
night, he was hoisted out and landed safely on terra firuta.
A wolf once killed one of our sheep and dragged her up onto
a big elm log, and was found there taking his breakfast in the
morning.
One time, a bear killed one of ni}- father's hogs, and he and
Mr. Brown took the remains of the hog down b}' the little
spring brook and baited a bear trap, which they constructed of
logs and pins or stakes, and they caught the bear by one hind
leg.
When we went to the trap, a large dog that had followed us
into the county rushed up and attacked the bear in the trap,
but the bear seized him in his fore paws, and would have hugged
HKXiRAl'HICAI, SKKTCUKS, 307
him to death. We tried to pr)- his paws apart with liand
spikes to Hberate the dog, but could not do it, and finally had
to knock the bear in the head and killed him ; we then took
him up to the house and kept him several days for people to
look at.
My father's family were ;
Vernam C. Cooper.
Betsey Cooper married Luke Simonds; lives in Concord.
Julia Ann married Jonathan Swain; died in Colden.
Margaret died in this town twenty years ago.
Samuel died in Illinois twenty-seven years ago.
Phoebe died in Ohio eighteen years ago.
Elark}' Lodusky lives in Concord.
Ezra Lush's mother was sister to my father, and Ezra's wife
was sister to m}- wife.
Veriiani C. Cooper's Family.
He married Keziah Sampson, Jul)' 28, 1828. Their children
were :
Colvin Cooper.
Caroline married Job Woodward; lives in Concord.
Cary married Helen Gray; he died in Kansas, 1879.
Ann married Frank Perkins ; he died nineteen years ago.
Clementine died when a child.
Carlos died when a child.
Leroy died at Staunton hospital. District of Columbia,
Dec. 8, 1864, aged nineteen years, nine months and nineteen
da)-s.
William Wallace married Flora Stage ; lives in Concord.
John Wesley married Mariette Colburn ; lives in Concord.
The Cooliraii Family.
Samuel Cochran, who was one of the very first settlers in the
present Town of Concord, was born Jan. 21, 1785, in the Town
of Gifford, Vermont, and was married Nov. 6, 1805, to Catharine
Gallup, who was born Feb. 22. 1787, in the Town of Colrain,
Mass. He was descended from the Scotch Covenanters, who.
flying from the persecutions under King James, settled in the
North of Ireland ; while she was a descendant of a Hugenot
308 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
family which had escaped from the massacre of St. Bartholo-
mew. Soon after marriage, the youthful pair moved to Tioga
county, N. Y., near the present Town of Painted Post, where
they remained until the Fall of i8o8, when, having found their
location to be destitute of water in the dry season, they
decided to go where living water was abundant.
At this time, the Holland Land company were distributing
their circulars and maps, and inviting settlers to visit their
lands. One of these fell into Cochran's hands, on which the
present location of Springville was named "Cold Springs," on
account of their abundance, coldness and purity. His late ex-
perience decided him to visit the place for himself. In the
month of September or October, 1808, in company with Joseph
Yaw, an uncle of his wife, he started on foot, equipped with
blanket, knapsack and staff, to visit Cold Springs, now Spring-
ville. He came through the southern tier of counties to
Angelica, and from there b}' what was known as the McClure
settlement, in the Town of Franklinville, Cattaraugus county,
Joseph McClure having cut to that place a sled road from
Angelica, which was barely a track indicated by blazed trees,
from which the logs had been cut and rolled awa\\ McClure
had been educated for the medical profession, but disliking it
he had left Belchertown, Mass., and moved to Angelica, N. Y.,
in the Summer of 1804, when his skill and accuracy as a sur-
veyor had attracted the attention of the principal surveyor
and agent of the Holland Land company, Joseph Ellicott, by
whom McClure was employed, and sent into the wilderness to
survey the subdivisions of the Purchase, and appreciating the
loveliness and fertility of the broad valle}' of the Lschua, he
decided to make it his home and moved there in 1806. From
this point, Cochran and Yaw had onl}' blazed trees to guide
them down the south branch of the Cattaraugus creek to the
forks where the}' crossed to the north bank of the stream which
they followed down as far as the place kno^\■n as the George
Shultus place. P^rom this place, the\' came up the ravine to
what is now called Cattaraugus street, to the site of the present
Village of Springville. They found only the two families of
Christopher Stone and John Albro. Stone on Buffalo street
just south of- Eaton street, and Albro farther north.
I'.IOCkAl'IIICAI, SKHTCIIES. 309
Cochran & Yaw took up lot 2 ; Cochran the south part.
With tlic help of Albro & Stone they cut logs and rolled up the
body of a house high enough to stand under the lowest side of
the roof. This structure was located at the point of the hill
about forty rods south-west of the Edward Goddard place,
where a few years later Yaw built a house and spent his days.
At first Cochran's house had no floor or window and not a nail
in it. Pins driven into augur holes in the logs furnished shelv-
ing, seats and table. The)- had what might be regarded as a
novelty at the present da)-, a bedstead with only one leg to it,
in which were two augur holes, receiving the two rails from the
sides of the house which furnished the other legs and side,
ready for bark cording, which, in those days, was considered
a rather extravagant and great luxury. As soon as the shant}'
was ready Cochran returned for his wife, by way of Buffalo and
Batav'ia, following only blazed trees as far as Boston, from
which place a sled-road had been cut out to Buffalo. The first
road or travelled path from Springville to Buffalo was up Frank-
lin street to the Russell orchard, then by the Wilson place,
Townsend Hill, Pike, Adams and Trevett's, to Boston. Coch-
ran was soon ready to return to his future home, where his life
was spent and where he and his wife rest in the beautiful cem-
eter\' on the farm they so long occupied.
All their effects were easily packed on a small sled drawn by
a yoke of steers, and the father, mother and child started for
this wilderness home, by the way of Batavia and Williamsville.
F^rom the latter place he was nine days in reaching Springville,
and this was only accomplished with the greatest exertion,
often being compelled to cut and roll the logs from trees that
had fallen across the track. Crossing the Buffalo creek on the
ice was a serious affair. After the ice had first formed the
water in the creek had fallen about a foot, the ice breaking
along the bank had formed again below, leaving a strip of the
first formation projecting from the bank. In crossing the run-
ner of the sled ran so firmly under the ledge that the steers
were unable to back it out. After \'ainl)' tr\^ing to extricate
the sled, it being quite dark, he took the child in his arms and
with his wife, walked nearly a mile, to the Indian Council House,
where the Indians were holding one of their wild dances, feath.
3IO BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
ers and paint giving them a hideous appearance. Here he left
his wife and child, while he with two or three Indians, returned
to extricate the sled, which delayed his return about two hours,
which, to the young wife, seemed an age, alone with the howl-
ing, painted savages. She had seldom seen Indians, but her
mind was filled with stories of their savage ferocity and memory
was faithful in bringing them all up fresh before her as they
danced, howling around their camp-fire. One of the squaws took
the baby in her arms and danced around the fire with it singing
their war songs, which seemed to please the child far more than
the mother, who expected every moment to see it tossed in the
fire. Another took her fur-trimmed overcoat, put it on and
followed in the dance and finally disappeared out-doors with it.
Her feelings can better be imagined than described. Her
child seemed safe but the thought that her fur-trimmed coat,
the bridal-gift of her mother, was gone forever and she could
not hide her tears. "White squaw, baby, cry," said one who
could speak a little English.
At last her husband returned with the Indians who had
accompanied him. All was right again, but that scene could
never be forgotten by the mother. They stayed at the Council
House all night. The Indians fed their steers and gave them
breakfast for which they would take no remuneration. The
only similar instance in their long journey. They obtained
shelter nights and food until they reached Boston corners.
Thence it took them two da}'s to reach Springville, camping
one night beside a fallen tree, between the Lewis Trevitt place
and the Pike school-house, about five and one-half miles from
their new house, which they reached on the following day.
When they left Boston they started very early with strong-
hopes to reach Springville that night, but a strong wind had
prostrated se\'eral trees across their track, which had given them
a day of the hardest labor to get through, but all in vain. The
bright hopes of the morning were all blasted and though it was
cold and blustering they were compelled to spend the night
beside a fallen tree near the roots which were turned up. Hem-
lock brush was piled on the ground and a covering of it on
poles overhead, a fire built before it which kept Cochran bus}-
through the night, to suppl)- with fuel and tend while the
HIOGRAl'HICAL SKETCHES. 311
mother had a six-months' child to keep comfortable and quiet.
The steers had to make their supper and breakfast on browse.
They were all read}- for another early start and reached the
shanty of John Russell, on lot one, near the an<;le (just west of
the corporation line) on Franklin street, built since Cochran went
for his wife. It was a pleasant surprise for Cochran and wife
to come upon this, shanty in the wilderness, with its genial
occupants and they were made welcome there the first night in
Concord, and the wives formed a union that night, baptised
with many tears (but they were tears of joy) that lasted all
through their future lives. And their " pine-knot" torches
often guided them through the woods, half a mile, from shantv
to shanty, for a long winter evening's visit. The next morning
Russell and Cochran went down together to Cochran's house to
clear out the snow which they found abundant in it, as the roof
covered only about three-fourths of the top, no doors in it and no
chinking had been done. But the snow was soon ejected and fire
built at one end where there was not any roof and both wives
were soon there getting their two suppers together. With what
thrilling interest the survivors of these two families recounted
these scenes over fifty years after.
Though greath' surprised by the addition of Russell and wife
to the town since Cochran went for his family, he was disap-
pointed in finding that Albro had lost his wife and left for his old
home in the east. During the winter of 1808 and 1 809, Stone,
Cochrane and Russell were the only settlers within ten miles.
Cochran and Russell were the two first permanent settlers of
the town of Concord. Stone and Albro removing to other
parts of the country. The first money earned b}' Cochran was
by making ashes, boiling the lye into salts, in a two-pail iron
kettle, and carrying the salts in a trough he had dugout, on his
back to the asher}' in Hamburg, twenty-two miles distant. With
this mone)' he was enabled to pay his bill made in Boston when
moving into Concord. It is difficult to picture to ourselves the
hardships of pioneer life. The winter blasts penetrated the
hastily-built shanties. There were no fire-places and no chim-
neys save a big hole in the roof, through which all the heat as
well as the smoke escaped. The cattle lived on browse and for
a while these hardy settlers had to supply much of their provis-
312 BIOGRArHICAL SKETCHES.
ions from the game of the surrounding wilderness. They had
no neighbors within ten miles. The curling smoke from these
three humble but happy homes was all there was to cheer the
forest gloom. Never were neighbors more highly prized than
by those hopeful pioneers who where closely united by their
common experiences and the necessities of their forest life.
Much of their out-door labor w^as done in common. Together
they logged and cleared their land and soon each had three or
four acres burned and in condition to plant corn and potatoes.
They struggled hard under adverse circumstances to supph"
their actual wants. But sympathy and generous friendship
made their lot happ)- and often in later years they were heard
to call those early days of struggle and privation the happiest
of their lives. Cochran and Russell with their wi\-es, went on
foot to Gary's, in Boston, ten miles, on a visit, each of the men
carrying a bab)' in their arms. They did not start for the after-
noon visit at five P. M. Nor did they return the same evening,
but took two days for the trip and felt well paid. " This visit
was soon returned by Asa Gary and wife.
A few years later, when Peter Pratt had settled in Gollins, now-
known as Zoar, Russell, Gochran, and their wives, and Albro,
who had returned with a young wife, went with an ox sled
eight miles to spend an evening at his house. It took a good
part of the day to get there and all night to get back. Still no
doubt they worked lively and gossiped very little about their
neighbors. About this time Gochran heard that a man named
W^aterman had settled upon the Gattaraugus Greek, where the
village of Gowanda is now situated. As there were W'atermans
in his native town he determined to visit him in hopes to hear
from his eastern home again. To accomplish this he first went
eight miles to get Peter Pratt's old mare on which his wife could
ride and carr)- the baby, for he had come to the conclusion after
carrying the bab}' to Boston and back that baby had got big
enough to ride a horse, while he was needed to go ahead and
pick out the way, there not being any road. They travelled
over twenty-five miles, over the terrible breakers and ravines of
Zoar, along the Gattaraugus creek, then an unbroken wilder-
ness, to reach Waterman's. On their return the mare's colt
broke its leg, which caused another day's delay. The visit
RIOC.RAPIIICAT, SKKTCIIKS. 313
which was returned by Waterman and wife on horse-back,
occupied five da\'s. Such incidents, trixial in themselves,
throw a clearer li<^ht upon the lives and feelings of our
ancestors and give us a better comprehension of the hardships
they endured, than can be obtained from the most eloquent
descriptions. These pioneers had no communication with the
outside world and the friends they left, except as intelligence
was brought to them from time to time by some new settler.
There were but few additions to the settlement until 1810,
when quite a number of families joined them. The next year,
and }'ear following, additions were so numerous through the
town that when troops were called for in the war of 1812, quite
a compan}- went from the limits of the present Town of Con-
cord. Cochran was appointed Ensign by Colonel Stevens and
had charge of the company from this town, and were placed at
the batter}- on foot at Black Rock the night Buffalo was burned,
and came near being taken prisoners in the morning. When
Buffalo was burning a company of Red Coats were sent down
the ri\er to silence the battery, which had been doing bad work
with their small boats, which had been continually crossing the
river during the night. And this companyof Red Coats were near
the battery when Colonel Chapin was seen coming at full speed
from another direction and in time warned them to make their
escape, when they all fled, some running but a few rods jumped
down the bank by the river side and were safe from their shots,
whilst others ran for the woods some forty or fifty rods on a
double quick, the balls whizzing by them, Cochran was among
this number and as he dodged behind a big hemlock tree a ball
struck the tree throwing the bark so sharph' in his face that he
thought certainly the bullet hit him. Cochran, in after \'ears,
often spoke of this as the most terrible event of all his life, for,
on the last fire, the cannon ran over his foot crushing off the
nails from his toes and he came near fainting and fallino- at
every step the pain was so terrible. Onh' one of the company
got hit b\- the enemy's bullets and that but a flesh wound in
his arm. When the British had spiked the guns they returned
to the city for plunder. At the close of the war, Cochran
received a commission from the Government as aide-de-camp
to Brigadier-general and afterwards to Major-general. Much
314 l!I()(;RArHICAL SKKTCIIES.
of the time during his Hfe he held some town office, was one of
the first stockholders in the Springville Academy and a trustee
all his life. Most of the time its treasurer and during its darkest
days and most trying periods, one of its most firm and liberal
supporters. At its opening he was so anxious to see it start
full that he put in five scholars, though part of them were so
young as to more properly belong to the district school. He
was ever ready to aid in every benevolent and public enterprise
in the place. His second log house was built on the corner
of Central avenue and Franklin street, occupying the ground
on which the beautiful and stately mansion of D. \V. Bensley
now stands. In 1823, he built the house on Main street, in
which he spent the remainder of his days. When this house was
finished the traveling public pressed him so hard for accommo-
dation that in 1S24, he put up a sign and kept public house for
twenty years. Though he voluntarily abandoned the liquor
traffic and kept a temperance house for three or four years.
This house is again being fitted for a hotel by F. K. Davis.
Cochran died in 1845 "ot quite sixty-two years of age, leaving
a wife, five sons and four daughters, all of whom but the eldest,
were born in Springville.
His eldest son, Orson, was born Jan. 26, 181 5, and lived in
Concord till ^840, when he moved to Otto, near Waverh*. He
was elected Justice of the Peace in 1850, which office he has
held ever since, now over thirty-five years. Was town super-
intendent of Common School there till the office was aban-
doned. He still lives at Otto, near Waverly.
Joseph G., the second son, was born Feb. 5, 1817. He pre-
pared for College at Springville Academy and graduated at
Amherst College and Union Theological Seminary, N. Y., and
was sent by A. B. C. F. M., in 1847. ^o Persia, Asia, where
he died after twenty-five years of \'er)- successful labor in the
mission field. In 1847, ^^ ^^'^^^ married to Miss Deborah
Plumb, a daughter of Joseph Plumb, formerly of Gowanda.
She continued a missionary on the same field where her hus-
band died. Her son. Dr. J. P. Cochran, is laboring with heron
the same field.
Byron, the third son, was born Jan. 30, 1821. Has held
:several offices in the militia, was on Brigadier and Major-Gen-
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 315
eral's staff. Was elected Justice of the Peace five times, was
deacon, elder and Sunday school superintendent of the Presby-
terian church, Springvllle, for over thirty years, till health
failed and he resigned. He still resides in Springville.
Augustus G., the fourth son, was born July i, 1825. He
served three years in the war of the Rebellion, was with Sher-
man in his grand march through Georgia, returned from the
hospital in poor health and is now living on a farm in the Town
of Great Valley, Cattaraugus county.
David H., the fifth son, was born July 5th, 1828; prepared
for college at Springville Academy. Graduated from Hamil-
ton College about the year 1849. Was principal of Fredonia
Academy about three years, from which place he went to the
State Normal school at Albany as Professor of Chemistry, &c.
Was soon chosen president of Albany State Normal school,.
where he remained till about 1861 or 1862, when he was elected
president of Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute,
where he still remains as Ph. D., LL. D.
Colonel Elbert Willett Cook.
Elbert Willett Cook — familiarly known as Colonel Cook —
was a son of Paul and Jerusha Cook and grandson of Constant
and Isabel Cook, and in direct line with their ancestors who
came to this country about 1630. The ancestors of his mother.
Miss Jerusha Hatch, came over in the Mayflower, and landed
at Plymouth Rock. She was of the same family as Israel T.
Hatch of Buffalo and Judge Pringle of Batavia.
Elbert Willett was born April 2^, 1804, in Springfield. Otsego
county, N. Y.
Miss Thankful Plumb Murray, born in Orwell, Rutland
count)', Vt., was a daughter of Jonathan and Roslinda Murray.
Elbert Willett Cook and Thankful Plumb Murray were mar-
ried in Springville, Erie county, N. Y., Nov. 29, 1832. Their
children were :
Hiram Henry, born Oct. 17, 1835, and died unmarried July
18, 185S.
Harriet Maria, born Nov. 19, 1837, and died unmarried Sept.
18, 1857.
3i6 hio(;raphical sketches.
Olive Bascom, born March 20, 1839 ^"^ died unmarried
August 31, 1868.
Elbert Plin}-, born Nov. 5, 1841 ; married, and living in
Havana, Schuyler count)', N. Y. Banker and miller.
Jonathan Paul, born Nov. 30, 1846; married, and lives in
Springville, Erie Co., N. Y.; a farmer.
Grace, born Oct. 11, 1855; unmarried, and lives in Havana,
Schuyler Co., N. Y.
Mrs. Thankful P., wife of Elbert W. Cook, died in Havana,
Schuyler Co., N. Y., Nov. 21, 1872. Elbert W. Cook and
Lucretia M. Batterson — a sister of the first wife — were married
Nov. 24, 1872, in Havana, Schuyler Co., N. Y. She died in
1883.
His father died in the service during the war of 1 8 12, leaving
his mother and six small children — four bo\\s and two girls —
destitute.
Elbert cared for himself after about ten }'ears of age. At
about fifteen, he went to learn the trades of tanning and curry-
ing, shoemaking and harness-making. During his apprentice-
ship, he earned b}' extra work enough to pay for such things as
he desired, which were not considered necessar}- for an appren-
tice in those days, and had by these extra earnings, when his
time was out, a light horse equipage, worth $80; a set of tools
for making shoes and harnesses, and $100 worth of leather.
He commenced business for himself by shoemaking, going
from family to family, as was the custom in those days. After
earning about $120, he commenced schooling himself, hereto-
fore having had very poor privileges. He spent o\'er three
years in school ; most of the time at Skancatlas, N. Y., mean-
while supporting himself.
Directly after, he, with his brothers, Charles and Hiram,
eno^aged in public works, obtaining contracts in Pennsylvania,
New Jersey and New York. The compan}- to which he be-
longed, built eighteen miles complete of the Chemung Canal,
in N. Y.
Soon after he came, in compan)- with his brother Hiram, to
Springville, N. Y., and purchased the grist-mill and woolen-
mills, with adjoining lands, deeds bearing date July 10, 1831.
He also purchased divers tracts of land, and improved them, in
liloCKAl'lIKAI. SKKTCllKS. 317
all ab(iut six luiiulrcd acres. He li\cd in S])rinLj\ilIc about
thirty-six years, duriiii^ which time he rebuilt the grist-mill and
woolen-mills, enlarging their capacities. He also made man)-
other improvements.
Soon after coming to Spring\-ille, he was elected to office in
the militia and trained in the Fall as Captain, next year as
Adjutant, next as Lieutenant-Colonel, next as Colonel, which
office he held sexcral \-ears, although he twice tendered his
resignation.
lie was noted for his public spirit, doing alwa)-s what he
could to promote public welfare. Of a generous nature, he
was kind to the poor; as a rule furnishing employment to the
needy. Hard to refuse a friend, he often extended aid of a
nature that xxorked to his own disadvantage.
He was a staunch temperance man, freely spending time and
money for its benefit. His name was used by temperance men
for the Assembly, the Senate and for Congress.
In May, 1867, he moved to Havana. Schuyler county, N. Y.,
in consequence of Xhe death of his brother Charles, who died
the preceding October. A constant hard worker through life,
he adhered to the old habit instead of living at ease. He set
about improving lands and buildings there as in his own home.
For years a professed infidel, without excitement, he quietly
experienced a change and found himself in full harmony with
Christians. From this time he commenced contributing to aid
the progress of Christianity, giving liberally to churches far
and near, frequenth" outside of his own denominatior, . He
furnished the lot, prepared the ground, and erected a fine
brick structure, costing in all over $30,000, and presented it a
free gift to the Baptist church to which he belonged.
Another monument of his generosity was utilizing the Peo-
ple's College building — main part six stories, with wings four
stories, standing unoccupied. Securing title thereto he pre-
sented it to the Baptist denomination — the building and nine-
teen acres of good land and about sixty thousand dollars in
cash. To-day it is heated \\Tth steam, supplied with warm and cold
water in all the rooms, has a boarding-house, dormitories and
chapel connected with the school. Although young, it ranks
among the highest in the State for its discipline of students.
3t8 biographical sketches.
Colonel Cook, in Springville, N. Y., is as familiarly known in
Havana, N. Y., as Deacon Cook. W. v.. R.
Johnson Chase.
Johnson Chase lives in Machias. He says: My father,
Enoch Chase, came to Concord from Vermont in the Fall of
1810, and located on lot twenty, township six, range six, since
known as the Goodemote place ; he and his brother came
through with two span of horses ; C. Douglas had a log house
built on the creek above the Shultus bridge, and we lived in it
till our house was built.
During the war of 1812-15 there were living on the creek,
Christopher Douglas, David Shultus, William Shultus, Enoch
Chase, George Shultus, Moses White, Truman White, Frances
White. Within the Corporation I remember the Eaton fam-
ily, John Albro, Samuel Cochran, Joseph Yaw, Isaac Knox,
Samuel Burgess, Alva Plumb, David LeRoy, David Stannard,
Jerry L. Jenks, David Stickne}^ Dr. Daniel Ingals, Milo Ful-
ler, Elijah Perigo, Benjamin Gardner. Gardner's grist mill, I
think, was built in 1 8 14, and Milo P"uller, run a carding ma-
chine in connection with the mill.
The families east of the village were Deacon Jennings. James
Henman, the Madison family, Noah Culver on the Pingry place
and Bascom on the Dodge place.
In 1S16 we moved to Little Valley, Cattaraugus county;
there was no road south from Springville then ; we had to go
up to Richmond's, cross the creek, take the State road and go
beyond Machias, then to Ellicottville and on to Little Valley.
There was only one house between Richmond's and Franklin-
ville ; only two log houses in Ellicottx'ille, and three or four
settlers in Little Valley.
Enoch Chase, Sr., died in Little Valley in 1825.
Enoch Chase, Jr., died in Iowa in 1839.
Lyman died in Iowa.
Kimball lives in Iowa.
Statement ol" Joel Chafee.
; My father's family started from Rutland count}-, Vt., Feb. 1,
1817, and came with a yoke of o.xen and a wooden-shod sled to
1
lUOCKAI'HICAL SKKTCIIKS. 319
( )n()iRlai;a count}-; there we found bare ground and traded off
our sled and got an old wagon, and paid $20 to boot ; there
were father and mother and six children of us, and we carried
our own beds and took them in nights and laid them on the
floor and slept on them, and we carried and cooked our own
provisions and did not buy any meals on the road ; we were on
the road six weeks; some storm}' days we did not travel; we
left the Buffalo road somewhere near the Genesee river, and
came through by or near Pike and Arcade ; stayed at Peter
Sears', near Sardinia village, over night, and came down to
Richmond's the next da}- in the forenoon ; mother had walked
considerable of the wa}- and carried a child and was nearly tired
out, so father and mother and the younger children remained
at Richmond's that afternoon and night, but four of us children,
viz., Diana, Joel, Almira and Stephen, came on by ourselves,
and followed marked trees through the woods to Springville
and u}) through ^\-here we li\'e now (it was all woods here then),
and down where the Scoby bridge crosses the Cattaraugus
creek, and down a piece on the other side to Uncle Parmen-
ter's (Mrs. Parmenter was sister to our mother). When we came
to the Cattaraugus creek it was partly frozen over, but there
was a strip in the middle where the water was the deepest and
ran the swiftest that was not frozen, and there w-ere two small
poles laid across the open space. John Holdridge lived on this
side up a piece from the creek, and when we came to the house
we told Mrs. Holdridge that we w-anted to go over to Uncle
Parmenter's, and she went and called Mr. Holdridge, and he
came and took us over on the two poles, one by one, and we
went down a short distance to Uncle Parmenter's house ; if we
had undertaken to cross the creek alone, probabl}- some of us
would have been drowned.
At that time General Knox lived on the corner of Main and
W'averl}' streets. Mr. Burgess lived where George Weeden
does. Julius Bement lived on the place he so long occupied,
and kept " bachelor's hall." We lived in his house one and
three-fourths years. We had just three dollars in money when
we arrived here ; my father located on the farm we now occupy
in 1 8 19; at one time we lived on bran bread three weeks, and
we used to dig leeks and boil and eat them ; they constituted
320 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
a considerable portion of our food. My father got money to
pay his first tax by putting up a leach in one corner of the
kitchen and boiling the lye over the kitchen fire into black
salts and selling them, which was the only way we could get
money; I got my spending money by burning down hollow
trees and making salts out of the ashes.
Sophia Russell taught the first school in this district in her
father's chamber, about 1819. Before that we went to the vil-
lage to school, kept in Widow Gardner's house on East hill.
The first school house in this district was built b}' subscription
and located on Main street on the corner of Deacon Russell's
land, about 1820; that school house was moved down to the
Chafee Corners about 1822; David Bensley taught the first
school in that house.
Once father and others clubbed together and hired Mr. Bur-
gess to go to Buffalo with his oxen after some provisions ; it
took him over a week to make the trip, and among other things
he bought a tierce of flour, and it was dix'ided up according to
the amount each paid.
The Bensley's built a saw mill on the Spring brook down near
the Cattaraugus creek in 181 7.
I worked for Samuel Cochran by the month in 1827 and
helped score timber and draw brick for the old acadenn-, whicli
was built that season.
Cliarles Cliafee.
Charles Chafee was born in Claridon, Rutland count)', \"t.
His wife's maiden name was Polly Miles. They came to this
town March 15, 18 17.
Betsey, born 1802; married Elisha Eaton. Died in Concord
1880.
Diana, born 1804; died in Concord 1818.
Joel, born May, 1807.
Almira, born August, 1809; ni'H'i'ied William Blackmar.
Lives in Concord.
Stephen, born November, 181 1 ; died in Wells\'ille. Ohio in
1838.
Alanson, born November, 1813 ; married Vestina Bensle\'.
and died in Concord 1874.
I
hi()(;rai'iiical sketches. 321
Eliza, born March, 1816; married Edward Cole and li\es in
Hamburg.
Augustus, born August, 1818; married Alelinda Andrus. first
wife, and li\es in Concord.
Miles, born 1822; married Caroline Miner and li\-es in Iowa.
Adaline, born 1826; married Heman Andrus; tlied in Con-
cord in 1850, aged twenty-four.
Joel Chafee.
Joel Chafee was born in Wallingford. Vt., in 1807, came to
this town with his parents in March i8i7;'was married Oct.
II, 1832; his wife, Anna Moulton, was born in the tow 11 of
Spencer, Worcester county, Mass.
Their children were :
Augusta, born Sept. 1835 ; married Joseph Rumsey, Oct. 1855.
Bertrand, born Oct., 1837; married Jennie Richmond, 1871.
Ellen, born March, 1845 '• died, Jan., 1856.
Rurdett, born Aug. 1849; clied, Aug., 1849.
Carlos E., born July, 185 1; married, Sept., 1870, Hattie
Cochran.
Anna Chafee died Sept. 24, 1882, aged seventy years and one
month. Joel Chafee survived her but a few months, d}ing
March 14, 1883, aged seventy-five years, ten months and four-
teen days.
Bertrand Chafee.
Mr. Chafee was born in Concord, Oct. 26, 1837, where, with
the exception of two or three years' absence, he has since resid-
ed. He was reared on the farm and received his education at
the Springville Academ\'. In 1855, he engaged for a year in
the jewelry business, at Union Springs, Cayuga county N. Y.
The following two years he spent in Buffalo, first as clerk for
the Western Transportation Company, and then for the Ameri-
can Express Company. Leaving Buffalo, he returned to the
farm where he remained until 1863, when he engaged in the
general hardware trade in Springville, under the firm name of
J. Chafee & Son, which he continued for twelve years. In
1869, in company with C. J. Shuttleworth, he bought the
Springville mills, and the next year a one-half interest in the
322 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
Pike, N. Y., mills. They afterward purchased the entire Pike
mills. They dissolved partnership in 1874, Mr. Chafee taking
the Springville mills which he carried on until 1880, when he
leased them to E. L. Hoopes, having previously disposed of
his hardware interests to D. W. Bensley in 1875. He is also
the owner of several farms.
In 1870 and '71, Mr. Chafee was elected Supervisor of his
native town, both years by precisel)- the same majority, sixty-
six. In 1865, he was elected to represent the fifth Assembly
District in the Legislature, and took an active part in the pro-
ceedings of that body.
He was instrumental in getting through the Legislature the
new charter of the village, and also the bill regulating the sala-
ries of Supervisors in Erie county.
He also presented to the Legislature the bill which changed
Griffith Institute into a union free school with an academic
department. Previous to this change he was for ten years —
1866 to '76 — one of the Trustees of the Academy and for eight
years was Treasurer of the Board.
Since the organization of the S. & S. R. R. in 1878, Mr.
Chafee has been its President and General Manager.
Mr. Chafee is a Knight Templar, and in 1875 and 'jG he was
Deputy Grand Master of the Masons of the State for the dis-
trict comprising Erie county.
Mr. Chafee was married May 17, 1871, to Miss Jennie B.
Richmond, daughter of George Richmond, Sr., one of the
earliest settlers of Sardinia.
Carlos E. Chafee.
Carlos Emmons Chafee, son of Joel Chafee, was born Jul}'
2, 1 85 1, in Concord, of which town he has always been a resi-
dent. He attended school several years at the Springville
Academ\-. He is. at present conductor on the Springville and
Sardinia Railroad.
Mr. Chafee was married Sept. i, 1870, to Hattie C. Cochran,
■ daughter of Byron Cochran, Esq., of Springville.
They have two children :
Bessie E., born Aug. 1 1, 1876, and Jennie, born Sept. 28, 1880.
(J bio(;rai'iikal sketches. 323.
«Tohn K. Cliafee.
John R. Chafee, son of Alanson Chafce and Vistina Bcnsley
Chafee, was born in Concord, July 2, 1857, where he has always
resided. He was educated at Griffith Institute. Mr. Chafee
has two sisters : Louella, who married Edwin Miller, and
resides near Minneapolis, Minn., and Emma, who also resides
near Minneapolis.
Angiistus Chafee.
Augustus Chafee was born in this town in i<Si8. His father's
name was Charles Chafee ; his mother's maiden name was
Polly Miles. Mr. Chafee is a farmer and has always resided
in town. He has been married four times ; b\' his second wife
he has two children :
Sarah M. Chafee married Warren Widrig.
George W. Chafee.
By his fourth and present wife he has one child : Ella R.
Chafee.
Elder Clarke Carr.
Elder Clarke Carr was born in East Greenwich, Rhode Island,
in 1774, and was married to Patty Merwin, in the same state.
He moved to Durham, Greene county, N. Y.. in 1802, and com-
menced preaching about 1803. In 18 10, he moved to Ham-
burg, Erie county, N. Y.; was called out to serve on the Nia-
gara frontier in the War of 1812, and was at Buffalo at the
time it was burned. He moved to the north part of Concord
and settled in the valley of the Eighteen-mile creek, about
1 8 14. For years he was pastor of the Boston Baptist church,
and also founded several churches in the south towns of Erie
county. He died in the Town of Concord in 1854. His wife
died in 1879, aged ninet}--four years. They had three children :
Louisa, born in Durham, Greene county, N. Y., in 1803 '< ^"^'^^
married to Samuel W. Alger in 1824, and died April 9, 1882, in
Concord.
Clark M. was born in Durham, (ireene county, N. Y., in
1805, a"d died at Galesburg, 111., in September, 1877.
Laura was born in Durham, Greene county, in 1807. She
was married to Ambrose Torre\- ; died in the town of Concord.
in October, 1881.
324 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
The Carr Brothers.
The five Carr brothers, a brief mention of M'hich follows,
A\ere the sons of the late Clark M. Carr, of Galesburg, 111., a
former resident of Erie county, and <^randsons of Elder Clark
Carr, an early settler in this town, and an early preacher in this
and adjoining" towns.
Three of them attended Springville Academy and also
graduated at Knox College, 111. They all served with distinc-
tion in the Union army, and afterwards occupied prominent
positions of public trust.
Eugene A. Carr was born in Concord, N. Y.; at sixteen
years of age he went to the West Point Military academy ;
graduated high in his class ; was appointed second lieutenant
and sent to the Western frontier ; in a battle with the Sioux,
was wounded, and promoted to first lieutenant ; afterwards
received a captain's commission, which he held till the com-
mencement of the Rebellion, when he was promoted to colonel.
He served under Generals Lyon in Missouri and Grant at
Vicksburg, where he was wounded, and promoted to brevet
brigadier-general, ^\'hich title he held during the War. At the
close of the W^ar, he was sent b}- the Government to Europe to
inspect military fortifications. As an officer of the regular
army, he is now stationed in Arizona. He married Mary Mc-
Connel, daughter of General McConnel, of St. Louis. The}'
ha\e one son, Clark N.
B\'r()n O. Carr was born in Concord, N. Y. During the
Rebellion, he was quartermaster in the Arm}- of the South-
west, with the rank of colonel. After the War, he ^^•as
appointed superintendent of the Ogden division of the Union
Pacific Railroad, which he held four years ; subsequently, he
was government steamboat inspector on the Mississippi river; he
now resides in St. Helena, Cal. He was married in 1854 to
Mary E. Buck, of Galesburg, 111.
Horace M. Carr was born in Boston, N. Y.; after gradu-
ating at Knox College he graduated at Hamilton College;
entered the ministry ; served as chaplain in the Union army
during the War: is noA\- preaching at Parsons, Kansas.
Clark E. Carr was born in Boston, N. Y.; after gradu-
ating at Knox College, he graduated at the Poughkeepsie Law j
i
I!I()(;rai'iirai. skktciiks. 325
school : j)racticctl law at (lalcsburg, 111.; was a])])oiiUcd aide-
de-camj) on (io\crnor Nates' staff, and occuj)icd that position
durin^f the War; is now postmaster at (lalesburi;", which posi-
tion lie has held twenty-five years.
George P. Carr, son of Clark M. Carr. b\' his second wife,
was born in Buffalo, N. Y. He served as cajitain in the Union
ami}- during the War, and at its close was ajJiJointed by Presi-
dent Johnson parish judi;'e in Louisiana ; while occupying this
position he met his deatli in. a m\-sterious manner, jjrobabl)' a
victim of the intense political feeling" rife at that time. He
possessed literary talent and was the author of two books of
poems : "The Ri\er of Life," and " The Contest."
Clark Family.
Abraham Clark, Jr., father of Alanson Clark, Lsq., of this
town, was born in the town of (jloucester, Providence count)',
R. L, June 14, 1790, being the fifth in a family of ten children,
was married to Alice Blackmar, who was born in Thompson,
Windham count}'. Conn., AjM'il 24, 1795, Feb. 18, 1816; resided
in his nati\'e town till November, 181 8, when, with his family
consisting of his wife and one child, he emigrated " west " to
what was then the town of Concord, Niagara count}', N. \\
"Taking up " a piece of land containing one hundred acres,
part of lot fourteen, range eight, township seven, being about
one mile from Langford postoffice, in what is now the town of
North Collins; he afterwards sold his claim and removed to
land situated in the the same town, part of lot twelve, township
se\'en, range eight; here he resided till his wife died, July 2,
1853; shortly after this he disposed of his farm to his sons^
Lyman and Alanson.
April 29, 1854, he was again married to Mrs. Julia M. Wright,
and removed to the east part of the town on the Genesee road,
near the present Concord line; remaining here but a short time
he removed to Evans Center, Erie county, where he continued
to reside till his death, April 25, 1864; he and his first wife were
both active members of the F. B. church.
By his first wife he had ten children, as follows;
L}'man, born in Gloucester, R. L, Nov. 16, 1816; married to
Emih'. tlaughter of Abram Coneer, of Shirle\'; now lives at
326 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Princeton, Green Lake' county, Wis.; previous to his removal
he was for some time Justice of the Peace, and was Supervisor
of the town of North Collins in 1856-7.
Anna, born in Collins, Erie county, N. Y., May 7, 1819; died
Oct. 16, 1822.
Emily, born March 6, 1822; died Nov. 13, 1838.
Alanson, born April 3, 1B24.
Hiram, born June 4, 1826.
Alban, born March 19, 1829; is married and lives at Prince-
ton, Wis.
William, born April 19, 1831 ; died in Princeton, Wis., Oct.
3, 1863.
Susan, born May 26, 1833; died Oct. 7, 1834.
Julia A., born Feb. 12, 1836; died Feb. 13, 1854.
Henry Clay, born July 13, 1839; died May 3, 1853.
By his second wife :
Julia Clayanna, born Aug. 3, 1855 ; lives in Buffalo with her
mother and half sister, Mrs. Eunice Dole.
Alanson, fourth child of Abraham Clark, has always resided
within the limits of this history, being the only one of his fath-
er's family now a resident of this State, except the half sister
just mentioned who resides in Buffalo. He was married at
Hamburg, N. Y., by Esquire White, Feb. 26, 1854, to Flora
Palmerton (born Aug. 6, 1831), daughter of William Palmer-
ton, a brother of Joshua and Henry Palmerton, all of whom
were early settlers of the town of Collins, Joshua having settled
near Collins Center in the Spring of 18 10, the others following
soon after. The Palmertons came from Danby, Vt., and are
supposed to be of English origin.
William Palmerton married Floranna Delezenne, who was, as
her name indicates, French descent ; they had eleven children,
four of whom, Betsey, Nathan, Flora and John, are residents
of this county.
Delezenne Palmerton, the eldest, lives at Muskegan, Mich.
George Edward Palmerton went to California during the gold
excitement, and has not been heard from in twenty-five years,
and is supposed to be dead.
The other members of the family not mentioned are now
deceased.
HIOGRAI'lIICAl. SKETCHES. 327
Their children arc as follows :
Willis (iaylord, born Nov. 10, i«S54.
Riley Hiram, born Feb. 4, 1857.
George William, born May 26. i<S5<S.
Mr. Clark lixcs one-half mile east of W'oodward's Hollow
(which is his postoffice), on \\hat has ever been known as the
Genesee road, is a farmer, and owns a dair\- farm of 275 acres.
Willis Gaylord Clark graduated at the Oberlin, O., Commer-
cial college in August, 1874; has taught school considerable,
and in the Fall of 1881 was a candidate for School Commis-
sioner in the third district of Erie county. He holds the office
of Justice of the Peace, to which he was elected in 1882.
Joiiatlian O. Caiifield.
Jonathan O. Canfield, was born Sept. 30, 181 1, in Ulster
county, N. Y. His father, Jonathan Canfield, was a minister.
His mother's maiden name was M£.rcyJHolly. When Mr. Can-
field was nine years old, the family moved to Boston, N. Y.,
where they lived twelve years ; they then removed to Genesee
count}-, where the}' lived six }'ears ; they next removed into
this town, where Mr. Canfield has since resided. The follow-
ing is Mr. Canfield's family record:
PARENTS.
I
Jonathan Canfield, born Nov. 6, 1765 ; married July 15. 1787 :
died Dec. 9, 1851.
Merc}' Holl}', born April 9, 1771 ; died Now 25, 1855.
BROTHERS AND SISTERS.
Silvanus, born May 11, 1788; married Feb. 17, 1815, to
Abigail Wood; died June 7, 1848.
Josiah, born Sept. 14, 1789; married March 13, 1814, to Mary
Crosby; died June 22, 1854.
Sillick, born Sept. 12, 1791 ; married Jan. 22, 18 14, to Susan-
na Tousey ; died Sept. 20, 1865.
Wealthy, born Oct. 22, 1793 ; married Dec. 26, 1819, to Josh
Baker; died Dec. 21, 1824.
Mylo, born Oct. 7, 1796; married Jan. i, 1826, to Electa
Landon ; died March 13, 1826.
328 BIOGRArHICAL SKETCHES.
Watee, born March 31, 1799; married Nov. 13, 1853, to
Hiram Moore; died December, 1855.
Sally, born May 31, 1801 ; died Au^. 27, 1826.
Rebecca, born June 18, 1804; married Nov. 11, 1827, to
John B. Landon ; died May 14, 1874.
Jane, born July 28, 1807; died Sept. 17, 1809.
Oliver, born Oct. 22, 1809; married May 17, 1837, to Lau-
rilla Hopkins; died May 10, 1865.
Jonathan O., born Sept. 30, 181 1; married first, Sept. 7,
1843, to Elvira Horton ; second. May 15, 1877, to Elizabeth
Waterman.
CHILDREN.
*Ray H., born July 16, 1844; married 1873 to Lydia Booth.
Moses H., born Nov. 2, 1847; married 1872 to Melissa
McCullor.
G. l^ruce, born June 21, 1850; married 1874 to Kate Brooks.
Paul, born Sept. 21, 1855.
*Ray H., is a graduate of Eastman's Business College.
Vincent M. Cole's Statement.
I was born Sept. 19, 1814; came to this town in 1817; my
wife's name was Julia Squires, daughter of Seely Squires; she
was born in Concord, and died in 1840; I was married to my
present wife, Catherine Ostrander, in 1842 ; am a farmer. My
father's name was Aaron Cole ; m\- mother's maiden name was
Sarah C. Gates. My father was left an orphan at an early
date, and removed to Concord in 18 17, and lived with Orrin
Sibley one Winter, and then built a log house on a farm of
fift}' acres, one-half mile east of Orrin Sibley's. He moved into
the log house and went to Hamburg and got a pig and brought
him home under his arm, and put him in a pen near the house.
One night the pig squealed and mother went out and found a
bear at the pen. She got a fire-brand and threw at him and he
left. Soon after the bear came again and mother dro\-e him
off, and left some fire burning near the pen ; but the bear came
a third time and got the pig, and killed and eat him up. Some
of the neighbors built a bear pen of logs, near where the \'os-
burg cheese factory now stands, and caught two young bears.
The wolves used to kill our sheep and we could not keep sbeeo
JJKjdRAl'IIICAI. SKKICIIKS. 329
unless wc put them in a close pen at nis^lu near the house.
There was j)lent}' ot wild s^anie in the woods, our dot^' killed
several deer alone, when the snow was deep and the crust would
bear the doi^. When he killed one he ^\■ould come to the
house and we would follow him back and t^et the deer. We
had all the venison and bear meat we wanted. We planted
and raised a good crop of corn among the logs and stumps, by
planting the corn w ith an old axe. The)' had three children :
Li/.ette, born in Concord in 1842, married Thomas Ui)ham.
Ella, married Addison Lonsbury.
Jolin is a dentist and li\es in Collins Center.
AIiiioii I>. Conger.
Mr. Conger was born in Danb\', Vermont, Jan. 12, 1815 ; of
Quaker ancestr}'. He was a son of Noah Conger and Hannah
Griffith Conger. Mr. Conger came to Collins in 1838, where
he resided until 1877, when he removed to Springville. While
a resident of Collins he was engaged chiefl}' in farming, but for
some years past his business has been loaning money and buy-
ing and selling real estate. He was Assessor in Collins twenty-
one years. Mr. Conger was a brother of the Hon. Anson G.
Conger. He was married in 1839 to Sophronia Potter, daugh-
ter of Peter Potter, formerly of Granxille, N. Y. They have
had six children, xiz. :
Noah, born April 26, 1841 ; died, A])ril 27, 1873.
Hannah M., born Aug. 31, 1844.
Lydie E., born Now 7, 1847 ! ciied July 8, 1868.
Andrew W., born June 5, 1850; married Florence Clark,
daughter of Timoth)- Clark, and resides on the homestead farm
in Collins.
Albert PI., born Oct. 24, 1857.
Jessie M., born Dec. 15, 1859; married Russell F. Prjant .
resides in Spring\ille.
Mr. Conger is, in the full accejitation of the term, " a self-
made man." He began his successful career in humble cir-
cumstances, and b)' his own unaided efforts he has secured to
himself and posterity a \'ery handsome competence. He
informs the writer that the first jnone)' he possessed he earned
of a neighboring farmer by chopping by the month, and that
330 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
in his early years he made it a rule to lay up something each
year over and above his expenses.
George D. Conger.
Mr. Conger was a son of Abram Conger, who was one of
four brothers that came to Collins in the Spring of 1817. He
(Abram Conger) was married in June, 1830, to Anna Hunt.
Four of their children are now living, viz.:
Emily married Lyman Clark ; reside at Princetown. Wis.
Mary Jane married Charles Bartholomew ; reside in North
Collins.
Fidelia married John Goodell ; since died.
George D. Conger was born Dec. 10, 1842, in Collins. His
time until eighteen years of age was spent on the farm and
attending school. On the 8th of August, 1861, he enlisted in
the Forty-Fourth New York Volunteers, Company A ; was
corporal, and took part in every engagement in which his regi-
ment was engaged in, except an interval of six weeks in July
and August, 1862, when he was confined in the hospital. He
was slightly wounded at the Battle of Gettj'sburg ; was mus-
tered out of the service Oct. 12, 1864. He was married Feb.
16, 1865, to Diantha Sampson, and engaged in farming in Con-
cord. He has at present upon his farm fifty acres of apple
orchard. In the Spring of 1883, he moved to Springville, N.
Y., and became a dealer in carriages, wagons, agricultural
implements and farm produce. He has one daughter. Cora
May, born Aug. 10, 1869.
.Tames Curtis.
James Curtis was originally from W'illington, Conn. He
came to Concord in 1832, from Onondaga county, and located
on lot forty-three, township seven, range six, on Sharp street,
buying his land of Jonathan Mayo. He married Mar}- Marcy,
a cousin of Governor Marcy of New York. They had four chil-
dren :
Zebadiah married Lovice Hall, and died in Concord, about
1 840.
Nancy Maria married Erastus Mayo, and died about 1849,
HIOCRAPHICAl. SKK'ICHKS. 33 I
leaving seven children, viz.: William, Louisa, James, Miner\a,
Rufus, Cornelia and Delia.
William T. married Charlotte* Williams first, and Angeline
Williams second. He died in 1882. in Aurora, Krie count)-;
no children.
Origin 1). Curtis.
Origin D. Curtis was born June 27, 18 1 8, in Onandaga
county and came to Concord in 1831 ; \\as married the Fall of
1839 t*^ Lucy Ma)'(). He li\'ed in Concord till the Spring of
1850, when he moved to Machias ; to Otto, N. Y., in 1864, and
back to Springville in 1872. hi the Spring of 1881, he went to
the Red Ri\'er \alley, Polk county, Minnesota, and purchased
one hundred and sixty acres of land. He is a farmer and car-
penter by occupation. He has eight children, viz.:
Mar)- C. married L. B. Churchill.
Julia L. married James Jackson ; reside in Waupaca, Wis.
Dora married William H. Jackett ; reside in Mansfield, Cat-
taraugus count)-.
Jonathan V. married Adda Chase ; reside in Salamanca, N. V.
Henr\' married Estelle Stanbro ; reside in Concord.
Edwin married Ida W^idrig; reside in Springville.
Willis H. married Rosa Barse ; reside in Polk county, Minn.
George married Etta Widrig ; reside in Springville.
Mr. Curtis' father, James Curtis, died in Machias,, Cattarau-
gus county, in 1863. His wife died in Concord about 1878.
Robert Currau.
Mr. Curran was born in Dundalf, Ireland, in 1780: came to
Ulster count)', N. V., wlieti thirteen years of age ; from there
to Tioga county, N. Y., and to the nortii part of Concord in
182 1, where he resided until his death, in 1865. Mr. Curran
Avas one of a famil)- of seven. When he came to Concord, Bos-
ton corners was called Torrey's corners, and there were but
three frame houses on the Boston road in the vicinity of the
corners. Mr. Curran had five children :
Mrs. A. P. Ellis of East Concord.
Caroline, who died in 1861.
William Curran, Esq., of Boston.
Hiram and Mar)- Curran, also of Boston.
332 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHP:S.
James F. Craiidall.
James F. Crandall was born March 20, 1797, in Newport^
Rhode Island. His father, WilHam Crandall, followed the
ocean, and was captain of a merchant vessel that sailed from
Newport. James F. married Maria W. Edwards, who was born
in Newport, R. I., also. They came to Concord in 1821. Mr.
Crandall was a weaver by trade and worked in a factor}- in
Rhode Island. He worked in a factory after he came here,
and also kept hotel several years, and was engaged in trade in
this town and Aurora. He died in Spingville, April 20, 1873,
aged seventy-six years. His wife, Maria W. Edwards, died May
20, 1855.
Their children were :
George E.
Sarah G., born Jul)' 16, 18 19, in Rhode Island ; married
Major Wells and died here about 1844.
Abajail P., born Feb. 13, 1822, here; married A. H. N\ ing,
lives in Chicago.
Emeline, born May 15, 1824, here.; married D. G. Vorce ;
died in Chicago about 1877.
Augustus, born June 2, 1831, here.
Augusta, born June 2. 1S31, here; married William Murray;
died in California about 1865.
George E. Crainlall.
George E. Crandall ^\'as born in Providence, R. I., Jul}- 16,
1 8 16. Came to this town with his parents in 1821. He was
married to Polly M. Harvey in Springville, Dec. 22, 1836. He
has resided in Spring\Mlle about sixt\--two years. He is a prac-
tical jeweler, and has carried on the business many years. He
has also carried on the gunsmith business, and has sometimes
been engaged in farming.
His children are :
James F., born Oct. 25, 1837; married Clara Tillotson ;
resides in New York city, is a jeweler.
Norman E., May 24, 1849; married Ursula Hammond;
resides in Ashford, is a farmer.
L.emuel G., born July 30, 1843 ; married Loretta Hunt ; she
died in 1877 ; is a jeweler.
I'.KXiKAl'IlICAI, SKKTCIIKS. 333
Nelson H., born May 29, 1845 I married Antoinette Casey;
they have one child, Rianca ; resides in Sprin^ville and is a
jeweler.
Ellen M., born June 12, 1847 ; married Wilh'am R. l)e Pli}- :
resides at Sea Cliff, L. I. ; he is a la\\\xM-.
George A., born Sept. 17, 1847; married Sarah Dorse)-;
resides at Holland ; he is a jeweler.
William C, May 20, 1853.
Ebeiiezer S. (*a<ly, Statoinoiit.
Ebenezer S. Cady was born in the town of Chatham, Colum-
bia county, N. Y. Came to the village of Springville in 1858 ;
is a carpenter and joiner ; was married at Schu}-ler, Herkimer
county, N. Y., in 1840, to Miss Mary Oyer, who was born in
1817 at Schuyler, Herkimer county, N. Y. My father, Arnold
Cad)', was born at Chatham, Columbia county, and serx^ed as
volunteer of marines in defence of the New York harbor in
the war of 1812. My mother's maiden name was Sarah Hunt.
She was born in Washington, Vt. Grandfather's name was
Ebenezer Cady ; he was a Captain in the war of the Revolu-
tion. Grandmother's maiden name was Chloe Beebe. She
was born in Connecticut. The house my grandfather built in
Chatham in 1761 and '62, was built of pine timber, was taken
down in 1824 and the timber used in building the Presbyterian
meeting house in the village of Spencertown, Columbia county,
N. Y. In this house my grandfather's two sons and fi\'e daugh-
ters were born. The outside doors were made of pine boards,
two thicknesses, cut into horizontalh' about half-way of their
height, and at night barred on the inside with a stick. On the
farm was an oak grove where the people assembled on the Sab-
bath to worshi}) (they were Presbyterians), until the)' built a
church on his farm, the first church in Chatham. This building
was moved to Chatham four corners, a distance of one and one-
half miles. The building was put on runners and under the
runners small sticks were placed for rollers, and many ox teams
were hitched to each of the runners and in that way the build-
ing was drawn to the spot and for many years the followers of
the lowly Nazarene met at this humble church and offered
their devotions to the God of Abraham, till finally later gen-
334 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
erations have sold the old church for a sheepfold. and built
another church exhibiting more pride than piety.
They had six children :
Lucy A., born in 1840 and died in 1872.
Sarah J., born in 1844; married Newela French.
Maryette, born in 1847 -^^^^ died in 1850.
Cassius M., born in 1850 and died in 1871.
Ellen G., born in 1853; married Gardner Berry.
William S., born in 1856 and li\-es in Kalkaska, Mich.
James A. Cranston.
Arnold C. Cranston, father of the subject of this sketch, was
born in Rhode Island March 17, 1799, and was married about
1 82 1 to Miss Selinda, who was born in Massachusetts July 20,
1804. They came here from Madison county, N. Y., in 1834,
and settled a few miles north of Springville on the farm now
owned by his son, James A., where he lived until his death in
1869. which was caused by the falling of a limb of a tree which
he was felling. His wife died Aug. 2, 1877. They had four
children, all but one of whom were born in Massachusetts:
Monroe, born April i, 1822; died in 1822.
Almeda G., born Feb. 17, 1825 ; married Lysander Needham.
Harriet L., born Nov. 22. 1833; married Wilbur Stanbro.
James A. Cranston was born Aug. 27. 1828, in Massachu-
setts, and came with his parents to Concord in 1834. He is a
carpenter and joiner and worked at his trade a great many
years, but at the present time confines himself exclusively to
farming. He was married in 1857 to Miss Polly M. Wilcox,
They have four children :
Fred. A., born in 1859; married Jennie Widrig, and lives in
East Concord.
Mar\', born in 1865.
Nellie, born in 1867.
Lemuel, born in 1869.
Calkins Family.
Elisha Calkins and wife (Elizabeth Cross) came from Ver-
mont and settled in Clinton county, N. V. In the Fall of 1828
thev moved to Buffalo ; not liking the low lands in the vicinity
HIOCRAI'HICAL SKETCHES. 335
they only .sta)'ed through the Winter, and in the Sprin*;' of
1829 came to the town of Golden and settled on a farm on
South hill. Their family consisted of eight children, 01i\'e,
Polly, William, Moses, Sally, Harrison, John and Hetse)-. The
girls married and settled in Golden ; two of them are still living
there, Mrs. Thomas BufTum and Mrs. Jesse Hedges.
Moses married Elizabeth Abbott, and settled on the hill : he
is now living at Golden village, but very feeble ; he has one
son, A. G. Galkins, living in Buffalo.
John married Susan Southworth, of Boston, and li\ed on a
farm on the hill. In the Fall of 1856 was kicked by a horse
and died of injuries received, leaving two sons, John D. and
Earl, who are now living at South Bend, Ind.
Harrison married Elizabeth Gunningham, of Goncord, and
lived on the hill near Glenwood ; he died of consumption in
1853, ^^^ 1^'ft one son, Hon. Elisha G. Galkins, now li\'ing at
Kearney Gity, Nebraska.
William A. cleared a farm in the town of Goncord, attending
the Springville academy in 1833, when Parsons was Principal
His health failing, he went down to Staten Island and taught
school one year, and married Eliza Randolph Rollo, of Staten
Island ; he came back and went to farming on his farm in Gon-
cord and lived there about five years, sold out and moved into
the town of Golden, where he is still living. He had fi\e chil-
dren, two sons (dying in infancy) and three daughters :
Jane Rollo married Harry Foote.
Maria married A. G. Galkins, and Ii\'es in Buffalo.
Julia married A. J. Swcetapple and li\es in Elma.
Frederick Crary.
Mr. Grary was born in Wallingford, Rutland count)-, Vt., in
1802. His grandfathers, William Grary and John Sweetland,
were both soldiers of the Revolution, the latter taking part in
the battle of Bunker Hill. Mr. G. first came to the region
then called Concord about 1819; subsequently, about 1820, in
the capacity of a showman, he accompanied the first elephant
that was ever exhibited in Springville. He was first mar-
ried in Scipio, Gayuga county, N. Y., to Wealthy Ann Durkee.
336 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
She dying, he was married a second time to Louisa Richmond,
by whom he had children as follows:
Marion, who died at six years of age.
Charles S., who served as Captain of Compan)' F, One Hun-
dred and Sixteenth regiment New York State volunteers during
the Rebebellion he died in Springville in March, 1865.
Ann, married Andrew Neff; resides in Ashford, N. Y.
Charlotte, married Eugene Mills, and afterwards died, leav-
ing two daughters.
While a resident of Sardinia Mr. Crary served three terms as
Justice of the Peace, and one term in Springville.
Cyrus Cheney.
Cyrus Cheney came here from Massachusetts about 1816.
He married Rebecca Sawyer and lived here a number of years
and then went back to Massachusetts. When gold was dis-
covered in California he went there and remained a few years
and died soon after he returned. The\' had three children,
Abigail, Sally and .Vugustus.
Isaac B. Cliilds.
Isaac B. Childs was born Oct. 13, 1823, in the town of Con-
cord, and has always resided in this town, and b)' occupation a
cooper and farmer. Was married to Marsha A. Brown, who
was the mother of his two children : Ellen M., wife of" George
B. Baker and Charles F. Childs. She died Nov. 22, 1861. His
second wife, Mary Ann Jones, died March 12, 1866, leaving no
children. His third wife, PLmily Pratt, mother of Lowell
Childs, died Feb. 10, 1873. He was married to his present
wife, Catherine Oyer, March 10, 1875. His father's name was
Lewis Childs; his mother's maiden name was Deborah Starks,
daughter of Jedediah Starks. His father removed from Deerfield,
Mass., in 1832, and settled on the farm now owned by George
Weeden, one and one-half miles north-west from Springville
and worked at coopering. Her also opened and worked a stone
cjuarry on his farm and for many years furnished stone for a
large number of the buildings in Springville and surrounding-
country. He subsequentl}' sold his farm and removed to
liiOdRAiMiicAi, sKKrciii<:s. 337
SprinL;"\'ilIc, where he continued to reside until the time of his
death, in 1853. His mother died July 5, 1873.
Ellen M. Childs was born March 2t, 1850.
Charles F. Childs was born June 18, 1854.
Lowell Childs was born Feb. 3, 1873.
Colburii Family.
Orlin Colburn was born at Charlestown, Montgomery county,
N. Y., June 13, 18 16. When a boy six years of age, he came
with his parents to Collins, May 20, 1822. The family moved
into an old log school-house, situated on what is now called
"Scrabble Hill;" In 1837 he was married to Miss Jane Pea-
body, who died in 1847, leaving a family of five children, all of
whom are dead except one. Erastus Colburn was born Dec.
25, 1841. He enlisted at the commencement of the war, served
four years and came home unhurt. In 1867 he married the
daughter of Captain Davis, of Erie, Pennsylvania, and in 1868,
emigrated to Marysville, Kansas, where he has since been
engaged in farming.
Ezra Colburn, the second son of the family, enlisted in 1 861,
was taken prisoner at the battle of the Wilderness and died
from starvation at Libby prison.
Orlin Colburn married his second wife, Sarah Ackley, of the
town of Persia, Cattaraugus county. Farming has been the
principal occupation of his life. Has five children by his sec-
ond wife, viz : John C, born May 2, 1850, married Mar)^ A.
Hawks in 1874. They have three children.
Caswell C. resides at Wheeler Hollow, N. Y.
O. J. Colburn was born May 6, 1852, in Concord, N. Y., was
married in 1:^79. ^^^ Mary E. Morton, who was born Sept. 3,
1856.
Peter Colburn was born April 29, 1854; married Mary A.
Sutherland, in 1868.
Lowell M. Ciiiiiniiiig's.
Lowell M. Cummings was born in 1847, ''^ the town of War-
ren, Mass. Came to Springville in 1870, where he was married
in 1870, to Miss Kate Emmons, daughter of Dr. Carlos Em-
mons.
17
338 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
His father's name was John F. Cummings ; his mother's
maiden name was JuHa Graves. His ^grandfather's name was
John G. Cummings ; his grandmother's maiden name was
Sarah Burroughs. ,
Until the age of fifteen years he remained at home with his
father's family and attended the Alfred University. Then, in
the years 1863 and 1864, went to New Hampshire and attended
Phillips Academy at Exeter, during the years 1865 and 1866,
then came to Springville and engaged in mercantile business.
Subsequently read law and was admitted as an attorney and
counselor-at-law in 1877, leaving since practiced his profession
at Springville, N. Y. His children are:
Caroline J. Cummings, born April 29, 1878.
Carlos Emmons Cummings, born Aug. 7, 18/8.
Charles D. Cummings, born July 5, 1880.
Giles Clmrchill.
Giles Churchill was born at Cherry Valley, N. Y., March 12,
1786. His father Stephen Churchill was at the burning of
Cherry Valley by the Indians and Tories in 1778. His moth-
er's maiden name was Esther Loyd.
At twenty-one Mr. Churchill began the study of medicine at
Penfield, N. Y. He studied and practiced there until 18 12,
when he came to this town and bought land of the Holland
Company, where the late Calvin Smith lived at the time of his
death. He served as a soldier on the Niagara frontier in 1812.
He practiced medicine some in Springville, and taught school
twelve terms in the vicinity. But his principal occupation was
farming to which he gave his attention until his death in 1872.
He was married in 18 1 3 to Abigail Toocker. Their children
were :
Eliza Ann married Prentice Stanbro ; died in 1869.
Emeline died when young.
Stephen G. married Margaret W'idrig; reside in Wisconsin.
Marcus B.
Marons B. Churoliill.
Marcus B. Churchill was born in this to^\•n in 1825. He is a
farmer, and has always resided in town. He has filled the
liKKiKAi'iiicAi. ski: r( I IKS. 339
office of 1 Ii<;"h\\a\' Commissioner two terms. Mr. Churchill
married Arminda VanCamp in 1849. Their children are :
Libbie, married Javan Clark, reside in tow n.
Charles W., married Jennie Adams, reside in tow n.
I'^mma, marrietl Spencer \\'idri<4\ reside in town.
Benjamin Criiinp.
Mr. Crump was born in Hereford count}. En^^land, May 28.
1800. He was married in 1830 to t{,lizabeth Lewis, in 1835,
Mr. C. and his wife .sailed from Liverpool, FLngland ; after a
voyage of thirt\" fi\e days, the}' landed June i6th, at Amboy,
N. J. They resided about four years at New Brunswick, N.
J., then about two years in Buffalo and Canada. In 1838, came
to the nortli part of Concord, where he located. He afterwards
moved onto the premises where he now resides, which is situ-
ated parti}' in Concord and partly in Colden ; the dwelling
house standing on the town line. He, and his son, Robert,
who resides with him, consider themselves residents of Colden.
They had a family of four boys and five girls :
John L., born in England in 1831 ; married Anna Johnson ;
resides in Concord.
Benjamin F., born in 1833 ; married Alanth}- Youngs ; resides
in Minnesota.
Samuel, born in 1835 : died in June, 1854.
Harriet, born in 1837; married William Brink; resides in
Colden.
Elizabeth, born in 1839; niarried John Corning; resides in
Buffalo.
Susan, born in 1841 ; married Charles Chandler ; resides in
Minnesota.
Kate, born in 1843; married Charles Cross; resides in
Sardinia.
Sarah, born in 1845 - niarried James E. King; resides in Iowa.
Robert, born in 1847; niarried Irene Williams; resides in
Colden.
Vi<-t<>r ('(>ll:ii'<l.
Victor Collard was born in Rambruck, Luxemburg, German}',
in 1832 ; came to this country in 1857 ; was fort}'-eight da}'s cross-
ing from Antwerp to New York. He came from New York to
340 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Springville and went to work for Stowel Collins in a carriage
shop for one year. He had learned his trade and worked at the
business in the old country; he then went to Sardinia and
worked at the carriage business since that time ; he was drafted
into the army in 1862. but hired a substitute for three hundred
dollars to take his place; he Avas married Mayi i, 1865, to Miss
Barbara Hery, of North Collins (in which town she was born.)
Their children are : Carl Collard, Lizzie Collard, Victor Col-
lard, jr., and John Collard.
J. Li. Cohen.
J. L. Cohen was born in 1854, in Russia, Poland, near War-
saw ; came to Buffalo in 1861 ; is a merchant; was married in
1875, and came to live at Springville, August. 1871 ; his wife's
maiden name was Rebecca Gumbinsky ; he was naturalized in
1879. H^s brother, A. S. Cohen, was a soldier in the Russian
service for eight years ; was on duty most of the time in the
Calcassia mountains and now resides in Buffalo. His mother's
brother, Moses Vortensky, was taken by the Russian military
authorities, at the age of ten years, and kept in the military
service for twenty-five years. Mr. Cohen came direct from
Hamburg to New York, in the German steamship '• Cimbria."
His children are :
Betsey Cohen, born Oct. 14, 1876, at Springville.
Abe Cohen, born Jan. 16, 1879, ^^ Springville.
Anna Cohen, born Aug. 3, 1 881, at Springville.
Cliapiu Family.
William Chapin came here and took up land on lot 45 on
Sharp street, at an early date, and his father and mother's
sisters and brothers came to reside with him. William was a
carpenter and joiner by trade. His brother, Roswell Chapin,
was Surrogate of this county for several years, and his sisters,
Mary and Lucy, were early school teachers in this town, teach-
ing on Townsend hill and several other places. Thc\- lived
here fifteen or twenty years and then moved away.
W. H. (lose.
W. H. Close was born Nov. ij,, 1835. His father's name was
Clark Close ; his mother's maiden name was Jane Powell ; he
HiodRAniUAr. sKi-yrciiES.
341
was married Jul\' 9, 1S57, to I. aura A. Burnai). Thc\- had six-
children :
JuHa .\., born June 14, 185S; married Nathan llilh
Lillie M., born Feb. 7, i ^6o.
Tracey B., born Dec. 11, i!^63.
Minnie B., born Sept. 12, 1S67.
Ada D., born Oct. 4, 1 870.
Emma A., born Au<;-. 3, 1^77; died Oct. 16, 1S77.
Ash Cary.
Asa Cary came to this town in the .Spring of 1 809. He
bought land on lot four, township six, range six, where Harri-
son Pingrcy now lives. He built a house and lived there with
his family that Summer. In the following Autumn he traded
lands with a man by the name of Calvin Doolittle and moved
to Boston, where he afterwards lived and died.
Truman, the eldest of his large family of children, Avas elected
Member of Assembly in 1839, besides holding many other
ofifices of trust during his life. He died at his home in Boston
in 1880.
Drake.
COAT OK ARMS OF THK AMIKNT FAMU.Y OF DRAKE.
Motto: — Aquila Xo)i Capit Miiscas.
The Drakes are of English origin, and. according to the old
English genealogists, the famil)- is one of great antiquit)-. As
early as the Norman conquest (1066) several families of the
name were possessors of large estates in the County of Devon,
342 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
England. The coat of arms at the head of this sketch and
accompanying motto, would indicate an origin perhaps dating
back to the Roman invasion of Britain.
Of the EngHsh Drakes, Sir Francis, the distinguished naviga-
tor, was the most eminent. Of his descendants, two brothers,
R.obert and John Drake, came to America in 1630. From these
two brothers descended the Drakes of America. The)' were
members of the council of Plymouth, and came at first to Bo.s-
ton, Mass. John finall)^ settled at Windsor, Conn. Of his
numerous descendants in Connecticut was Ebenezer Drake, a
soldier of the old French and Indian war. He was born in
Windsor, Conn., and died there in .'776. He had a family of
eight children, as follows: Mehitable, Ebenezer, Hezekiah,
James, Lyman and Clarrissa (twins), Ira and Reuben. Of these
Hezekiah, Lyman and Reuben e\'entually settled in Concoid,
N. Y., and from them ha\'e descended all the Drakes now liv-
ing there.
The family of Drakes which lived in the earlier histor}' of Con-
cord, a short distance north of Springville, belonged to a dis-
tinct branch of the famil}'.
Lyman Drake came from Otsego county, N. Y., in 18 10, and
purchased two hundred acres of land near the Eighteen-mile
creek, in the north part of Concord. The to\\n line subse-
quently run left half of his purchase in the town of Boston-
He was an industrious and energetic pioneer ; he planted the
first orchard in that part of the town ; but his pioneer labors
Mere brought to a close in 18 18. He was born in 1772. His
widow whose maiden name was Irena Cole, survived him
many years. Their children's names were as follows :
Lyman, Jr., Isaac, Wheeler, Polly, Cordelia, Ebin, Daniel,
George and Eliza. Of these, Cordelia, Daniel, George and
Eliza, are the onh" surviving ones
Wheeler Drake was born Dec. 4, 1799. and came to Concord
with his father's family in 1810. For ten or fifteen }'ears pre-
x'ious to his death, which occurred in 1869, he resided on a por-
tion of his original homestead farm. He was married about
1833, to Mrs. Sarah Humphrey, daughter of Edward Church-
ill, Sen. They had three sons, Lyman, Edward C. and Mar-
.shall C, who reside near the old homestead.
]U()C;RAriIKAI, SKKTCIIKS. 343
(ieor^c W. Drake was born March 22, 1S15. in Concord,
where he resided many years as a farmer. lie now resides at
{lambur<^, N. V. He married Jane Humphrey, wlio is now
dead. They had six children, \iz : Austin, married Margaret
Murrax'; IIumj)hre}', married Alice Mawle\'; Sarah, married
Walter Chubbuck ; Jennie, married William Olin ; George VV.
Jr., a talented young man, who died at Fargo, Dakota, in 1883,
and Ida.
Hezekiah Drake was born in 1767. Became from Oneida
count)', N. v., in 1821, to Concord, and located near the Eigh-
teen-mile creek, in the north part of the town, where he lived
until his death, in 1848. He was married in Vermont, in 1802,
to Judeth Prescott, b\- whom he had children as follows:
Freeman, L\'dia, John, Isaac, Rhoda, Ebenezer H., Ira E.,
and Mar\'. All but the two youngest were born in Vermont.
Freeman, Isaac and Rhoda are dead.
Plbenezer H. Drake was born in Vermont, in 1812. When
a \-oung man he taught school successful!}' in the south towns
of Erie county, for a number of years and subsequently was
jailor at the county jail and an overseer in the Buffalo peniten-
tiar)-. He was married in 1843 to Marj- Goodrich. They have
two daughters : Amelia, married to Delos H. Townsend, resides
in Seneca county, N. Y., and Melinda.
Ira E. Drake was born in Oneida count}', N. Y., March.
1817, and was consequently four years of age when his parents
removed to Concord, where he has since lived. He was mar-
ried in 1840 to Maria Agard, daughter of Joshua Agard, of
Concord. They have a family of four sons and one daughter,
as follows; Lauren J., born in 1842, married Mary Anthony;
was for ten years a railroad conductor in Pennsylvania ; now
extensively engaged in business at Keokuk, Iowa. Emery A.,
born in 1844, married P'rank Warrington; Walter, born 1846,
married Sarah Hlakeley ; Lucy, born in 1854, and John, born
1856, married Anna Williams.
Reuben Drake was born in 1776. He was married to Nabb}-
Coole}-, in Vermont, where he was for several years a Captain
in the Vermont state militia. He removed from Connecticut
to Jefferson county, N. Y., and from there to the north part of
Concord, in 1834, where he lived until his death, in 1865. He
344 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
had a family of three sons and four daughters, as follows : Cy-
rena, Julia, Reuben Cooley, Jennet, Leonard, Orimul and
Chloe, all born in Connecticut but the two last. Cyrena and
Orimul are dead.
Reuben Coole}' Drake was born in the parish of W'inton-
bury, near Hartford, Conn., Oct. lo, 1814. When fifteen years
of age he removed with his father's famil)- to Jefferson county,
N. Y., and to Concord in the Spring of 1834. In 1838 he
bought wild lands of the Holland Company, on lot five, town-
ship seven, range seven, which be cleared up, improved and
built upon and where he now resides.
He was married in 1850, to Mary Wood, daughter of Robert
Wood (a native of W^eschester county, N. Y.), and grand-
daughter of Jesse How, a Corporal in the Revolution. They
have one son and one daughter, viz : Jay Drake, born June
30, 1854, is a teacher and devotes some attention to literary
work.
May Drake, born March 29, 1863, is a teacher.
COPY OF MILITARY COMMISSION,
Granted to Reuben Drake, by the Governor of Vermont.
By his Excellenc}', Isaac Tichenor, Esq., Captain-General, Gov-
ernor, and Commander-in-Chief in and over the State of
Vermont —
To Reuben Drake, Greeting.
You being elected Ensign of the first company of light infan-
tr)', in the second regiment, second brigade, and fourth division
of the militia of this state, and reposing special trust and con-
fidence in your patriotism, valor and good conduct, / do, b}'
\'irtue of these presents, in the name and by the authority of
the freemen of the State of Vermont, full}- authorize and em-
power you, the said Reuben Drake, to take charge of the said
company, as their Captain.
You will, therefore, carefulh" and diligentl)- discharge the
said dut}% by doing and performing ever}- matter and thing
thereunto relating. You will observe and follow such orders
and directions as you shall, from time to time, receive from the
Governor of the State, for the time being, or any other your
superior ofificer. according to military dicipline and the laws of
RIOCRArillCAI^ SKETCIIKS. 345
the state. And all officers and soldiers under your command
are to take notice hereof and yield due obedience to your
orders, as their Captain, in pursuance of the trust in you reposed.
/// Testimony Whereof, I ha\'e caused the Seal of this State
to be hereunto affixed. Given under my hand in Council,
[l. s.| this fourteenth day of September, in the year of our
Lord one thousand eight hundred and seven, and of the
Independence of the United States, the thirty first.
Isaac Tichenor.
By His Excellency's command,
William Page, Secretary.
Cliristoplior Douglass.
The subject of this sketch came to this town in 1809. He
settled on lot twenty-three, township six, range six, and lived
there about twenty years. He is said to have been the first man
that ever held the office of justice of tlie peace in this town. He
was the first captain of the Springville Rifle company, and was
also a side judge when "The Three Thayers " w^ere convicted
of the murder of John Love. He removed from this town to
Wisconsin about 1830. The last knowledge the author has of
his whereabouts he was running a hotel in Wisconsin, in
1856.
Beiijainiu Douglass.
Benjamin Douglass came to this town and bought hind of
the Holland Land company in 1809. He lived here two or three
years and then removed to Fredonia, Chautauqua count}-. His
son, Daniel W. Douglass, was a member of assembh- from
Chautauqua count)' in the \'eai" 1 85 I.
F. K. Davis.
Mr. Davis' father, Zimri Davis, came from N. H., about 181 5,
to where the city of Rochester now stands. At that time,
scarcely a vestige of the city existed. He helped to clear away
the oak trees standing where the Powers block now is. and
opened the first meat market. He died in Rochester in 1828.
The next year the mother, ^hose maiden name was Joanna
Johnson, with her five small boys, emigrated to Sardinia and
346 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
bought a small farm with slight improvements on the Cattarau-
gus creek.
By the exercise of rigid economy, industry and perseverance,
with the aid of her little boys, she cleared up and paid for her
land. Mr. Davis relates how his mother would stake out a
daily stint of chopping and clearing for each one, and would
frequently take her sewing work and sit among them to encour-
age them with their work. She died in Illinois, Sept. 19, 1875,
aged seventy-eight years; her sons' names were Jerome, David,
Kidder, Edwin and Clifton.
Francis Kidder Davis was born in Rochester, Oct. 22, 1822 ;
came to Erie county when seven years of age, and has been a
resident of the county most of the time since. His occupation
has been farming and hotel-keeping.
Mr. Davis attended school at the Springville Academy forty
years ago, in the old academy building, when students from a
distance occupied rooms on the lower floor and cooked their
own provisions, such as was not brought from home alread)'
cooked. In those days the principal, if unmarried, also lodged
and occupied rooms in the academy building. At that time,
money to pay tuition bills was not as easily obtained as now.
Mr. Davis speaks of cutting cordwood while attending school
from heaps of logs drawn up to the door, sled length, on what
is now Main street, to get money to pay his tuition.
Mr. Davis was master of the first boat that left Rochester for
a trip over the Genesee Valley canal. He was proprietor of
the Globe hotel at Yorkshire ten years, and is now proprietor
of the Forest house, a first-class hotel in Springville.
He was married Dec. 31, 1846, to Mary F. Goodspeed, who
was born March 5. 1830. They have six children, as fol-
lows :
Byron L., born March 21, 1849; married in 1866 to Dora
Bigelow.
Francis K., born Dec. 11, 1855, married in 1874 to Aggie
Wade.
p^Fred G., born June 30, 1858.
Willie H., born July 27, i860.
Nettie and Nellie (^twins), born Nov. 14, 1862.
BIOGRAI'HirAI. SKKTCHES. 34pr
H. J. Davis.
H.J. Davis was born in the Town of Concord, Feb. i8, 1838;
he has always resided in this town; he was married Aug. 13,'
1863. to Frances M.Wells; they have one child, Archie B.'
Davis, born July 24. 1867 ; the)' own and occupy a part of the
homestead of the late Archibald GrifTfith, situated at East Con-
cord, on lot 35, township seven, range six. Mr. Davis, in com-
pany with A. E. Hardley, during the year 1872, rented and run
the American hotel in Springville. They also started and run a
daily stage line between Springville and Holland, the then ter-
minus of the Buffalo, New York & Philadelphia Railroad.
Mr. Davis is at present Deputy Sheriff of Erie count}-.
♦Taoob Drake.
Jacob Drake located on the middle part of lot 50. township
seven, range six, where D. S. Ingals now lives, as early as
1810 or ■ 1 1, and lived there over twenty years, when he and
his son. Freeman, went back east where they both died.
ffohii Drake.
John Drake, son of Jacob Drake, settled on the south part
of lot 50, known as the Tice place in 18 10, and died of a fever
in 1814; his widow married Daniel Tice. His children were :
Allen, who married May Wheeler, and died in this town.
Angeline, who married a Mr. Williams, of Chautauqua
county.
John, who went to Michigan and died there.
Sarah Ann, who went to Micjiigan and died there also.
Kli.jali Diiiiliain.
Elijah Dunham came about 181 i, and settled on lot 50, on
the place Zimri Ingals so long li\ed afterwards, he remained
there about fifteen years and then went west. Those of
the family still living, reside in the northern part of Illinois, I
believe. I think the first religious meeting that I ever attended
was held in Mr. Dunham's new frame barn, between fiftv and
sixty years ago. There were no meeting houses in those days
in town, and the school houses were so small that they would
348 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
not accommodate a large congregation. The barn is old now,
but it stands there yet.
Mr. Dunham's children were Edward, Elvira, Laura, Elmira,
Artemas and Alva.
Nicholas ^. I>einerly.
Nicholas R. Demerly, was born in the town of Collins, Erie
county, May I2th, 1853, and came to Concord to live in the
year 1856. His father's name was John Demerly, his mother's
maiden name was Louisa Root. Is a farmer by occupation ;
was married February 22, 1876, to Miss Mary Emerling. They
have no chidren of their own, but have adopted a boy, Frank
Demerly, who is eight years of age.
John Deiiiutli.
John Demuth was born in Eschette, Commune of Folschette,
Canton of Redingen, Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, July 14,
1843. Came to America in 1867, landing at New York, Decem-
ber 1st, of that year. He was married in 1879 ^^ Clara Selzer,
who was born in Baden, Germany, Aug, 11, 1855. They have
two children :
John, born Sept. 26, 1869.
Henry E., born Sept. 25, 1881.
Mr. Demuth is now a resident of Springville, where he is
emplo}'ed in a cabinet maker's shop.
Dr. Carlos Eniinoiis.
Dr. Emmons was born in Hartland, Windsor county, Ver-
mont, June 17th, 1799. He studied his profession in his native
State, and commenced practice in Washington county in this
State. In 1823 he came to this county and settled in Spring-
ville, and soon after married Harriet Eaton, daughter of Rufus
Eaton, Esq., one of the founders of the village anci for over
fifty years, and to the time of his death he continued to reside
in this village, and was one of its most respected, influential
and honored citizens. Over thirty-eight years of his life were
devoted faithfully and laboriously to the duties of his profes-
sion. His reputation as a physician was such that his practice
■extended over a circuit of from ten to fifteen miles around the
HIOCRAI'IIICAL SKETCHES. 349
village. No amount of labor, no scverit)- of weather, no sacri-
fice of bodily comfort i)re\-ented him from promptly answer-
ing the calls of professional dut)-. During the long time he
was in acti\e business no patient ever looked in vain for the
coming of Dr. Emmons, if previously promised.
By devoting mind and body to the welfare of his patients he
secured a competency, and the gratitude of those he attended
— of the fathers and mothers who lived and died — and their
children who represented them in the homes they had left.
In all matters of public improvement, educational, material
or moral, he was among the most active and influential, con-
tributing liberally of his means and laboring for the advance-
ment of all the interests of the village. The Academy found
in him one of its originators. During all the period of his
acti\'e life, he was foremost among those who sustained it
and labored for its success.
Dr. Emmons twice represented the town of Concord on the
board of Supervisors of Erie count}'. He was twice elected
member of the State Assembly from the south towns, and was
once elected State Senator from the eighth senatorial district
under the Constitution of 1822. He was also postmaster at
Springville for several years.
Dr. Emmons was twice married. By his first wife he had
three daughters who are residents of Nebraska. By his second
wife, who survives him, he had one daughter who is a resident
of Springville. All his daughters are married and have child-
ren. All his children and children's children were a blessing to
him in his declining years.
Dr. Emmons died at his home in Springville, Dec. 12, 1875,
aged seventy-six years, five months and twenty-five days.
Rufus £ntoii.
Rufus Eaton was born June 11, 1770. He came from Herk-
imer county, N. Y., to what is now Springville in 18 10, and
bought of Christopher Stone the south part of lot three. He
built the first saw mill in town and started other industries.
He gave the land for educational purposes where the Academy
now stands, and was one of the first Justices of the Peace. He
350 iilOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
was married in 1791 to Sally Potter, who died Nov. 15, 1843,
aged seventy-six years, Mr. Eaton died Feb. 7, 1845.
They had eight children :
Sylvester married Lydia Gardner; died, June 4, 1863.
Waitee married Frederick Richmond.
Sally married first a Mr. Eddy, second, VVillard Cornwell.
Rufus C. married Eliza Butterworth.
Mahala married Otis Butterworth.
Elisha married Betsy Chafee ; died, Feb. 25, 1881, aged
eighty years.
Harriet married Dr. Carlos Emmons.
William died a young man.
Sylvester Eaton was born at Little Falls, N. Y., June 17,
1792. He had three children by his first wife, viz:
Peregrine, Judson G., now residing at Smithport, Pa., and
Mary L., who died young.
Mr. Eaton was married a second time to Nancy Wilkes, by
whom he had three daughters:
Waitee E. and Lucinda who are dead and Rosalie, who
married a Mr. Prime and resides at Osage, Iowa.
Peregrine G. Eaton was born July 28, 18 18. He has been
twice married; first to Alice S. Taylor, who ciied in 1849; a
second time to Phoebe ^^^ Starkweather. Mr. Eaton has an
only daughter, Cornelia L., b\' his first wife who married Ches-
ter Newman.
Henry Eaton.
Henry Eaton was born in Springville in the year 1844, and
was married to Hattie R. Mason, March i, 1882. His father's
name was Rufus Eaton ; his mother's maiden name was Eliza
H. Butterworth ; his grandfather's name was Rufus Eaton ; his
grandmother's maiden name was Sally Potter.
The Western New York Preserving and Manufacturing Com-
pany, limited, was organized in 1879, under the laws of the
State of New York, of which he was Secretary for the first
three years and in 1 881 was President. ]-5usiness was successful ;
amount paid farmers for products during the year of 1881 was
$36,504.09; amount paid for labor in 1881 was $21,675.10.
Mr. Eaton is also proprietor of a barrel factory in Springville.
lUOCRAI'HICAL SKKTCHKS. 351
Rufiis C. Eaton died Ali<^. 15, 1876, aged eighty years.
Mrs. Eliza H. Eaton, the mother, died Aug. i, iS.So, aged
eight)-one years, six months and twenty-one days.
Samuel Eaton.
Samuel Eaton was a ver)' earl\' settler in this town. He set-
tled on the north side of the Genesee road on the toj) of the
hill \\'est of Woodward's Hollow. Here he cleared up a farm
and lived in the neighborhood until his death which occurred
about 1838. He was one of the earliest school teachers in this
town.
He had four children :
Fidelia married Stephen Conger and lives in North Collins.
Samuel W., lives in Rochester, Minn., and has been Judge
of the Probate Court in that county.
Dewitt died when a young man, and Horace, whose where-
abouts are unknown.
Williaiu L. Emerson.
William L. Emerson was born Feb. 16, 1809. His father,
William Emerson, was born in New Ipswich, Hillsborough
count}', N. H. He served as a soldier at Plattsburg in the war
of 1812 and '15. His mother, Lydia Pratt, was born in New
Hampshire. His grandfather's name was James Emerson. He
came from England and served as a soldier in the Revolution-
ary war. His grandmother's maiden name was Lydia Walker,
born in New Hampshire. William L. Emerson was married to
Maria Chase Feb. 17, 1835. She was born in Dummerston,
Vt., July 12, 1809. Her father's name was James A. Chase;
he was born in Guilford, Vt., June 11, 1786. Her grandfather,
James Chase, was born in Warren, R. I., Nov. 10, I75i» and
served as a soldier in the Revolution. William L. Emerson
came from Vermont to Ashford, Cattaraugus county, in 1842,
and bought of Jeremiah Wilcox, a farm adjoining the Sher-
man place. In 1850, he bought the Searls place or David
Goodemote place in the north part of Ashford near the Cat-
taraugus creek. In 1868, he sold out in Ashford and removed
to Concord. He has always been a farmer and has followed
the business successfully. Mrs. Emerson died July 18, 1879.
Their children are :
352 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
William F., born April 14, 1836; married July 4, 1856,
Maryette Wiley ; second wife, Sarah Crawford ; lives in Ash-
ford and is a farmer.
Edward, born Aug. 3, 183 1 ; married Ellen M. Carman. Aug.
27, 1871 ; lives in Sardinia and is a farmer.
Hiram, born May 22, 1840; married Louisa M. Re}-nolds,
Sept. 21, 1864; second wife. Laura Wells; third wife, Alice D.
Marsh ; lives in Concord and is a farmer.
Mary E., born April 14, 1842, lives in Springville.
Sylvia A., born Sept. 15, 1845 ; married Levi M. Bond, Sept.
17, 1863 ; lives in Porterville, Cal.
Clara J., born March 24, 1841 ; married Origen A. Wilcox,
Aug. 23, i860; lives in Porterville, Cal.
Arnold J., born Feb. 4, 185 1 ; married Julia P. Carman. June
10, 1879 ' lives in Sardinia and is a hardware merchant.
Amos P. Ellis.
Mr. Ellis was born in Tioga county, N. Y., in August, 1814.
In 1835 he came from his native place to Gowanda and worked
one year at his trade (carpenter and joiner). He then came to
Concord, where he has since resided. For the last twenty-five
years his occupation has been farming. He was married in
1837 to Betsey Curran, who was born Nov. 4, 1 808.
They have had five children :
Louisa, born Feb. 5, 1839; married George Priel in 1867.
Elizabeth, born June 30, 1840; died Jan. 13, 1858.
Eugene P., born April 2, 1842; married Lizzie Bassett in
1864; was killed April 2, 1881, in a railroad tunnel at St. Louis.
Edwin (twin), born April 15, i844,married Irene Wheelock in
1865.
Edward (twin), born April 15, 1844.
Augustus G. Elliott.
Augustus G. Elliott was an early settler, and had a store on
the Weismantel lot near the race ; he also at one time managed
a distillery and ashery ; the ashery stood on the north side of
Franklin street, on Stephen Smith's lot, and the distillery stood
on the opposite side of the street ; he also bought cattle and
drove them to the eastern markets; he took an active part also
hkh;raphkai. skhtciiks. 353
ill l)uil(linL;" the SpriiiL;\illc Academy. He was born in Kent,
Conn., Oct. 20, I77<S, and died Au^-. 26, 1834, at^ed fift)--six
years.
Cliarh's Kiiierliiijjj.
Charles luiierling was born July 31, I(S46. in the town of
Eden, Erie county. N. Y.; came to Concord in the v'ear 1(858.
His father's name was Philip Emerling ; his mother's maiden
name was Marian Lamm; he was married May 15, 1877. to
Mary Ann Belcher ; he owns the farm of 220 acres where he
lives. He has two daughters :
Caroline, born Feb. 14, 1879.
Sarah, born July 2/, 1881.
Jesse Frye.
Eben Frye, the father of the subject of this sketch, was of
Welsh ancestry, his father coming here at an early da}', and
settled in what was then known as the Province of Maine.
Eben P'rye took an active jiart in the struggle for American
independence from the beginning to the close, serving as a
Captain, and was also promoted to the rank of a Major. After
peace was declared he also represented the Province of Maine
in the legislature when it was a dependency of Massachusetts.
Jesse P"rye, the subject of this sketch, was born at Fryeburg,
Maine, in the year 1772. Some time in the year 17S0 his
father moved to Andover, N. H., where he died four years
after. Jesse, then twelve years old, was ajiprcnticed to a
clothier and learned this trade, but he did not follow the call-
ing long. In 1794 he moved with his mother's family from
Andover to Bath, in the same State, and engaged in the manu-
facture of brick with a man b}- the name of Haddock. In 1797
he was married to Betsey Noyes. Six children were born to
this union, viz.:
Enoch Noyes, born March 30, 1800.
James Sanders, born June 10, 1802.
Moses McKinster, born Sept. 26, 1804.
Betsey, born Jan. 4, 1807.
Sarah, born December, 1809.
Jesse, born Feb. 18, 18 18.
354 bioc;raphical skp:tches.
Of these children three are Hving, Enoch, Moses and Jesse.
Here he remained in business with Haddock until the year
1810, when he was compelled to sacrifice his business to satisfy
an obligation incurred by lending his name to a friend. This
left him but a meagre sum to start out again in life, but he was
young and full of energy. The Holland Purchase was attract-
ing much attention, and flattering intlucements were offered to
settlers. He purchased a span of horses and fitted up a lum-
ber wagon ; into this he placed his famih', consisting of a wife
and fi\'e children, and all the worldl}- goods he possessed, and
set out for the new Mecca, where he arrived some time in the
Fall of 1810. Buffalo was his first stopping place. Here he
began business as a green-grocer, occup}'ing a lot and house
rieht where Pratt & Letchworth's immense retail trade in the
hardware business on the terrace is carried on to-day. He
owned a sail-boat and the most of his stock in trade was pro-
cured in Canada, and much of his profit came from the Indians,
who were at that time largely in the ascendant. Here he
remained until the Spring of 18 12, although he had traded his
house and lot the Fall previous to John Pollc\- for an articled
claim of lots thirty and thirty-one, in Zoar. In July, the same
year, he moved his family to Zoar, having pre\'iously built a log
house for their reception. Here he remained some four}'ears,
when this claim was traded off to Luther Pratt for a similar
one on " Poverty Hill," in the Town of Collins. The soil did
not suit him, and this claim was sold to Phineas Orr, and he
made another and his last claim, that of P"rye Hill.
In August, 1 8 16, Enoch and Mack, then boys of twelve and
sixteen, began chopping just north of the great orchard; some
four acres were cleared and got into winter wheat that Fall ;
the )-ield was abundant, and ever since that time until the pres-
ent Frye Hill has dispensed that old-fashioned, open-hearted
hospitality that was proverbial among the early pioneers. They
lived to a ripe age, the wife dying Feb. 4, 1848, aged seventy-
six years, one month and twenty-one days; he surviving her
but a few months, and followed her March 27, 1849, aged
seventy-five years, four months and twelve days. They lie
buried side by side in the family burying-ground on PVye Hill.
Enoch N. P'rN'e, now over eight)'-three years old and still
BKxjRAi'incAi, sKi-:r( MEs. 355
hale and hearty, occupies the old homestead, with some six
or seven hundred acres besides. He was married in i<S2i to
Margaret Wells ; she died Dec. 12, 1882. Ten children were
born to them, viz.:
James, born Dec. 17, 1822.
Ebenezer, born Nov. 27, 1824.
Louisa, born in 1826.
Abbott, born in 1828.
Jesse, born Aug. 20, 1830.
William, born, June 18, 1832.
Mar\' and Betse\-, born May 26, 1834.
John H., born Dec. 13, 1837.
Helen S., born Jul\-4, 1840.
Three of these children are dead : Betsey died Feb. 26,
1847; Abbott died Oct. 27, 1853, and Ebenezer Sept. 21. 1857.
Louisa married L. J. Vaughn, and now lives in Ashford.
Jesse married Miss Maria Davidson. William married Miss
Josephine L. Burgess ; she dying in 1870, in 1874 he was married
to Mrs. Amy C. Titus. Mary married John Murdock. John
married Miss Helen Fowler, and Helen, Daniel D. Nash.
E. N. Frye is a man of sterling character, and in his younger
days he took an active part in all that tended to advance the
.prosperity of the new settlement. At the age of sixteen years
he began teaching, which he followed more or less until other
cares absorbeci his attention. He also occupied the office of
Supervisor, and Assessor of the town for a term of years.
It is nearh' or quite sixt\'-seven years ago since he began
with an axe to let the sun-light fall upon that soil which has
ever since been his home. Hopefully toiling on, at first upon
the articled claim obtained in boyhood years, until he had
touched the meridian and found himself the possessor of many
broad acres, but still onward and upward, and now his years
are verging upon four-score and ten. and \'et each of these
many active, useful years have w itnessed some improvement in
his surroundings.
F<»s<lH'k Family.
Stephen Fosdick, the great progenitor of the family, was first
known in Charlestown, Conn., in 1635. His name appears on
356 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
church records as one of the first to organize Harvard church.
He was one of forty to found New London, was proprietor of
Fosdick's Neck and Inlet, and participated in the sale of Bos-
ton Commons, with other privileges granted at that age to
noted men. History also says he was expelled from the church
and fined i,"20 for reading Ana-Baptist papers ; was afterwards
restored to the church by paying the fine.
Solomon Fosdick, a descendant of Stephen, was born in the
town of Oyster Bay, Queens county, L. L, April 8, 1776; was
married to Anna Thorn, a member of the Society of Friends,
at Coeyman's landing; after that resided at Rockaway, L. I.,
\\here three of their children, viz., Samuel, Angeline and Pru-
dence, were born. He then removed to Amsterdam, where
two children, Alice and Elizabeth, were born. He then
removed to Rensselaerville, Albany county, where three chil-
dren, Mary T., John S. and Jesse T. were born. Morris was
born at Oyster Bay, L. 1. In November, 18 19, Mr. Fosdick
removed with his family to Boston, Erie county, renting and
living on a place owned by Aaron Adams, after by purchase, a
place on West hill, and in I^22 the place lately owned by Am-
brose Torr}', adjoining the town line of Boston, in the town of
Concord, where he lived until his death, Feb. 11, 1838. His
wife, Anna Fosdick, died in Springville, N. Y., Aug. 8, 1858 ;
both were buried at Boston, where a suitable monument was
erected by their son Morris to their memory.
Of their children. Prudence married Joseph Alger; she died
in Boston in 1848; her children, Rollin Alger, Mrs. Mortimer
Adams, Mrs. A. Oatman and Mrs. Miranda Steele, still reside in
Boston, where they were born.
Samuel Fosdick died in 11^64, and was buried in Youngstown,
N. Y.; his son Hiram resides in Salamanca and is cashier of the
Salamanca National bank ; his daughter, Mrs. Sarah A. Ells-
worth, resides in Buffalo, and his daughter by a second mar-;
riage. Miss Dora Fosdick, resides \\ith her uncle, John S. Fos-
dick, at Westfield, N. Y.
Morris Fosdick died in Springxille in 1^72.
Angeline married Nicholas Bonsteel and li\ed and died at
■Great Valley, N. Y., leaving four children.
HIOGRArilK'AL SKKTCIIES. 357
One of them, Dr. A. S. Honsteel, of Cony, Pa., is w ell known
as a physician and surgeon.
Alice married Stillman Andrews, and li\'es in Jamestown.
Ehzabe'h married Camden Lake and lived and died in
Springville, N. Y., leaving one daughter, Mrs. Laurette Tabor,
who still resides there.
Mar\- T. married James Getty, and resides in East Ham-
burg, X. V.
John S. Fosdick was a teacher for forty-five )'ears, is now a
farmer and resides at Westfield, Chautauqua county, N. \'.; he
was at one time Superintendent of Education in Ikiffalo, and
for a number of years was Principal of Westfield academy.
Jesse T. Fosdick, the youngest, now sixt\--four years old,
resides at Salamanca, N. Y. He has been in the New York,
Pennsylvania and Ohio railway compan}''s employ (formerly
known as the Atlantic and Great Western Railway) for twent}'-
one years, and has been successful as a railroad man. He has
acquired the knowledge of controlling a large force of men, is
conceded honest and upright. Jesse T. Fosdick, in speaking
of his childhood, always brings to mind the fact that Louise
Carr (afterwards Louise Alger) taught him his letters, and he
has through Hfe cherished a friendly feeling, second only to
that of his mother, towards his early teacher. At their last
meeting, a few years since, they both showed this attachment,
and when Jesse became a lad again, and she almost fancied
herself again his teacher, it was with the utmost difficulty that
the pent up feelings of half a century were restrained.
Morris Fosdick, Esq.
Morris P'osdick, son of Solomon and Anna (Thorne) Fosdick,
was born Dec. 9, 1804, in the town of Oyster Bay, Queens
county, N. Y.; learned the trade of shoemaker, tanner and cur-
rier of Hatch & Alger, in the town of Boston ; afterwards
worked as a journeyman for Mr. Hoyt, of Buffalo, and Hall
Brothers (father and uncle of Judge Hall), of Wales ; later
entered into partnership with Griffin Swain, of Otto, Cattarau-
gus county ; the\- carried on the business to which he was edu-
cated several j^ears, sold out his in interest the tannery, and
became a student at Springville Academy under Professor Par-
358
BIOGRAPHICAL skp:tchf:s.
sons, teaching school several Winters of his student life ; entered
the law ofifice of Elisha Mack ; admitted an attorney in the
Supreme Court of New York July 13, 1838; commissioned by
Gov. William L. Marcy Adjutant of the Two Hundred and Forty-
eighth regiment of Infantry Nov. 9, 1838 ; admitted to practice
in both the District and Circuit Courts of the United States Oct.
II, 1842; appointed Judge-Advocate with the rank of Colonel
in the Twenty-sixth Division of New York State Infantry Feb.
28, 1843; admitted counsellor in the Supreme Court of New
York July 14, 1843 ; admitted as solicitor and counselor in the
Court of Chancery of New York, July 19, 1843; became a law
MORRIS FOSDICK, ESQ.
partner with Wales Emmons for a time, and continued to prac-
tice his profession in Springville up to the time of his death,
which occurred Feb. 3, 1872, aged sixty-seven years.
Although a Democrat and living in a town o\-er\\helmingly
opposed to him politically, he, on several occasions, was elected
to offices of trust and honor. Elected Justice of the Peace,
and in 1857, elected Super\-isor and served as Chairman of the
Board. Served one term as justice of the Sessions.
With peculiarities and eccentricities, which oftentimes proved
almost offensive, he, nevertheless, by reason of regard for truth
li
RIOf;RAPIII(AI. SKKTCIIKS. 359
and his strict intci;rit\', hardl)' ever failed in retainin<^ the re-
spect and confidence of those with whom he had business
relations.
In all official positions he was strictly and tenaciously obser-
vant of his own duties, and was equall)' tenacious in requirin<^
from others a due and proper obserx^ance of relations and duties
toward himself. His fidelity to official trusts was proverbial,
but was not less so than was his faithfulness to priwate interests,
entrusted to his care.
A bachelor throuf;h life he was most eminenth' endowed with
the most peculiar characteristics of that honorable fraternit)-.
A good counsellor, an honest man.
Beii.jaiiiiii Fryo.
Benjamin Fa\' was born in Athol, Worcester county, Ma.ss.,
Sept 14, 1783. He came here in the Fall of 181 1, to "see the
country," and settled here in 181 2. His brother, Josiah. had
been here before he came and selected land, and went back to
Massachusetts and nev^er returned. Mr. Fay settled on Town-
send Hill, on lot 59, township se\en, range six, and li\ed
there till the time of his death, when he owned the whole
quarter section. When, in his prime, he was an energetic and
successful farmer ; he served as a soldier on the Niagara frontier
in the war of i8i2-'i5; he was in several skirmishes and
engagements on each side of the river, on one occasion a can-
non ball killed his right hand man. On another occasion at
Fort Erie, where he and Isaac Knox, of this town, were not far
apart, a cannon ball passed between them and whirled them
both around ; he was at the burning of Buffalo, and was com-
pelled to flee with the others. After the close of the war he
held several high offices in the militia, was elected Colonel, but
did not ser\e. He also held several town offices, such as
School Inspector, Assessor, Commissioner and Justice of the
Peace. In early days he was one of the leading men of the
town. June lo, 1819, he was married to Polly Bowler, who
was born in Guilford, Vt. Mr. Fay died in this town Sept. 17.
1863, aged eighty years. Mrs. F'ay died in this town Jan. 2,
1870, aged seventy-one years. There children were:
Benjamin Albert, born 1820, died in 1822.
360 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Amos F., born Jan 2, 1822, resides in Indianapolis, Ind.
B. A., born Sept. 29, 1823, resides in Springville.
Charles, born April 12, 1826, died Feb. 6, 1863, in this town.
Ward, born July 28, 1829, is in California.
Polly D , born Aug. 3, 1836, died June, 1837.
Neheniiah Frye.
Nehemiah Fay settled on Townsend Hill in 1816, where he
lived about twenty-five years, and then removed to Little Val-
ley, Cattaraugus county, where he and his wife both died, hav-
ing lived to a good old age. Their children were :
Nabby, who married Obadiah Russell, and moved to Little
Valley, where they both died.
Fannie married Asahel Field, and lives in Little Valle}'.
James lives in Cattaraugus county.
Alcander lives in Great Valley, Cattaraugus count}\
Solomon Field.
Solomon Field was born in Uurfield, Mass., on the Connecti-
cut river, and came from there to Madison count}'. N. Y.,
where he remained a few years. He took up lot three, town-
ship seven, range seven, in 1809, and located there in the Fall
of 1 8 10, where he resided until the time of his death. His
children were :
Ruth married Royal Twichell, and died several years ago.
Asahel married Fanny Fay, and died in Little Valle\', Cat-
taraugus county.
William married Mary E. Briggs, and died in this town in
1870.
Huldah married Isbon Treat, and died in Colden.
Porter married in this town and removed East.
James Flemmings.
James Flemmings was born in Massachusetts in 1786, and his
wife, Sally Loomis Flemmings, was born there in 1789. They
came to this country and settled first in Boston, in 181S, and
afterward came to Concord in 1822. Mr. Flemmings was a
farmer and carpenter and joiner, and built houses and barns,
many of which are still standing. He lived for a while on the
lUoCRAIMIICAI. SKK'ICIIKS. 361
Genesee road, \vi;st of Townsend Hill, and afteward bought a
farm on the south part of lot fifty-one, townsjiip seven, range
six. His house stood near the foot of the hill which was for a
long time called h'lemmings Hill. The old house still stands.
After a while he sold his farm and removed to Springville,
where he was engaged in trade for some time, and then removed,
to Ashford, Cattaraugus county, where he died Dec. 19, 1866,
aged seventy-nine yeans and eight months ; his wife died March
14, 1854, aged sixty-five years.
Their children were:
Jane, James, Hannah, Sally, Joseph, Parker and Margaret.
Jane married E. T. Briggs ; after his death she married Will-
iam Field, who is also dead. She is living in Springville.
James married Nancy Norcott and died in Springville, Sept.
6. 1867, aged fifty-four years and eight months.
Hannah married Samuel Wheeler and died Sept. 24, 1841,
aged twenty-five )'ears.
Sally married first, Adoniram Blake; second, Elam Chandler
and died Feb. 25, 1880.
Joseph li\'es in Springville.
Parker married Susan Babbett and died in Ashford in 1873,
aged forty-seven.
Margaret married Horace B. Harrington and died in Ellicott-
ville in 186 1, aged 31 years.
.Tosepli B. Floiiiiiiiiigs.
Mr. Flemmings was born in Concord on Towsend Hill, March
1 1, 1822. He was a son of James Flemmings, one of the early
pioneers of the town. His mother's maiden name was Sally
Loomis. He attended school at the Springville Academy dur-
ing the year 1840. He was married in 1842 to Harriet Bisby.
They have one daughter, Mrs. Calvin C. Smith, born Aug. 4,
1844, and one son Ernest, born Feb. 27, 1856. Mr. Plem-
mings has resided principally at Springville and Salamanca.
His occupation is that of architect and builder, in which he is
ver\- skilled and proficient. Man}- of the finest residences and
structures in Cattaraugus county and Springville are of his
planning and building. Of those of which he was either the
architect or builder or both, ma}' be mentioned the Leland
362 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
House and the residence of J. P. Meyers, in Springville ; the
residences of Hon. Commodore Vedder, EHicottville, and Syd-
ney N. Delap, Mansfield, and the large lumber mill of James
Fitts at Salamanca.
Abraiii Fisher.
Abram Fisher came from V'ermont to this town (Concord) in
1829, and bought of Peter Tice, brother of Daniel Tice, fifty
acres of land on the south part of lot fifty, township seven,
range six. About 1836, he moved from this town to Boston,
and from there he moved to the West Branch in the town of
North Collins, from there he moved to Pennsylvania, where he
died in i860. He was a farmer.
His children were :
Acsah, who died about 1850 in Vermont.
William, the stage driver and violinist, w ho died in Pennsyl-
vania about 1875.
Richmond died in North Collins about 1840.
Sarah Ann died in Buffalo about 1865.
Nelson died in North Collins about 1840.
Perry died in North Collins about 1840.
Roswell lives in Pennsylvania.
Erasmus lives in Springville. He was born in Concord, the
other children were born in Vermont.
Philip Forriii.
Mr. P"errin's father, Ebenezer Ferrin, came from Hebron,
Grafton county, N. H., to Concord ( Horton Hill), in the Fall of
181 5, with his family. The next Spring he located land in
Concord, where the Warner place now is, lot fift\'-two, range
six, township seven, where he lix'ed until his death, March 9,
1852. He was born in Hebron, N. H., Sept. 4, 1777, where he
was married Nov. 26, 1801, to Lydia Phelps, who was born
March 9, 1782. She died about 1855.
Fourteen children were born to them, all but one li\"ing to
mature years as follows :
Francis, born May 16, 1803; resides in Minnesota.
Samuel, born Nov. 12, 1804; resides in Utah.
Jesse, born Ma}- I, 1806; resides in Allegan}' county, N. Y.
MIoCkAI'lIICAI, SKKICUKS. 363
Mary, born Aul;". i, uSoj; resides in Iowa.
Alice, born March 1<S, i<So<S ; died about i^S^q.
Unice, born Aug. 9, i.Sio; died about 1857.
Harvc}', born Aui;-. iS, i.Sii ; died Ma}- lO, 1840.
Lydia, born Jul\' 19, 1813 ; died about 1863.
Philip, born June 29. 181 5; resides in Sprin<^ville, N. Y.
Nathan, born Ju!_\- 12, 1818; resides in Indiana.
Adna P., born Jul\- 12. 1820. died about 1858.
Achsa, born Feb. i, 1822: died April 5, 1822.
Luc}". born l^\'b. 16, 1823 ; died March 7, 1849.
Lodica M., born jul\' ij , 1825 ; resides in Allegan}' county
N.V.
Mr. Philip hV'rrin has al\\a}'s been a resident of Concord, and
a successful and \er\- industrious farmer. He was married
Feb. II, 1841, to Kmeline Stanbro.
Ten children haxe been born to them, \i/,. :
Charles A., born March 21, 1842; married P^lizabeth Reed.
Andre\\- Clark, born Nov. 13, 1843; married. I 1st), Georgie
Long, (2d). Josephine Long.
Ann, born Dec. i i. 1845 ; died Jan. 30, 1846.
Ward, born Dec. 21. 1847; niarried. (ist). Lmeline Reed,
■(2d), Mrs. Amelia Horton.
Alice L., born Ma}- 19, 1849; ^""^^ Sept. 28. 1850.
Ella L.. born Aug. 28, 1852 ; married Clark Churchill.
Horace Lee, born Aug. 21, 1854; married Kate Hurd.
Nelson A., born Jvd}- 2^^, 1857; married Ella Long-.
Carrie E., born June 20, 1859; died, 1863.
Herbert \V., born June 29, 1862 ; married kla J^lackmar.
.loliii Fe<l<li<*k.
John h'eddick was born in 1837, in Paris, P" ranee, and is a
farmer. His wife's maiden name was Margaret Her}-, born
also in Paris. Came to Buffalo in 1852; was married in 1858.
His father, Nicholas Feddick, settled in the town of Collins,
on a farm and lived there until the time of his death, in 1879.
His family consisted of t\\el\e children, si.\ (^f whom died at
an early age and a daughter died in 1878; five are now living.
John Feddick sa}-s : " My two surviving brothers live in the
town of Collins. One of \\\\ sisters li\es in the town of Flden
364 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
and the other in Sauk count\% Wisconsin. I left Collins in
1859, ^^'ent to Iowa, from Iowa to Missouri, from Missouri to
Kansas, from Kansas to Omaha, Nebraska, thence back to
Davenport, Iowa. I enlisted in the 2d Iowa Ca\alr}-, Company
' E,' Captain Kendrick, attached to Colonel Elliott's Regiment.
Continued in the service from 1862 to the close of the war.
Was in the battles of Shiloh, Corinth, Juka, Port Hudson and
others of lesser note, including the Siege of Vicksburg. Was
discharged at Eastport, Mississippi ; returned to Gowanda, and
soon after came and settled in Concord." His children are :
George, born Dec. 10, 1859.
Nettie, born Nov. 19, 1861.
Mary, born Oct. 19, 1862; died April 24, 1876.
Emma, born Jan. 10, 1866.
John, born Aug. 2, 1868.
Peter, born July 5, 1870.
Victor, born June 16, 1873.
Helen, born June 21, 1878.
Lettie, born Jan. 8, 1881.
The Foote Family.
Ransford T. F"oote was born in Litchfield count}', Connecti-
cut, Jan. 6, 1806. Susan Foote, his wife, was born in the same
count}-, Dec. 2, 1805. They came to Otto, Cattaraugus county,
in 1826, and to Concord in 1838. In his younger days Mr.
Foote worked at shoe making as well as farming. He now
owns, occupies and conducts a large dair}--farm in the north-
east part of Concord.
They have one son, Harr}- Foote, who was born in Cattar-
augus county, March 22, 1832. He was married Feb. 11, 1864,
to Jane Rollo Calkins, who was born Aug. 23. 1838. They
have no children. He resides near his father. They are indus-
trious and prosperous farmers and are highh- esteemed in the
communit}'.
Mrs. R. T. Foote's father's name was Wheeler Atwood and
her mother's maiden name was Susannah Stoddard. I learn
from the history or her nati\e town in Connecticut, that her
ancestors on both sides, were among the earliest settlers in
Massachusetts and Connecticut. Some of them cominu" over
BIOCIRAI'inCAL SKETCHES. 365
as early as 1639 ; and I also learn from the same book that
they were among the first families in the communities in which
they lived. Several of them were graduates of Harvard Col-
lege and some of them were ciergN'nicn, and some were doctors.
STATEMENT OF MRS. HANSFORD T. FOOTE.
We came to Otto, Cattaraugus count}-, from Connecticut, in
November, 1826. It took us four days to go from Buffalo to
Otto. Mr. F'oote went to Otto because he had relatives there.
The first winter we lived in a log-house with another family,
named Buttcrfield. The house was eighteen by twent)- feet.
The floor was split out of bass-wood logs, and there was but
one six-lighted window. The sash were small slats nailed
together and paper was pasted over the sash and then greased
and used as a substitute for glass ; and in the center there was
a small piece of glass, as large as the palm of your hand, fitted
so that we could look out. The chimney had a stone back
up a few feet but no jambs ; the top was finished out with
sticks. Some time during the first winter, about ten o'clock
one night I was up and at work hetcheling flax, all the others
in the house having gone to bed, when I heard my geese
squall fearfully outside, near the house. I went out and saw a
long, low animal near the geese. I tried to scare him awa}-but
he stood there some time, and when he turned up his head to
look at me, his eyes shown like two balls of fire ; he finall\- went
away. I told Mr. Butterfield what I had seen and he went the
next morning and examined the tracks and said it was a cata-
mount. The wolves then were \ery numerous. I ha\'e often
listened to their bowlings in the night and the}- \-er}- often
killed sheep in the neighborhood and in difl"erent parts of the
town, and the inhabitants generally turned out at different
times to hunt and destro}- or dri\'e them out of town.
Deer were very thick then. I have frequently seen them in
the fields and near the house. One morning I looked out and
saw five fine looking deer feeding beside the garden fence.
The second year after we came to Otto, we had managed to
get two cows, and I made butter and had saved up a consider-
able quantit}-. I wanted some groceries and Mr. Foote took
his oxen and carried me and several of the neighboring women
366 bioc;raphicai. sketches.
to Lodi, ten miles, to trade. We started before daylight and
forded the Cattaraugus, and when we arrived at Mr. Plumb's
store he asked us what \\e wanted to get for our butter. I told
him I would like to get some groceries ; he said he could not
sell groceries for butter, but would let me ha\'c shelf goods;
hs said he was then paying six cents for butter (just previous
he had paid but five cents). So I had to sell my butter for
shelf goods and go home without an}' groceries. Since that
time we have sold butter for fifty cents per pound cash, and
have kept and milked between thirty-fixe and fort)' cows at a
time.
The second year after we came to Otto our tax was one dol-
lar and fifty cents, and when Mr. Allen, the collector, came for
it Mr. Foote told him he had no money and he knew of no
way that he could get any. Mr. Allen said to him that he had
some money that he had received from the town, and that he
would pay the tax, and Mr. Foote, who was a shoemaker,
might come over to his house and make up some shoes for
his family, which he did. One year in the time of the Rebel-
lion, Mr. Foote paid as much as $140 tax, and he said he
could pay that tax easier than he could raise that one dollar
and fifty cents in money at that time.
W. Wallace Fieiioli.
W. \\\ P^rench was born in the year 1828, in the Town of
Bennington, Vt.; came to Concord in 1831 ; is railroad agent;
was married to Celestia Pratt, who was born in Willink, Erie
county, N. Y., September, 1837. ^^'^ father's name was Rus-
sell French ; his mother's maiden name was Julia Catlin ; both
living at Waverly, Cattaraugus county, N. Y. His grand-
father's name was William French : his grandmother's maiden
name was Lydia Esterbrook : both buried in Springville ceme-
tery: grandfather died Jan. 27, 1840, aged sixty-one years;
grandmother died May 21, 1849, '^ged sevent}' )'ears.
They had one daughter, Nettie D. P'rench, born at Buffalo.
N. Y., Oct. 26, 1862 ; died at Springville, June 13, 1881.
Frecleriok Fox.
P'rederick P\)x was born in 1833, ''"' P^rlah-Baden. German)',
and worked at farming until he came to this count)'. He
luocRAi'iiicAL SKi:r(M[i:s. 367-
started to come here Nov. 7, i860; his brother Leo and sister
Mary M.came with him. Tiiey embarked at tlie Cit)-of Havre,
in France, and were ft)rt)' da)'s on the ocean to New York.
They came from New York to Huffalo. and from Buffalo to
his brother Christian's, in Ashford. He worked for him one
year and for George Hughey three years. He was married
June 1, 1865. to Mary M. Utrich, of Ashford (her native place
was North Collins). They moved to Springville and com-
menced keeping hotel in 1865. The\' have since re-built and
enlarged the hotel, and continued to keep the same until 1883,
when he sold out to Theodore Frew.
Their children are : Frank G., Mary L., CTara L.. antl Fred-
erick William.
("asiKT Faurliiij'".
Casper Faulring was born May 27, 1839. in the State of Sax-
ony,'Germain' : is a farmer b}' occupation ; was married March
I, 1868, to Barbara Foster; his father's name was Frederick
Faulring; his mother's maiden name was Margaret Taff ; his
fatlier's famih' came all together frcMii Germany in 1854;.
shipped on a sail vessel at Hamburg, Germany, for New York,
and landed in New York Jan. 9, 1854; they were sixty-four
days in making the passage; it was a long, cold and rough time.
They settled on the farm where he now lives.
They have seven children :
John, born Dec. 9, 1868.
Frederick, born April 9. 1869.
Mary, born Jan. 1, 1871.
Ferdinand, born Sept. 4, 1873.
Chris, born March 6, 1876.
Casper, born Jan. r, 1878.
Louisa, born May 7. 1881.
fianu's l>. Fiilh'r.
Mr. b\iller's father, John (i. Fuller, was born in Drx'den,
Madison count}-, N. Y., ^Liy 11, 1805; from there he went to
Penns\-lvania ; from Penusyhania he came to Ashford, N. Y.,
in 1825; he died in Sardinia Sept. 24, 1881. He was married
to Florilla Studley.
368 BIOORAPHICAL SKETCHES.
James D. Fuller was born in Ashford, Cattaraugus county,
N. Y., Feb. 28, 1845 ; about 1850 his father's family moved to
Sardinia. In 1868 Mr. Fuller moved to Concord, where he has
since resided; his occupation is farming. Mr. F. enlisted Aug.
9, 1862, in Company F, One Hundred and Sixteenth regiment,
New York State volunteers, and participated in all the battles
and campaigns in which his regiment took part ; he was mus-
tered out of the service June 26, 1865. Mr. Fuller was married
in 1866, to Emily N. Crosby. They have four daughters :
Alice M., born Feb. 10, i^yo.
Myrtie, born Feb. 3, 1873.
Gertie E., born Sept. 5, 1874.
Nettie, born March 29, 1876.
Benjamin C. Foster.
Benjamin C. Foster came and located on lot fifty-one, town-
ship seven, range six, before the war of 18 12, and was the first
on that lot ; he set out the orchard that still stands a short dis-
tance up the side-hill on the old Amos Stanbro place, and there
is where his log house was located. His children were Otis,
Susan, who married Stukely Stone, Polly, Adaline, Lucy, Delia,
Benjamin and Samuel.
Benjamin C. Foster and Stukely Stone went from this town
to Cambria, Niagara county, sixty years ago, and finally to
Hume, Allegany county.
John S. Foster.
John S. Foster, brother of Benjamin C, came here after the
close of the war and built him a house beside his brother's on
the same lot and remained a few years and then removed to
Hartland, Niagara county, where he died. His children were:
Frelove, who married Whitman Stone.
Lovica, who married Levi Palmer.
Sally, who married Ephraim Needham, and now resides in
Brant, this county.
Amanda, who married Uriah Chappel and lives in Kendall
county. 111.
John S.. lives in Brant.
George W., lives in Elkhart, Ind.
Amy and Alma, dead.
BIOCRAl'llUAI. SKETCHES. 369
Theodore Frew.
Theodore Frew is a son of Joseph Frew and Christina (Bru-
der) Frew, who emigrated from Baden, Germany, in 1831.
Theodore was born Oct. 13. 1833. in Boston, Erie county, N.
Y.; at fifteen years of age he went to Boston, Mass.; was there
six \'ears, and in 1858 he went to New Orleans, where he
remained until the occupation of that city by the Union army,
under General Banks, in 1863, when he joined Banks' army as
member of the engineers' corps, and returned north at the
close of the war. Mr. F"rew was a merchant and Postmaster at
East Eden, N. V., for eight years, and removed from that place
to Springville, N. Y., in 1883, where he became proprietor of
the Farmers' hotel. He was married Jan. 10, 1865, to Frances
^^'ebber; they have five children.
Seth W. Godard.
Seth W. Godard, a son of Nathan Godard and Bertha Briggs
Godard, was born in Massachusetts, in 18 14, and was brought
to this town by his parents in 1816. In his boyhood days he
worked at farming, and chopping and clearing land. He after-
wards learned the shoemaker's trade and worked at that several
years. He bought and sold cattle, and he also drove cattle to
the eastern market. He also owned and bought and sold
farms, and he was for a time in the dry goods trade.
He studied law, and was several times elected to the ofificeof
Justice of the Peace. He was elected to the office of Super-
visor of Concord for ten terms, and in 1855 he was elected a
member of the Legislature. He was a good financier and
acquired a good property. He was liberal and public spirited,
and was highly esteemed b\' all who knew him. He never
married.
James Ooodeiiiote.
The Goodemotes came to Ashford, Cattaraugus count}-, from
near Kinderhook, Columbia county, N. Y., where James'
father, Philip Goodemote, was born in 1796. He came to Ash-
ford about 1816, and bought land of the Holland Land com-
pany near the Cattaraugus creek. He was then unmarried and
was accompanied by his brother John. In the Fall of 1820,
their father, John Goodemote, and their brothers, Baltus, Harry
and William came, all settling in Ashford.
18
370 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Philip, father of James, a soldier of 1812, was married in
1820 to Harriet Vosburg. They had four sons and four
daughters: James, EHza, PhiHp Jr., Ann, John, Sally, David
and Sophia.
James Goodemote was born in Ashford in 1821 ; was mar-
ried in 1846 to Maria Wilcox. They have two children living :
Linda married Warner Bond, and James P. Mr. Goodemote
lives on the first farm cleared in the Town of Ashford ; it was
cleared about 181 5 by Nathan Sanders. Mrs. Goodemote's
father owned the farm fifty years ago, and it has been in pos-
session of the family since.
C'orneliiis Ciraif.
Cornelius Graff was born in Concord, in 1837, where he now
resides. He enlisted August, 1861, in company F, One Hun-
dred and Sixteenth New York volunteers; was with the regi-
ment until he was mustered out at Washington, in December,
1863. He took part in the storming of Port Hudson, the Red
River expedition, etc. In August, 1863, while crossing the
Shenandoah river, he was wounded.
He was a son of Barney Graff, who was born in 1796, and
came to Concord from Montgomery county, N. Y., about sixt}--
six years ago, and settled in the vicinity of East Concord where
he lived until his death, in 1867.
Aioliibald Griffith.
Mr. Griffith came to this town from Rhode Island in 1S15,
and located in the northeastern corner of lot thirty-fixe, and
was the first settler on that lot. Although he was by occupa-
tion a farmer he also taught school in early times and also sur-
veyed some for the settlers. He was a successful business man
and acquired quite a large property, and at one time held the
ofifice of Justice of the Peace. In 1867, he made a liberal dona-
tion to the Springville Academy, in consideration of \\'hich its
name was changed to Griffith Institute. Mr. Griffith after-
wards bequeathed over ten thousand dollars to the institution
as a permanent fund, to be used mainly for the education of
orphan and indigent children of the Town of Concord.
He had no children, and died Jan. 8, i87i,aged seventy-nine
I
HKXJRAi'IFKAI. SKKTCIIKS. 37I
years and four months. His wife Sarah died March 13, 1875.
aged eiy^hty x-ears and seven months.
I>avid E. Griffith.
David E. Griffith's father, Hezekiah Griffith was born in 1790
m Stephentown, Rensselaer county, N. V.. from which place he
came to Concord about 1830, and settled at Waterville, on lot
thirty-eight, where he lived until 1865. He died in West
Seneca, in 1872.
He was married in Stephentown to Millicent Beers ; she died
in 1870, aged seventy-seven years. They had ten children viz •
Jonathan, William, Esther, Lydia, Simeon, Robert, Electa
David E. Peter and Alvira.
Esther married Arnold Wilson, and died in Boston, Erie
county.
Lydia married Philander Flint ; died in 1843, aged twenty-
four years.
Simeon — dead.
Electa died in 1849, aged twenty-one years.
Alvira died in 1841, aged four years.
The remaining f^ve are living at the present time.
David E. Griffith was born Sept. 3. 1830 ; he has always b^en
a resident of Concord. He has been twice married ; first in
1857, to Sarah Ackerson, of Orleans county ; she died in 1869
aged thirty-four years, leaving two daughters. Flora and Alice'
I\Ir. Griffith was married a second time to Gelana Farman by
Avnom he has si.x children-Fred, Nina, James, Hattie, Robin
and Susie.
Yates Gardinier.
Vates Gardinier was born Dec. 12, 1839 ; his father's name is
Abram Gardinier; his mother's maiden name was Anna Yates
I hey came to Concord from Fultonville, Montgomery county'
V \. His wife's maiden name was Selinda Smith, dau-hter
of Calvin Smith; was married July 23. 1862. Their children'are
Stephen A., born June 16, 1865.
Hattie B., born Jan. 25, 1866.
Leslie, born Oct. 26, 1868.
Mr. Gardinier was called in the military service in the war of
the rebellion, at the time Gen. R. E. Lee invaded Pennsyl-
vania ; was on dut\- but a few weeks.
372 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Albert S. Oaylord.
Albert S. Gaylord, son of Horace and Rebecca Gaylord was
born in Broome county, N. Y., Sept. i. 1839. When young his
parents removed to Concord, where he has since resided, now
owning and conducting the saw mill west of Springville, known
as the Gaylord mill, and is also engaged in farming. He built
the mill in 1867. At one time the mill was principally used for
manufacturing cheese boxes ; a planing mill is now connected
with it. Mr. Gaylord was married May 8. 1861, to Mary Jane
Fuller, daughter of Ira H. Fuller.
They have a family of five children :
James G., born Sept. 8, 1862.
Vinton D., born May I'j, 1864.
Clinton D., born Oct. 7, 1869.
Albert, born June 7, 1872.
Mary Grace, born Oct. 21, 1878.
Stephen B. Gaylord.
Stephen B. Gaylord was born in Homer, Cortland county, N,
Y., April II, 1807. ^t seventeen he was apprenticed to the
cabinet makers' trade in his native town ; at the close of his
term of serx'ice he set up in business for himself, which he fol-
lowed until 1847, ^vhen he came to Springville and engaged in
an extensive cabinet and undertaking business which he carried
on until a few years since, when he relinquished it. He was
married in 183010 Huldah Brewer.
They have had six children :
Henry, married to Mary Belden ; is a book-keeper in Chi-
cago.
Caroline, died in Cortland county, N. Y.
Franklin S., married Louise Shankland ; is a farmer and fur-
niture dealer at Brighton, Mich.
Manlc)', married Maria liutterworth ; is a photograph artist
at Medina, N. Y.
Mary E., married liarry Townsend, a dentist at Pontiac, 111.
John B., married to Ella Webber; is a commercial agent in
Chicago.
Allen Goorteiiiote.
Allen Goodemote was born in .Xshford, Cattaraugus county,
IJRXiRAl'llRAl, SKKIVHKS. 373
Feb. 12, 1 83 1. His father's name was David Cioodemote, and
his mother's maiden name was CaroHne V'osbur^h ; his Ljrand-
father came from Cokimbia count}', N. Y.; his fatlier died in
Ashford in 1S33 : his mother married J. G. Searle and went to
Ilh'nois in 1844. In i850he went across the phiins to Califor-
nia, and returned in 1862: went back in the I^^ill of 1863 and
came home in the Fall of 1864; he built the first mill in Ne-
vada for crushing the quartz of the Comstock lode ; he built a
steamboat at LaCrosse, Wis., on the Mississippi, in 1865, and
commanded it for a while, and then sold it and removed to
this place. In the Fall of 1865 he came to Springville and
bought the farm of W. P. Mills, lying south of the village and
moved on to it in July, 1866: in June, 1879, '""-' ''^ent to the
mining regions of Colorado ; returned in January, 1880. Was
married June 10, 1866, to Miss Aurelia I. Golden, of Hancock
county. 111. Their children are Jessie, Lysander C, Gracie and
Cora (twins), and Greeh' R.
Abram Garclinier and Family.
Abram Gardinier was born in Fultonville, Montgomery
county, N. Y., May 9th, i8oo. Piis father's name was Thomas
Gardinier and his mother's maiden name was Mar\' Harden-
burgh. In 1828 he was married to Anna Yates. Eight years
later he came to Concord and after casting about for some time
in search of a desirable location he purchased of Reuben Wright,
240 acres of land situated one and one-half miles north-east of
East Concord, on lot twenty-nine, township seven, range six.
about fift)' acres of which had been partially cleared. He set
vigoroush' to work, making impro\-ements, clearing land, etc.
He built what was considered in those days, a model residence,
in which he resides at the present time. Their children were :
Thomas, born Oct. 11, 1830.
Joseph Y., born Oct. 13, 1832.
Mary E., born Sept. 5, 1834.
Isaiah H., born May 3, 1837.
Yates, born Dec. 12, 1839.
Elias, born April 7, 1842.
Robert, born Jul\- 31, 1844.
John H., born Now 13, 1846,
374 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Mrs. Anna Gardinier died Nov. 12, 1882, aged seventy-five
years, five months and eight days.
Isaiah Gardinier.
Isaiah Gardinier was born in the town of Concord, May 3,
1837. His boyhood days were spent in his native town, of
Avhich he was a resident until the year 1861, when he went
west and purchased land located near Blue Earth City, Fari-
bault county, Minn. In the Fall of 1862, occurred the mem-
orable Sioux outbreak, which was the signal for a general and
immediate exodus of the settlers from the scene of danger.
His description of the affair is very vivid.
This outbreak was the most bloody of any that ever occurred
in the United States. It is estimated that a thousand or more
whites were slain. Ten days after the outbreak a company of
Wisconsin soldiers were sent to the relief of the settlers and
under their protection Mr. Gardinier, with others, returned to
his and their farms.
After securing his crops Mr. Gardinier came to this town, of
which he has since been a permanent resident. He resides one
mile north-east of P^ast Concord, on what is commonl}- known as
the Freeman farm. He was married March 18, 1868, to Harriet
E. Hemstreet. They have two children, Annie and Allie.
Mr. Gardinier has been Assessor of Concord two terms.
George W. Goodell.
George W. Goodell was born Feb. 22, 1816, near Lake
George, N. Y.; came to Concord in 1823. He ^\•as a farmer
and was married Sept. 15, 1847, to Martha A. Luck, who was
born in Buffalo, May 7, 1829. His father's name was Ezekiel
Goodell ; his mother's maiden name was Lydia Carpenter.
George W. Goodell died March 30, 1879. His father came to
Concord in 1825, and lived there until the time of his death,
which occurred August, 1857. Mrs. Martha A. Goodell, his
wife, survives. Their children are :
Charlie E., born April 11. 1852 ; died July 28, 1878.
Ida L., born Oct. 25, 1855 ; died Nov. 5, 1862.
Leighton M., born Sept. 20, 1857.
Mary A., born April 18, 1859; died Oct. 24, 1862.
Henry, born Sept. 5, 1864.
John \V., born Feb. 5, 1865.
HKXJRAI'MICAr, SKKTCIIES. 375
Elijali (ii-jivi's.
Elijah Graves was born in Hatfield, Mass., in the year 1814,
and came to this state from Amherst, Hampshire count}-,
Mass.. in the year 1841. His father's name was KHjah Graves ;
his mother's maiden name was Eunice Smith. His occupation
isfarmin<,^; was married in the year 1837, to Miss Sally A.
Sanderson, who was born in Massachusetts. He removed to
the town of Burton (now Allegany) Cattaraugus county, N.
Y., forty-one years ago. It was then a wilderness. He says,
" my farm was all woods. Cleared a small place and built a
log-house. We had a hard time ; made shingles for a while
and then built a saw-mill, and after running it for a while sold
out and came to Erie county, where I now live." Family
record :
Jane E., born April 21, 1839, in Amherst, Mass.
Matilda A., born Nov. 29, 1845, '» Allegany, N. Y.; married
to Daniel Tarbox Oct. 16, 1866.
Hattie A., born April 26, 1853, in Concord, N. Y.; married
to Luzerne D. Hemstreet.
Horace Gaylord.
Horace Gaylord was born Nov. 15, 1847, i" the town of Con-
cord ; he is a farmer. Was married April 3, 1869, to Candace
M. King, who was born in the town of Collins, May 29, 1847.
His father's name was Horace Gaylord, his mother's naiden
name was Rebecca Powers, his grandfather's name was James
Gaylord, his grandmother's maiden name was E.xperience Law-
rence. He says: " My father, Horace Gaylord, came to Con-
cord from Broome county, N. Y., June, 1839. '^Vas married in
Broome county. May 20, 1829, to my mother, Rebecca Powers.
They had ten children, seven of whom survive. Father died
the 19th of August. 1880; m\- mother survives. My brother
James enlisted in the hundreth New York regiment ; served
three years ; was wounded at Fort Wagner, and also on Morris
Island. Died April 11, 1870, of consumption, induced by his
wounds and exposure in the service."
George H., born Aug; 9, 1830; married Jane Woodbury, and
resides in Missouri.
3/6 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Joel, born April 17, 1833 ; married Eupheme Louk ; resides
in Springville.
Charles, born Feb. 9, 1836 and died in the state of Kansas.
Albert S., born Sept. I, 1838 ; married Mary J. Fuller,
and lives in Concord.
Juliette, born Aug. 5, 1843 ! married Ansel Blasdell and
resides in Concord.
Mary E., born Aug. 27, 1850; died Nov. 15, 1865.
Paoli M., born Jan. 12, 1854; married Church Harris, resides
in Springville.
Jennie, born Sept. 30, 1858; married Court Harris, and
resides in Concord.
Horace has one child, James A., born March 5, 1872.
Beiijaniiii Garduer.
Benjamin Gardner came here at a ver)- early day and built
the first grist mill ever built in this town in 18 14. He lived
on East Hill on the south side of the street where Orange
Parmenter lived for a long time. He died about three years
after he built the mill.
John tirittitli.
John GrifTith was born in Stephentown, Rensselaer county,
N.- Y., in 1796. Came to Concord about 1833 and settled in
Waterville, where he died about 1864. He was Justice of the
Peace in Concord at one time. He was married in 1827 to
Harriet Sanford.
They had nine children :
Catharine, married Henry Stanbro.
Cyntha Eudora, born 1839, married Charles Cornell.
Nancy Eveline, born 1831, married John F. Morse.
^lartha Esther, born 1832, married Fayette Treat.
Elnathan, born 1835, married Thankful Meyrs.
Sarah Ellen, born 1838, married Charles Spencer.
Caroline E., born 1841, married Corydon Steele.
William Henr}\ born 1844, married Cora Tabor.
Eugene, born 1850.
Hoi'toii Urotlier.s.
Truman and John Horton, brothers, came on foot from New-
Lebanon, Columbia count)', N. Y.. where they were born, to-
mOGRAI'UKAL SKETCHES. 37/
Concord in 1817. They located land on the northwest corner
lot in Concord, which had been articled at the land office sev-
eral years before by Jacob Horton, their father, who never
resided here, but returned to Columbia count)'. The brothers,
Truman and John, went back on foot, and on Feb. i, 1818.
they set out for Concord with their families, with two ox teams.
They were twenty-five days in making the journey, and it
snowed every day but one, the snow having fallen to such a
depth that the last stage of the journey was made with diffi-
culty. When they reached their destination they found by
measurement that the snow had accumulated on the fallen trees
to the depth of four feet. The only settler in Concord in the
neighborhood of their new home was Comfort Knapp, who
had been there four or five years. Sylvester and William
Knapp came the same year. William Owens lived just across
the line in Boston. The first school was taught on Horton hill
in 1823, in a log school house. The Hortons built log houses
on their land and lived there four years when they moved
across the town line into Boston. Truman died in Boston in
1869. He married Betsy Carr, who now lives in Boston.
Their children were :
Thurston, Hiram, Eliza A., Sabra, Spencer, Thomas, Mar\ .
Nathan and Asenath.
John Horton died in Eden about 1873. He married Mercy
Carr; by Whom he had children as follows :
John Jr., William. Mercy Ann, Jacob, Henry, Ira, Edwin,
Annis, Maria, Lorenzo, Lafayette.
Mercy Ann married Almon Perkins.
Annis married Sterling Titus.
Maria died unmarried.
By his second wife, Mrs. Rachel Lord, he had three sons :
Orando, Elgera and John. Jr.
William Horton, son of John Horton, was born March 18,
1 82 1, in Concord, and is by occupation a farmer. He was mar-
ried March 31. 1842. to Miss Amanda M. Chase, who was born
in Girard. Erie county. Pa. In 1823, with his parents, he
remo\ed to Boston and remained there twenty }'ears. He
married and lived in Concord, and after eleven years moved to
Boston and settled on the old homestead where he lived seven
3/8 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
teen years. March \, 1869, removed to Concord and settled on
the farm where he now resides.
Family record :
Frank W. Horton, born Dec. 16, 1843 '' niarried Jan. i, 1866;
died Sept. 17, 1878. His wife's name was Sarah A. Fuller.
Irving M. Horton, born July 16, 1850; married Feb. 19,
1873 ; died Sept. 2, 1877. His wife's name was Amelia
Underbill.
Arthur B. Horton, born Oct. 19, 1859; died Oct. i, 1878.
Mary A. Horton, born May 4th, 1850, in Columbia county,
N. Y. ; married to L. G. Sweet, Dec. 24, 1874. Her husband
died Jul)' 15, 1 88 1, aged thirty-five years.
Thaddeiis Hickok.
Thaddeus Hickok was born at Ph'mouth, Grafton county, N.
H., in the year 1787, Oct. 14. He first visited the Holland
Purchase in company with a brother-in-law, in 18 16. That
Summer he worked in a brick yard in Buffalo. Being very
robust and athletic, his work was to wait upon the brick mould-
ers and carry the brick to the drying ground. In this he per-
formed double the work of any other hand on the yard and
received pay accordingly. After the season closed he again
came to Concord and he and his brother-in-law bought out
James Pike, who had located 200 acres on lot thirty. Soon
after he and his brother-in-law visited New Hampshire, and Mr.
Hickok was married early in the new year to Miss Rhoda Pike
and their bridal tour was made to their claims on the Holland
Purchase, both families took up their abode in the log cabin or
house built by Pike, but they soon after divided their claim.
Mr. Hickok taking 100 on the south side. A few apple trees
grew on the claim, and apples were so scarce and rare that the
two young housekeepers counted the apples and made an equal
division. After building a house and doing other work, he sold
this claim and bought another, on lot thirty-eight, of a man by
the name of Putnam. After living here a few )'ears his wife
w as taken sick and died.
He had two children by this wife, viz. :
Jacob P., and Rhoda Alvira.
niO(;RAPHICAL SKETCHES. 3/9
A few years after he was married to Miss Polly Spauld-
ing, and he sold his farm to Ambrose Torrey. Again he
bought, this time on lot thirteen, and for about fifteen years
this place was his home. Then this place was sold to George
A. Moore, and he invested again in the farm just west of Ver-
non Cooper's. On this place the last days of the toil-worn
pioneer were passed. He died on the 20th day of February,
1875. His wife survived him only about a year.
By the last marriage three children were born, namely:
Emory P., Jennette and Charlotte.
Joseph J. Hakes.
Joseph J. Hakes was born in Washington county, N. Y.,
May 23, 1809. His father's name was Josiah Hakes; his
mother's maiden name was Betsey Gennings ; they moved to
Madison county, N. Y., in 1813, and in the Spring of 1824 Mr.
Hakes came to this town, where he lived till the gold fever
broke out in California, when he went there and remained four
or five years ; he then came back and purchased a farm two
miles south of Springville, upon which he resided until six
years ago, when he moved into the village. Mr. Hakes was
first married in 1834 to Olive Crosby, who died in 1838, leaving
one son, Ira Hakes, who lives in Minnesota, where he was in
the midst of the great Indian massacre there. He was married
again to Mary Ann Barr, who died in 1877, leaving three chil-
dren, as follows:
Seraphine, married Benjamin Templeton ; resides in Cali-
fornia.
Manley, engaged in sheep raising in California.
Orlando, married Ada Cutting; resides on the old home-
stead.
George Holland.
George Holland was born in Massachusetts, Sept. 27, 1805.
His mother's maiden name was Clarissa Ashley ; his father.
Luther Holland, was a distinguished inventor; among the
results of his inventive genius are : the first force pump ever
brought into use and the horizontal movement in fire engines;
he died in Springville about 1850, where he had resided a few
years with his son.
380 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
George Holland was married in 1827 to Mary Ann Gra\'es ;
in 1835 they came to this town and Mr. Holland purchased a
large farm near what are now the corporation limits on North
Buffalo street. Springvnlle. In 1868 he sold his farm and
moved to the village, where he has since resided. Mrs. Hol-
land was born Feb. 5, 1804. They reared a famil)' of ten chil-
dren, viz.:
Nelson, born June 25. 1829: married Susan B. Clark ; resides
in Buffalo.
Elizabeth, born Feb. 5. 1831 ; died in 1850.
Dwight G., born Dec. 3, 1832; married Anna M. Nash;
resides at Saginaw. Mich.
George H.. born Jan. 28. 1835 ; married Sarah Cochran :
resides in Florida.
Eliza H., born June 28. 1837; married Charles J. Shuttle-
^vorth.
Charles H., born April 2, 1839 ' married Sarah Turner: resides
at Saginaw, Mich.
Luther, born March 24. 1842 : married Nellie Blood; resides
at Saginaw, Mich.
Margaret E.. born Nov. 20. 1843: married Morris L. Hall.
Mar}' Ann Ursula, born Sept. 20, 1845.
Richard B.. born April 23. 1849.
Cliarles House, M. D.
Dr. House ^\'as born in Madison county. N. Y., Feb. 28, 1820.
He came to this town when four years of age and attended
school at Griffith Institute until the age of eighteen, when be
went to Washington and engaged in teaching for two years ;
he then commenced the stud}' of medicine with Dr. Barrett, of
Forestville, N. Y., teaching at intervals to defray expenses.
After completing his studies with Dr. Barrett he entered the
Alban}' Medical College, and graduated in the Spring of 1846.
He practiced medicine in Buffalo. Warsaw and Springville,
where he was also engaged in the druggist business. He was
married in 1851 to Esther Cornwall. He died in .Springville in
1854. Fie left one son :
C. Willis, born in 1852 in Springville; married in 1879 to
BIOGRAlMIICAl, SKKTCIIKS.
;8i
Jennie Rosier; the)' now reside in Holland, X. \'.. where Mr.
House practices dentistry.
Philip Herbold.
Philip Herbold was born in German}\ near h"rankfort-on-the-
Main, April 21, 1829. June 12, 1849, l^*-' embarked at the city
of Havre, in France, on a saiHng vessel, the (lovernor Marcey,
and was fifty-six days crossing to New York ; he came to Buf-
fahx went to Aurora and worked for Deacon Marrow six
months and came to Spring\-ille Jul\- 10. 1850: he went to work
"^V
PHII.ir HKRBOLD.
MRS. HERBOLD.
for William Barclay at the cabinet business, having worked at
that business in the old countr}- ; he worked for Barclay and
Barcla}', Da}-ton & Rider eleven years, and finally bought out
Dayton ; also the building the}' now occupy on Main street, of
Hiram Barton, who had become the (nvner. In the year 1861
he formed a partnership with James Prior, and since that time
the firm has been engaged in the manufacture and sale of
household furniture, and have also carried on the business of
undertakers, and in the last few years have extended their busi-
ness, and manufacture doors, sash, blinds, flooring, etc. In the
Spring of 1881 he dissolved partnership with Mr. Prior, and
since that time has carried on the same business as before in
382 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
his own name, and also has been quite extensively engaged as
a builder, having built as many as fifty buildings in Springvillc.
In 1863 he went as a soldier to Harrisburg, Pa., his regiment of
militia having been called out by a proclamation from Governor
Seymour. Mr. Herbold says that when he came to this town
there were only two Germans living here, George Kopp, now
of Hamburg, and Andrew Burger now of Waverly. At that
time there was one German in Ashford, and all those living in
this town and Ashford have come in the last thirty years. Mr.
Herbold was married in 185 1 to Miss Ann Mary Eggart, of
Aurora, formerly of Baden, Germany.
Their children were :
Charles, M-ho died Nov. 29, 1861, aged 9 years and 2 months.
Julius, who died Nov. 8, 1864, aged 11 years and 4 months.
Cora, who died Nov. 8, 1866, aged 3 years and 4 months.
Margaret M., now living with her parents in Springville.
Clinton Haninioncl.
Mr. Hammond's father, Joseph Hammond, came from near
the Susquehanna river, in Northern Pennsylvania, to Concord
in 1 8 18, and located near the "Big Spring," north of Spring-
ville. He died in Kane county. 111.
He married Sarah Middaugh. They had a family of eleven
children, viz.:
John, Samuel, Betsy, Joseph, Abram, Robert, Clinton, Wash-
ington, Napoleon, Louise and Cordelia, four of whom are dead,
viz.;
John died in Kane county, 111.
Robert died in Iowa.
Betsy married first, Michael Oyrer ; second, John Morrer ;
she died in Ashford, N. Y.
Cordelia married William White and died in Collins, N. V.
Clinton Hammond was born in Concord, April 2, 18 19. His
occupation has been hotel-keeper, farmer and drover. He en-
listed in August, 1862, as Second Lieutenant of company F,
One Hundred and Sixteenth New York volunteers, and on
account of ill-health, resigned the following December. He
married Sophia Ballou. They have five children living and two
dead, viz.:
ii
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 383
Ursula, born April 6, 1844; married Norman Crandcll.
Josephine, born May 30. 1H46; married Henry Deet and
since died.
Eunice, born Nov. 2, 1848; married Frank Chase.
P:ila, born Dec. 13, 18 15; married Charles Odell.
Clinton, Jr., born July 1853 ; dead.
William, born Aug. 5, 1856.
Agnes, born Nov. i, 1858.
Joel Holinan.
Joel Ilolman came to Springville. N. Y., from Brandon, Ver-
mont, in 1836. His father, Samuel Holman, a Revolutionary-
soldier, came to Springville the same year, where he resided
until his death, in 1840.
Joel Holman, upon locating in Springville engaged in
blacksmithing, which he followed successfully for about thirty-
f^ve years. In 1869, he bought a half interest in the Pike, Wy-
oming county, flouring mills, which he held about four years.
He died in Springville, June 16, 1878.
Mr. Holman was one of Springville's most substantial citizens.
Although frequently offered office by his townsmen, he declined.
Although not a member of the church, he contributed liber-
ally both of money and efforts in building the First Presbyterian
Church of Springville, and was one of the building committee.
Mr. Holman was married in Vermont to Mrs. Amelia Farring.
ton, by whom he had seven children— two died infants— as fol-
lows :
Frank, born in 1836; he was one of the well-known firm of
Richmond & Holman, in Springville. He died in Springville,
in 1865.
Charles, born in 1839, died in Buffalo in 1S80.
Charlotte, born in 1844, died in 1866.
Ella, born in 1847, died 1872.
Alfred L., born in 1849, ^^^^ always been a resident of Spring-
ville, where, in 1877, he engaged in the boot and shoe trade,
which he pursues up to this date. In 1879, he was elected Jus-
tice of the Peace. Mr. Holman was married in 1874, to Addie
J. Mayo. They have one son, Mark, born in 1876.
Mrs. Amelia L. Holman, wife of Joel D. Holman, died May
2"], 1880, aged seventy years.
384 ' BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Peter Heiii.
Peter Hein was born in Luxemburg, Germany, in the year
1847. His father's name was Peter Hein, and his mother's
maiden name was Barbara Wagner. His grandfather's name
was John P. Hein, and his grandmother's name was letronell
Gebell. He started to come to this country Feb, 14, 1868 ;
came to England, and from England to New York, and from
New York to Springville, where he arrived April 22, 1868. He
is a merchant tailor, and his place of business is Nos. 127 and
129 Main street, Springville.
He was married Dec. 24, 1863, to Miss Elizabeth M. Kneip,
from Luxemburg. Their children were :
Elise M., Adolph N., who died April 12, 1878, aged two
years, and Susan J.
A. E. Hartley.
A. E. Hadley was born in this town in June, 1845. In 184G,
his parents moved to the Town of Alexander, Genesee county,
where his boyhood days were passed. His father's name is
Clark M. Hadley ; his mother's maiden name was Alvira Love-
lace. In 1865, he was employed by J. Chafee & Son as clerk
and salesman in their hardware store in Springville. At one
time he, in company with B. J. Davis, ran the American hotel ^
and a "tage line from Springville to Holland. He was at one
time conductor on the Springville & Sardinia R. R., and is at
present engaged in the grocery business with his father in
Springville.
He was married in 1868 to Miss Ella Wilson. They have
one child — Lottie.
Morris L. Hall.
Mr. Hall was born in Java, Wyoming county, N. Y., Oct.
28, 1845. Became a clerk in the dry goods store of J. N.
Richmond, in Springville, in May, 1861. and remained there
five years, when he engaged in the drug trade in Springville.
in company with Henr}- Eaton, The partnership lasted two
years, after which ivii. Hall mtinued the business alone until
January, 1874. Since which time he has been engaged in
building and real estate business. In 1876 he built a fine
structure on Main street, Springville, known as Hall's Opera
RHKJRArillCAL SKKTCHFS. 385
House, which was burned in 1879. I" 1880, in coinpan\- witli
I. B. Childs, he re-modeled the old Universalist Church in
Springville, into a commodious Opera House.
Mr. Hall was married in 1868, to FAla. M. Holland, daughter
of George Holland, of Springville.
Joseph H. Holt.
Mr. Holt's grandfather, Joseph Holt, and Judge Cooper,
were the first settlers of Cooperstown, N. Y. His father, Ben-
jamin C, was born Jan. 14, 1793, and was the second child born
in Cooperstown. He married Betsy Graham and came to Con-
cord in 1820. His occupation was that of a carpenter and
joiner.
Joseph H. Holt was born in Concord, May 22, 1833, where
he has since resided. He is unmarried and lives with his cousin,
Abbie Graham. When eleven years of age he met with a sad
misfortune, by which he received injuries from which he never
recovered. In attempting to catch a ride on a land-roller he
fell off in front, the roller passing over him.
.Fohu House.
John House came to Townsend Hill in 1826, where he lived
about twenty-eight years. He lived in Yorkshire a short time
and then removed to Iowa, where he died. His children were :
John G., who was a physician and practiced medicine in
Springville and Buffalo, and also in Iowa, where he died.
Milton is a farmer and lives near Independence, Iowa.
Charles was a physician and practiced medicine in Spring-
ville and Buffalo and died in Spring\'ille.
Mrs. John House died Sept. 16, i860, aged seventy-eight
years.
K. 1j. Hoopes.
E. L. Hoopes was born in 1847, in the town of Bethany,
Genesee county, N. Y.; came to Springville in the year 1880;
was married in the year 1868, to Mary E. Roberts, who was
born in Trenton, Oneida county, N. \'. His father's name was
Lewis Hoopes, who w as a natixe of Delaware ; his mother's
maiden name was Clara S. Slay ton. His occupation is that of
a miller. Served in the war of the rebellion in the Army of
386 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
the Potomac, in Hancock's Corps. Went through the penin-
sular campaign. Was wounded at the battle of Cold Harbor,
Virginia, and was present at Lee's surrender. Family record :
Charles L. Hoopes, born at Lima, Livingston county, N. Y.,
March 3, 1869.
Florence E. Hoopes, born at Akron. Erie county, N. Y,,
Nov. 19, 1877; died Nov. i, 1881.
Deacon Riifus Iiigalls.
Deacon Rufus Ingalls came from Worcester, Otsego county,
N. Y., and settled in the valley of the Eighteen-mile creek, in
the north part of Concord at a very early day. Here he after-
wards lived and died. He had six children.
Betsey married William Dye.
Polly married Joel Gilbert, and died many years ago.
Jared died when a young man.
Sally married Martin Winslow.
Henry married Mary Bisb\', and both died in Minnesota.
Sibyl married Elam Booth, and died in this town in 1872.
Ziinri liig-alLs.
Zimri Ligalls was born in Otsego county, N. Y., in 1802.
He came from there to this town in 1825, and purchased land
of the Holland Company, two miles northwest of Springville,
which he always owned and occupied up to his death in 1872.
He was married to Patty Sprague, by whom he had four chil-
dren, viz.:
David S.
Hannah.
Ann married Edwin E. Smith ; resides at East Otto, N. Y.
Helen married Rev. Smith Williams, first husband ; Joseph
Chaddock, hardware merchant, at Allegan, Mich., second.
Oavid S. Ingalls.
D.i\'id S. Ingalls was born in this town in 1828. After reaching
his majority, Mr. Ligalls went to Buffalo and engaged in mer-
cantile pursuits, which he continued until 1862, when he
retired from business. He now resides in Concord, and is at
KIO(;RArHICAL SKETCHES. 38/
present a capitalist and real estate owner. He was never mar-
ried. His mother, Mrs. Patty Ingalls, died Oct. 25, 1882, aged
seventy-eight years, three months and seventeen days.
Daniel Ingals.
Daniel Ingals was a very early settler in this town. He was
a physician and practiced here several years and then moved
away. He lived in the first frame house ever built in this vil-
lage, it stood just south of where the Presbyterian church now
stands. He died a few years after he moved away and was
brought back to Springville for burial.
Dr. A'ariiey Ingals.
Dr. Ingals was also a very early settler here. He practiced
medicine here in early times and also kept a store where the
Free Baptist church now stands, and acquired considerable
property. He had three children :
Eunice, married Edwin E. Williams.
Selena, married C. C. Severance, and died June 7, 1856.
Marinda, married Moses Lane and lives in Milwaukee.
Dr. Ingals died Nov. 20, 1843 » aged forty-nine years.
William H. Jackson, M. D.
Dr. Jackson was born Aug. 26, 1841, in Clarkson, Monroe
county, N. Y. His father, William Jackson, was born in Her-
kimer count)', N. Y., in 18 10. His mother, Elizabeth Cornes,
was born at Kent, England, in 1816. The Doctor graduated
at the Albany State Normal school in 1861 ; at Eastman's Busi-
ness college in 1862, and at the medical department of the Uni-
versity of South Carolina, at Columbia in 1873, after which he
taught in the university and practiced in the city until 1877
when he came north. In 1878, he began the practice of medi-
cine in Springville. He was married in 1863 to Mary Hyde,
who died in 1870.
Their children were: Mabel, Willis H., and Lucien C.
Dr. Jackson was married again in 1877 to Frances Rockwell,
they have one child.
388 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
Hiram Jeftersoii.
Hiram Jefferson was born June i8, 1807, in the town of
DoLU^lass. Worcester county. Mass., and came to the town of
Concord in the year 1825. his occupation is fanning. He was
married in 1832 to Matilda Hinman, who was born in Manhus,
Onondaga county. N Y., and died May 22, 1842. He was
married to Deborah Grover, in the year 1844, '^^lio died April
21, 1857. He was married to Clarinda Seward, March, 1858.
who died in October, i^'6i. His fourth wife was Sarah Ann
Bishop, 1863, who died Oct. 31, 1874. Mr. JefTerson came to
Concord in 1825, and has lived within half a mile of where he
now lives fifty-seven years. The entire country around was al-
most an unbroken wilderness. He could hear the wolves howl
ni^dits as they killed his neighbor's sheep, and bears and deer were
plenty. They had no roads nor wagons, and they went to mill
and to meetings with ox sleds, and often went to mill several
miles carrying the grist on their backs.
Mary, born Feb. 1 1, 1834 ; married to Abel Sweet.
Willis, born Feb. 7, 1838; married to Lydia Ann Hulburt.
Welcome, born July 4, 1846; died Sept. 8, 1862.
Sylvia, and Matilda, twins, born Feb. 27, 1850. Sylvia died
Aug. 26, 1862; Matilda died Sept. 18, 1862.
Hiram, born July 9, 1852 ; died Sept. 18, 1862.
Henry, born July 27, 1859.
John Jack.soii's Stateiueiit.
The first grist mill in Concord was built b)' Benjamin
Gardner, in the year 1814 He died three or four years
afterwards.
The first saw mill was built by Rufus Eaton.
The first distillery was built by Frederick Richmond, near
where Franklin street crosses Spring Brook.
The first merchants were Stanard & Jenks, their first store, a
hewed log building, stood north of the Opera House.
The first tannery, built by Jacob Rushm, a frame building]
stood where Hugh McAleese hou.se and shop is.
First bkicksmith, Elijah Perigo, 1814. log building where
Orville Smith's house is.
First shoemaker, Ira Eddy. He kept shop part of the time,
IJlOCKArinCAI. SKK'RHKS. 389
part of the time took his kit and went amonc;' the farmers and
did their work.
WiUiam Earle brought the mail to SprinL;\ille from Buffalo
before there was a postof^ce, and distributed it to whom it
belonged.
Rufus C. Eaton was the first Postmaster.
William and George Shultus built the second saw mill in
Springv^lle on the site where the Bloomfield mill stands.
Mrs. George Shultus was the first Sabbath School teacher in
Springville.
Wales Emmons was the first cabinet maker; his shoj) stood
where the Baptist church now stands.
The first woolen factory was erected by Samuel Bradley.
The first tailor's name was Thompson.
Thomas T. Sherwood was the first lawj'er; came about 1823
or 1824.
David Lero)' and David Bensley were the first fiddlers that
played at " Fiddler's Green."
Ichabod Brown had the first cooper shop.
Abel Holman was the first axe-maker.
The first local preacher's name was Ingalls, a Presbyterian.
William Shultus, Peter Sampson and Urial Torry ran tiie
first stage to Buffalo ; coach and four horses.
P"rederick Crary was the first showman ; men, women and
children came on foot for miles around to see his elephant
came, 1823.
The first hatter's namew^as Herrick ; he lix'ed and kept shop
about where the post office is.
The first harness-maker's name was Tibbitts; shop stood
north of the park.
The first trip-hammer sho]), erected b\' David Kened)-, stood
opposite Ransom's Hill.
The first dentist's name \\as Gates.
Joel White was the first wagon-maker.
Samuel Lake the first insurance agent.
. A. G. Elliott the first cattle droxer.
Francis White built the first cider-mill.
Robert Augur manufactured linseed oil ; commenced about
1 82 I or 1822. Also owned and run a saw -mill.
I!I()(;kai'Iikal skktchks. 391
Stary King's Statement.
My father and his family came from Rhode Island to this
town in the fall of 18 14. He came through with two span of
horses and located on the Steele place on lot twenty-six, town-
ship se\en, range six, on the east side of the road. (Jur shanty
stood back b)' the orchard ; it was built without boards and
without nails ; there were no glass windows and no door ; the
roof was of split logs hollowed out. The next year we
built a log-house on the west side of the road. At that time
there were no settlers in the north-east part of this town north
of us. There ^\■as no road cut out or laid out on Vaughan
street and the Genesee road was not cut out. William Wright
hved on the Bloodgood place and Hale Matthewson had put up
a log-house on the Horton place. Douglas lived on the corner
and old Mr. Matthewson lived on the Byron Wells place.
James Henman lived where Harrison Pingry does and Deacon
Jennings lived on the William McMillan place. In Springville
David Stickney kept taxern in a small log-house near where the
Opera House stands now. Benjamin Gordon's grist-mill was
built before w^e came. Besides Stickney and Gardner there
were the Eaton family. Stanard and Jenks, David Leroy, Dr.
Daniel Ingals, Samuel Cochran, Joseph Yaw, General Knox,
and Samuel Burgess. Deacon Russell lived a mile out Frank-
lin street. John Albro and (liles Churchill li\ed three-fourths of
a mile north. Father lived two years on the Steele place and
then sold out to Nathan Godard. We sold because our crops
were destroyed b}- the frosts. Wc then located on the Cattar-
augus side of the creek by the Hake's bridge ; remained there
four years and then bought Captain Wells' place on Vaughan
street.
After two years father sold out on Vaughan street and located
on the south-east part of lot fifty-one, since known as a part of
the Stanbro farm. Afterwards removed to lot forty-four on
Sharp street, and then to lot sixt}'-one, on the Boston road,
where hedied.
When we lived on the Steele place the cold seasons occurred
and our crops were destroyed b\- the frosts and there was little
or no grain to be bought here, and father went out to Geneseo
and paid five dollars for two bushels of corn and brought it
392 bi()(;raphical sketches.
home from there on horse-back. The corn was of poor quaHty
but, under the circumstances, it rehshed well and helped us to
live throu<^-h.
A PANTHER STORY.
Soon after we came to the Steele place a school was started
down at the Liberty-pole corners and I and brother Windsor
used to go down through the woods to school. The road was
not cut out and it was woods all the way and only a path to
follow. We were about seven and nine years old at the time.
One morning we had got down about where Mr. Weber now
lives, when a panther rushed across the path ahead of us, going
from the east t*^ the west with a young deer in its mouth and
the old doe was following behind and bleating in great distress.
The panthc undoubtedly had young ones down by Spring
brook and Wd.. leading the old deer to her destruction. We
told our folks what we had seen when we went home and they
kept us out of school for some time, but finally allowed us to
go again by taking our large dog along for a protector.
BEAR PENS.
Bears were plenty and they often foraged on the pig-pens of
the settlers. Various means were used to trap them, but one
of the most simple ways adopted was to build a pen out of
poles some four feet wide, eight feet long and high enough to
allow a bear to stand. Now the bait, most generally a quarter
of a deer, was affixed in one end of the pen and ingress for the
game was had at the other, that was closed or shut by a falling
door. The bait was fastened to a spindle that communicated
with the door by means of a cord, and the moment the bear or
other game touched the bait it sprung the trap or door and
bruin was caged.
Father secured an old bear and her two cubs in one of these
pens near East Concord. The trap had been set for several
days, and it was my brother Windsor's duty to guard it ; for a
time he was very faithful to his trust, but after awhile it became
an old stor)% and the trap was not looked to for several days.
It coming to father's mind one morning, he spoke to Windsor,
saying, "You are not very anxious about your trap, but I guess
BIOCKAl'IIICAI, SKKTCIIKS. 393
you had better visit it this niorniiiL;"." Brother started off very
reluctantl)-, but it was not h)n<4- before he came running back,
his hair all on end and so excited that he could hardly speak.
Why the woods or the trap was full of bears, he did not hardly
know which. Father. Windsor, myself and the old dog has-
tened back and sure enoui;h. we found an old bear and one cub
in the pen, and another cub on the outside, l^^ather soon dis-
patched, by shooting, the two in the pen and the other, which
l)ro\'ed so tractable that we concluded to spare its life, to meet
in turn an ignominious end. l^^ither took the cub down to
Dave Stickney's log-tavern, where it became a great favorite.
Upon a certain occasion, when a lot of boon companions were
having a conxixial time, the tempter's cup was placed to bruin's
mouth (rum and molasses). He tasted, liked and whined for
more, and it was given. The night waned and the fun grew
hilarious, but alas for poor bruin. When the morning dawned
he was not only dead drunk, but he was dead as a door nail.
When we lived on the same place an old bear came one night
imd killed a hog and ate it nearh" half up. The next day
father built a " dead fall " and baited it with the remains of the
hog, and the second night after he caught the old bear.
Father owned a large bull-dog that weighed some two hun-
dred pounds. He came home one night covered with blood
and terribl)' chewed up. We took his trail and followed him
back to the carcass of a horse that lay near the run at the top
of the Richmond hill. Here we found evidence of a deadl}'
struggle for he had encountered wol\-es and two of these la\'
dead upon the field.
Windsor and I often \isited the " deer licks" upon one occa-
sion we started out and became separated. I heard him shoot
and upon my going to him, I found he had killed a large bear.
Brother James also hunted a great deal here and in Pennsjd-
\;uiia. Upon one occasion, and while hunting in the above
named State, he had the good luck to kill three elk, and this
being done just as fast as he ccnild charge his rifle. He had
seated himself near a " lick " and their visiting the place sealed
their doom.
394 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Family record of Nathan King :
Nathan King died Feb. 20, 1871, aged ninety-one years and
five months.
Polly, his wife died March 20, 1867, aged eighty-five years.
Their children were :
James, who married Lucy Brooks and died in Golden in 1852.
Alva married Hannah Carney and died in Iowa in 1854.
Windsor married Nancy Carney and lives in Springville.
Stary married Sylvia Briggs and lives in Springville.
Martha married Pliny Wheeler and lives in Little Valley.
Mary married Samuel Vance.
Freelove married J. H. Ashman and died (3ct. 10, 1S40.
Nathan died in 1847.
Susan married Archibald Preston and died July 15, 1850..
Enoch died in Concord in 1878.
Joshua lives in Little Valley.
Family record of Stary King :
Stary King, born F"eb. 21. 1808.
Sylvia Briggs King, born Aug. 5, 181 1.
Their children were :
Allen King, born April 4, 1834; died Sept. i, 1854, aged
twenty years and five months.
Diantha, born June 18, 1838; married Aaron Ostrander and
lives in East Concord.
Diana, born Aug. 29, 1844.
Calvin Killom's Stateineut.
My father's name was George Killom. He came to this town
from New Hampshire in 1809. built a house, slashed four acres
of timber, burnt the brush and raised some corn. The land
he located was on lot twenty-nine, township ssven, range seven,
where Hiram Curran now lives. My grandfather, Cal\-in Stev-
ens, moved our famih' here in 1810. He came through with a
span of horses in twenty-two days. He returned to New
Hampshire that Fall. I was about six years old when we came
to this town. My father served as a soldier on the Niagara
frontier in the war of 18 12. The first school I attended here
was kept in a house owned by Calvin Doolittle, half a mile
north of Boston Corners, where the road turns west and crosses
the creek. Then the school was kept at the Corners a while.
HIOCKAIMIICAI. ski: ICIIKS. 395
till the school house was built up at Cobble hill. The first
school teacher I remember was Rider Cyrus Andrew ; after him
Robert Pike taught, also Joshua Ai^ard, Archibald Griffith,
Elder Clark Carr, Sophia Howard and a Mr. Conklin. Among
the scholars I remember Eri Beebe, Mary Torry, Calvin Cary,
Truman Cary, Richard Cary, afterward the preacher. Miss Rice,
who married Richard Car\-, \\ R. Cary, Charles Johnson, Elihu
Johnson, Alva Bump, Anna Chafee, Lyman Algar, Fanny
Algar, who married Truman Cary, Margaret Algar, Morris Fos-
dick, John ]*\:)sdick, Alice Fosdick, Eben Drake, Cordelia
Drake, Salena Swain, Mary Yaw, Patt)' Swain, afterwards mar-
ried Alanson Palmer, Jonathan Swain, Abagail Smith married
Benjamin Dole, Almira Smith married Dr. Bosworth. Mary
Clark married Otis Horton, Hannah Killom married J. L. Haw-
ley, Clark H. Carr, Louisa Carr married Willard Algar, Laura
Carr married Ambrose Torry, Delia Torry and Ethan Howard.
We moved over to Waterville about 1822 and located on
lot thirt}--eight, township seven, range six, on what has since
been known as the Whelock place. Our house was on a small
flat on the north part of the farm. There were no settlers in
the northeast part of the town when we came ; there was no
road along the creek nor in an\- other direction. Isaac Beaver
came two years after and located on Ransford Foot's flats.
Robert PTiut came in 1826 and settled on the Treat place.
Homer Barnes and his father came about 1830 and built a saw-
mill. Abner Wilson came, and he and Barnes built a grist
mill. Hezekiah Griffith came about 1832; John Griffith and
Lewis Whelock about '^^■. Joseph Lewis about '34: John
Treat in 1838. The first school-house was built in about 1833
or 1834. Paris A. Sprague came in '29 or '30, Bela Graves in
■32. Homer Barnes went to Wisconsin, his father died here ;
Abner Wilson, Paris A. Sprague and John (iriffith tlied here ;
Jared Pratt worked for Aaron Cole making reeds; he was
coming over to our house one day and came across two bears
just west of where John Morse now lives ; he shot one and the
dog treed the other; he came to our house and we went back
and shot the other.
One time the wolves killed some sheep on the hill northwest
of John Morse's, and Pratt heard them howl and went up there
396 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
with his dogs and gun and I went with him ; the dogs went
after the wolves, and the wolves turned upon the dogs and chased
them close to Pratt, who had his gun in his hands, but was so
excited that he did not attempt to shoot, but called to me to
bring him the axe.
One time we built a bear pen and caught two large cubs
alive ; the old bear did not go in, but she gnawed the poles
partly off of which the pen was made, trying to release her
cubs ; the old bear got away but the cubs were killed. One
time we tracked two large bears four miles northeast, but failed
to catch them.
David Kiiigsley.
David Kingsley was born in Massachusetts, in 1822. He
came to this country in 1834, with his parents; he came on the
Erie canal and was eleven days coming through ; he has lived
in this vicinity since that time, and has lived in Springville for
the last twenty-four years.
In the Spring of 1845, he was married to Rebecca Cooper.
Their children are Marshall Kingsley and David Kingsley.
David Kingsley's father's name was James, and his mother's
maiden name was Esther Canady. When they came to this
town they purchased and occupied for several years the Goode-
mote farm on Cattaraugus creek. In 1856, he soid it to Wil-
liam Ballou. In 1854, he built the brick house on the Rich-
mond place in the east part of the village. James Kingsley
died in 1868, and his wife died in 1853.
Their children were David and Nathaniel.
A BEAR STORY.
Not long after David Shultus had located on the Cattaraugus
in this town he had been up to Springville and was returning
home with several pieces of meat in a basket. He met a bear,
which stood up to greet him ; he threw a piece of meat towards
it and started on a run. After awhile he looked back and saw
the bear coming after him ; he dropped another piece of meat
and kept on. He continued to do so till he got home, when he
had but one piece of meat left. He lost his meat but " saved
his bacon."
1!I(J(;rai'III(AI. skktciiks. 397
Jacol) Kern.
Jacob Kern was born Oct. 12, 1844, in the Town of Boston ;
came to Concord in 1868; is a farmer; was married Sept. 8,
1868, to Zelina M. Tatu, who was born in Concord Nov. 30,
1848. His father's name was Peter Kern ; his mother's maiden
name was Harbary Ineer.
Jacob Kern enHsted in company F, One Hundred and Six-
teenth rei^iment — Capt., Dr. U. C. Lynde, Dr. Geor<;e G. Stan-
bro, First Lieutenant. Served three years, and until discharged.
Was at the battle near Port Hudson ; made a chart^e on Port
Hudson May 27, 1863; was at the Battle of Donaldsonville,
Battle of Pleasant Hill, Battle of Winchester and Cedar Creek.
He has five children :
Emma L., born Sept. 20, 1870.
John W., born Feb. 4, 1873.
Mary E., born June 8, 1876.
Eugene L., born Jan. 15, 1878 ; died March 29, 1878.
Edward C, born May 28, 1881.
George Kiiiginau.
George Kingman came here with his parents in 1840, and
was married to Aurora A. Nelson, in 1852. The first two years
after his marriage he lived on the Richmond farm in Sardinia.
i^Vom here he moved to Ashford, Cattaraugus county, where
he lived a few years; he then moved to Springville, where he
now resides.
They have one child, George. Jr., who lives with his parents
in Springville.
" Cieii" I.saae Knox.
Isaac Knox came to this town in 1810. and bought 150 acres
of land of the Holland Land Company, on the north part of
lot eight, township six, range six, on which he settled ; here he
resided about twenty x'ears. This he then sold and bought
land on lot one, township seven, range seven, where he lived
several years ; from here he removed to the north part of lot
fift\--two, township seven, range six, where he died about 1856.
He was a nephew of Gen. Henr)' Knox, of revolutionary
fame, afterwards Secretary of War under Washington. Lsaac
Knox served as a soldier under General Anthony W'ayne, in
398 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
his campaign against the Indians on the Maumee river, in
1794; he also served on the Niagara frontier during the War
of 1812-15. He was a brave, patriotic soldier, and public-
spirited citizen.
His son and daughter are both dead. There are some grand-
children living.
Charles H. King.
Charles H. King was born in Concord Aug. 27, 1845. His
father's name was Windsor King ; his mother's maiden name
was Nancy Carney Spencer ; his occupation is farming ; vv^as
married Sept. 19, 1875, to Althea Spencer; has two children:
Madge, born June 4, 1873.
Thomas, born July 29, 1876.
His father came to Concord with grandfather's family, from
the town of Foster, Providence count)', R. I., in the Fall of
I S 1 4.
William Kellogg'.
William Kellogg was born in Massachusetts Sept. 4, 1800;
his father's name was Benjamin Kellogg, and his mother's
maiden name was Amelia Trask ; his grandfather's name was
Samuel Kellogg; his grandmother's maiden name was Lucy
Snow. William Kellogg was married Feb. 23, 1826, to Rebecca
Brewster, in the Town of Sodus, Wayne county, N. Y., and
removed to Ashford, Cattaraugus county, Feb. 13, 1827, and
settled on lot fifty-two, at that time all wilderness, and from
that time to the present he has lived in Ashford and Concord,
except about four years which he passed on Grand Island
engaged in getting out ship timber.
His children were :
Polly, born Oct. 2, 1827 ; married Samuel Holman, who died
in the year 1848 in Erie county ; she married C. Fuller in 1850
and has since lived in Machias, Cattaraugus count}'.
Belinda, born April 30, 1832 ; married J. Wilcox and li\es
in Kansas.
Charles B., born Sept. 30, 1837; died at Petersburg, Va., in
the hospital in 1865, death being caused by a shell wound.
Hio(;KArnuAL sketches. 399-
II. (;. l.olaiHl.
H. (i. Lcland was born Aug. ]8, 1847, at Hinsdale, Cattarau-
gus county, N. Y.; came to Springville in March, 1866; occu-
pation a banker; was married Oct. 3, 1 871, to Bianca Pierce,
eldest daughter of Kmmons S. Pierce, and has two children liv-
ing, Claude (i. and Guy H.
He engaged first in the banking business at Cuba, N. Y., in
the Cuba National bank ; organized the Springville bank ( Leland,
Chamberlain & Co., bankers,) May 12, 1866, which was suc-
ceeded, in 1877, by Leland & Co., banker, and, April 2, 1883,
by The First National Rank, Mr. Leland being Vice-President,
and one of its active managers. He has interested himself in
all public enterprises for the benefit of Springville, contributing
of his time and means liberally, having aided materially in giv-
ing Springville its telegraph lines and railroads. His father,
William O. Leland, President of the First National bank,
resides at Hinsdale, N. Y., and has been engaged in the mer-
cantile business nearly forty years. His grandfather came from
Vermont in an early day, and settled at Leland's Corners, in
the Town of East Otto. His uncles and aunts, Cephas R
Marshall, Sarah Ann and Marian Leland, all attended the
Springville Academy many years ago.
Cephas R. became a lawyer and died at Milwaukee, Wis.
Marshall became a Baptist clerg}^man and died at Rochester,
Minn.
Elmer O. Iceland.
Mr. Leland was born in Hinsdale, Cattaraugus count)-, N. Y.,
Oct. 7, 1849; attended school at Griffith Institute during the
years 1866 and '67; was married June 7, 1876, to Augusta A.
Potter. Have two children living :
Lloyd, born May 17, 1880.
F'lorence, born May 5, 1883.
Mr. Leland has been connected with the Si)ring\'ille bank for
the last thirteen years; is now cashier of First National bank
of Springville. He was the chief projector of the Western New
York Manufacturing and Preserving company, organized in
1879, ^""^ 1^^^ been its treasurer ever since.
Mr. Leland takes an active part in Christian and benevolent
400 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
work. Dating- from the present (1883), l"*^ ^^^^ been a member
of the Methodist Episcopal church in Springville fifteen years,
and for three years superintendent of its Sabbath School. In
1880, he was President of the Young People's Christian Asso-
ciation of Springville.
Jacob Lai))p»i<m*
Jacob Lampman was born in the Town of Ashford, Cattarau-
gus county, N. Y., Sept 25, 1827, and came to Concord in the
year 1844. His father's name was John Lampman; his
mother's maiden name was John Hufstader, daughter of Jacob
Hufstader, of Ashford. He was married June 30, 1848, to
Julia A. Nichols, daughter of Isaac Nichols, who came to Con-
cord at an early day, and settled at Nichols' Corners in West
Concord, where he continued to reside until the time of his
death, which occurred Dec. 8, 1864.
They have no children.
U. C. Lyiide, M. 1>.
Dr. Lynde was born in a log house on Townsend Hill, March
26, 1834. At the age of se\'en, he mo\'ed with his parents to
the northwest corner of the Town of Concord ; here he
attended school in a log school-house, and was taught the rudi-
ments of reading by Orville S. Canfield. His teachers here
were John Lynde, Gilbert Sweet, Almond Nichols and Alonzo
Pierce. He attended school here until he was fourteen ; about
this time, his parents moved to Townsend Hill, and he left
home and worked for a time in a pail factory at Niagara Falls.
Returning in the Fall, he attended school taught by Jonathan
Briggs, at what is known as the " Block School-house " in Con-
cord. Mr. Briggs was a student himself and a thorough
teacher, and took a warm interest in young Lynde's success.
At the age of sixteen, he tauglit at Machias, his first school ;
after the close of his school, he attended the Yorkshire Institute.
After leaving the Institute, he taught his second school at the
forks of the Cattaraugus ; he then taught at Paris, Kentucky;
returning, he taught in the institute wliere he had before
attended as a pupil.
While engaged as a teacher, and before he was twenty-one.
hi()(;rai'iikal SKErciiHS. 401
he had read law one year and medicine one. h\)r a time lie
ijaxe up the study of both, but resumed the study of medicine
at the suggestion of Dr. (jroodyear, of Holland, now of Buffalo.
He attended lectures at the Geneva Medical College, and
clinical lectures in New York, where his time was mostly
spent at the hospital. After this he practiced medicine a
while at Glenwood, Erie county, where he again attended
lectures at the Buffalo University, graduating in 1859, ^^
soon after located in Springville, N. Y., where he practiced
until the fall of 1862, when he recruited Co. F., Ii6th Regiment
N.Y. State Volunteers ; was commissioned first assistant Sur-
geon. In the Fall of 1863 his resignation was accepted and he
again commenced the practice of medicine in Springville, The
two following winters he spent at the Jefferson Medical College,
graduating in the Spring of 1865. He continued his practice
in Springville until the Fall of 1872, when he moved to Buf-
falo, where he has practiced ever since, making surgery a spe-
cialty. For some time he has had onejof the largest practices
of any surgeon in Western New York.
Alausou Lovelace
Came to this town about 18 16. He was, by occupation, a
farmer; he married Patience Chafee in 1819. He died in
April, 1878, aged eighty-four years. Patience Lovelace died in
1872, aged seventy-six years. Their children were :
Alonzo L., not known whether living or dead ; was a sailor.
Daniel M., died in Michigan, in 1863.
Alvira, born in 1824; married Clark M. Hadley, Sept. 5,
1844, and lives in Springx'ille.
Louisa M., married Allen Mott ; died in 1854, in .Vlexander.
Mary E., married Luther Chaddock : died in 1854, in Alex-
ander.
Samuel L,ake, Esq.
Samuel Lake was born in Vermont, in the year 1790, but
during the period of his boyhood his parents resided in Wash-
ington county, this state. His education was such as the com-
mon schools ot those days afforded, aided afterwards, however,
b\' acute powers of observation and a taste for reading. When
just entering upon manhood he came west to Batavia, Genesee
19
402 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
county, where he taught school. When the last war with Kng-
land broke out he entered the army and participated in the
battle of Lundy's Lane and was at the memorable contest at
Fort Erie.
After the \\ar he was employed several years in the County
Clerk's office at Batavia, and in the office of the Holland Land
company. On the 6th of January, 1821, he married Helen
Phelps of Batavia, who still survives her partner of over sixty
years. About that time Mr. Lake sold off his property around
Batavia and moved to Springville, where nearly thirty years of
his life were passed. He built a small store where the Ameri-
can Hotel now stands, about 1 821, and about two years after
built the store now owned and occupied by R. W. Tanner.
He built the upright part of the Dr. Emmons' house, on Main
street, and also built the house where Sanford Mayo lives. He
had a general store and ashery and manufactured pot and pearl
ashes.
About this time he built the store now occupied by 3ates &
White, in Collins' Center, and stocked it with general mer-
chandise and gave the management of it to his clerk, H. H.
Matteson. But a time of adversity came. A period of finan-
cial depression found Mr. Lake with a considerable stock of the
articles of his manufacture on hand : values depreciated and he
failed. Mr. Lake removed to Buffalo in 1849, where he began
business as a pension agent, which business he followed until
his death, and during that time acquired a comfortable com-
petency. He was a public spirited man and took a very active
part in raising the means to build the Springville Academy, and
was always ready to assist in any work for the public good.
Mr, Lake died in Buffalo Nov. 26, 1882, aged ninety-three years.
Orriu Loveridge.
Orrin Loveridge came to Townsend hill at an early day and
settled on lot eleven, township seven, range seven, and from there
he afterward removed to lot two, township seven, range seven,
where he died Jan. 27, 1845, aged fifty-two years and five
months. His wife died April 2, 1857, aged sixty years and six
months.
BIOGRAnilCAL SKETCHES. 403
They had three children :
Ames died April 16, 1 839, aged fifteen years and eight months.
Charles M. attended the Normal school at Albany and
taught school and died Aug. 13, 1849, aged twenty-three years
and two months.
Harriet M. married Harlow C. Perham. They had two chil-
dren. She died Feb. 2, 1854, aged twent)'-three years.
Amasa Loveridge.
Amasa Loveridge settled on Townsend hill at an early day.
He was killed in 1855 by a saw-log rolling over him.
He had seven children :
Austin, who married and died in Buffalo.
Edwin D. is married and lives in Buffalo.
Luana married Ward Fay and died in Buffalo.
Gary married Lucy Hall and died in Pennsylvania.
Chester was married and died in Minnesota.
Everett and Olney are living in Ohio.
Lorenzo 1). Lucas.
Lorenzo D. Lucas was born in the town of Cato, Cayuga
county, in the year 1S12. His father's name was William and
his mother's maiden name was Fanny Graves. His grand-
father Daniel Lucas, was a soldier in the Revolution and was
in the battles of Bunker Hill and Saratoga. He drew a sol-
dier's right for land of the Government, located it in Cayuga
county and settled on the same. His father was a physician
and settled in the town of Clarence, afterward Newstead, in
1816, and here Lorenzo spent his boyhood days and received
his education. When he lived in Clarence he lived in the same
neighborhood and was acquainted with Asa Ransom, Sr.,
Archibald S. Clark, Peter Vandeventer, Col. James Cronk, Elias
Osburn, Stephen Osburn and Otis R. Hopkins, who were
among the most prominent men of the county at that time,
and he went to school with their children. Mr. Lucas remem-
bers seeing the old Revolutionary pensioners, when they came
to Mr. Clark's store to receive their pensions, which he obtained
for them, sitting in the store each with a small cup of spirits
404 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
before him, the preacher among the rest. He came to Sar-
dinia in 1835, and was married in 1837 to Miss Mary Ann
Sherman, who died in 1842.
Her children were:
Theodore S., born March 14, 1838, went to Ohio and mar-
ried there. He entered the army, but was discharged a short
time afterward on account of sickness and died in 1864.
Ehzabeth F., born Nov. 3, 1839, ^'""^ ^^i^^ Dec. 23, 1858.
Mary L., born May 30, 1842, and was married in 1862 to
John C. Bump and hves in Buffalo.
His second wife was Poll)' Wilcox, who died July 14, 1853.
Her children were :
Sarah A., born Aug. 20, ic^5 ; married John M. Clo\er and
died in Minnesota April 2, 1867.
Charles W., born June 21, 1851, and died Oct. 25, 1863.
Alice B., born May 6, 1853, and married Frank H. Cratcy
and lives in Minnesota.
His present wife's maiden name was Caroline Stone. She
has had one child, Delila M., born July 19, 1864; married
Charles F. Timms and died Oct. 4, 1882. Mrs. Lucas is a
niece of Christopher Stone the first settler in Concord.
William McMilleu's Statement.
When we came to Springville in 1823, the families living
here according to my recollection were, Rufus C. Eaton, lived
near where Peter Weismantle does, there was another house
north of the Opera House. Wales Emmons and O. D. Tibbits,
lived north of the park ; Widow Tanner lived where Moon
does ; Sylvester Eaton lived on the Shepherd place : John
Albro lived on his farm, on north side of corporation ; Squire
Eaton was building a house where Joslin lives; the George
Arnold house, corner of Buffalo and Church streets was built;
a Mr. Wright kept the hotel on Franklin street, opposite the
park; Dr. Daniel Ingals lived just south of the Presb)'terian
church ; Varncy Ingals kept small store on Franklin street.
They were building the school house that stood near where
Mr. Tabor lives; Joseph Yaw lived up Franklin street at the
foot of the hill ; there was a house on the corner of West and
Main streets ; Samuel Cochran lived and kept hotel where
HIOORAI'IIICAL SKKTCIIES. 405
Byron Cochran now lives ; General Knox lived in a log house
on Waveriy street, south side; Samuel Burgess lived in a log
house about where George Weeden lives now ; Samuel Lake
had a small store where American hotel is ; Samuel Bradley's
factory was built, he lived near it ; Jarvis Bloomfield lived down
by his mill ; Robert Auger had a saw mill and li\ed below
Bloomfield ; Truman White lived on the southwest corner of
the Well's farm ; Francis White lived on the Allen Goodemote
place ; the Shaw famih' li\-ed in that neighborhood ; Mr. Sim-
mons lived near where Mrs. Melvin lives now. There was a
log house where Orvil Smith lives, and a small house near
where George Crandalls now lives, no other house on north
side of Main street, east to Newman street ; Jacob Rushmore
lived in old yellow house on side hill, just above John P.
Myers's house ; Abel Holman had house and shop on the Shut-
tleworth lot; Joel White had shop and lived on the Badgeley
lot ; the Benjamin Gardner house stood about where Orange
Parmenter lives, no more houses east to corporation line ;
Samuel and William Lake were here.
The McMilleii Family.
Joseph McMillen was born Jan. 14. 1783. In i<Sii, he mar-
ried Betsey Haskins. He removed from Manlius, Onondaga
county, to this town in March, 1823. He had been here the
Lall before and jnirchased of Rufus Eaton the Eaton Grist-
mill, and the land on the north side of Main street, and from
Mechanic street and the park east to Newman street, except
three or four building lots that had been previously sold. The
land extended north from Main street about one hundred rods.
He paid for the mill and the land two thousand five hundred
dollars. He run the grist mill about fifteen years. About
1828, he built a saw mill a little south of, and near the grist
mill. The grist mill stood by the race and nearly east of the
Leland hotel barn, and saw mill stood nearly east of Victor
Collard's shop. During his life time he sold nearh- all the land
along Main street to Newman street out into village lots,
reserving the land back from the street. He ga\-e a piece to
his son-in-law, Wells Brooks, and two lots to his son, William.
About 1835 he, in company with William Watkins, built the
406 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
tannery, which stood east of the Spring Brook, and north of
Frankhn street. He also bought of Jeremiah Willcox, fifty
acres of land on the southwest corner of lot thirty-three, town-
ship seven, range six, lately known as the Palmer lot. Mr.
McMillen died March 15, 1846; his first wife died March 29,
1823 ; his second wife was Rachel Jones, who died March, 1863.
His children were:
William.
Helen, died in Olean.
Henry, died in infancy.
Julia A.,
Marcus G., died in Olean in the Fall of 1882.
Betsey R., died Oct. 30, 1845.
Stewart G., lives in Monticello, Miss.
Eugenia, died May i, 1843.
Williaiii McMillen'.s Family.
William McMillen married Lydia Sherman, Jan. 8, 1849.
Their children are:
Clark S., Adelaide E., Charlotte R., Sarah E., and Emma L.
Clark S., married Francena Eastwood and lives in Saginaw,
Michigan.
Adelaide E., married William McDuffie, her second husband
was Wallace McMaster.
Charlotte R., married George McMillen, of Gowanda.
Jonathan Mayo.
Jonathan Mayo came to Concord in the Fall of 18 16, from
Oxford, Worcester count)', Mass., with his family of six sons
and three daughters, four of whom are now living. His oldest
son, Jonathan, was killed while felling trees in 1825, and was
the first person buried in the " Block School House," cemetery.
Hiram, Orrin, George and Nancy are dead.
Erastus married Nancy Curtis.
Harriet married the late Calvin Smith, senior.
Lucy married Orra D. Curtis.
The first night after Jonathan Mayo arrived in town with his
famil)', he staid with Captain Wells on Vaughan street, then
lUOCRAPniCAL SKKTCHES. 407
there was no road north to Griffith's Corners, except by follow-
ing a line of marked trees. After a year or two of pioneering,
he located on lot thirty-five, township seven, range seven, where
he lived until his death in 1859, aged eighty-two ; his wife hav-
ing died several years before. During the early days of Mr.
Mayo's residence in town, he one day captured, while walking
along, a young fawn, which he took home and domesticated.
It was given its liberty and used to associate with the wild
deer, which were very numerous. This fact lead to its being
used by hunters as a decoy to facilitate the approach to wild
deer, and as it wore something about its neck, it could be dis-
tinguished from its wild companions ; but one day a careless
hunter found it with two other deer and not recognizing it, shot
all three of them.
Sanford Mayo.
Mr. Mayo was born in Oxford, Worcester county, Mass., in
1812; came to this town with his father's family, as before
mentioned. He succeeded his father in the possession of the
homestead, which he now owns. *He was married in 1839 ^o
Lucy Stanbro, daughter of Amos Stanbro.
They have had six children :
Eveline, born Nov. 3, 1840; married in 1867 to Henry
Palmer; died in 1868.
Harry A., born Aug. 11, 1843; died in 1863.
Orrin D., born Oct. 8, 1847; married in 1872 to Emma J.
Titus.
Hattie, born July 18, 1850; died in 1865.
Addie J., born Aug. 14, 1856; married in 1S74 to Alfred
Holman.
Nellie P., born Dec. 28, i860.
Sanford Mayo died from injures received by being struck by
a railroad car Oct. i, 1883, aged seventy-one years, five months
and twenty days.
Cleorg"e Mayo.
George Mayo was born in this town in 1822; he was married
in 1845 to Minerva Minor.
They have two children :
Libbie L., who was a successful teacher ; she was at one time
408 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Preceptress in Grififith institute ; she is now married to Mr. E.
J. Foster, and resides in Collins.
Charles Mayo, a cheese maker.
Mr. Mayo always resided in town, and nearly all of his ma-
ture years have been spent in some official capacity. He was
for twenty-five years a Constable, was Deputy Sheriff six
years, and has been Collector. George Mayo died Oct. 17,
i<S8o. aged fifty-eight years and two months.
William L. Mayo.
Mr. Mayo was born Dec. 10, 1832, in Concord, of which town
he has since been a resident, with the exception of four years
spent at Portsmouth, Ohio, from which place he enlisted April
25, 1 861, in the First regiment Ohio volunteers, Co. G. He
served four months in this regiment and then enlisted with the
commission of First Lieutenant in the One Hundredth regiment
New York volunteers. Company A; mustered into service Sept.
23. 1 861, his commission dating from October 1st of the same
year. He was in the hard fought battles in which his regiment
took part. At the battle of Fair Oaks he was slightly wounded ;
for gallant service he was commissioned Captain of Company A
Oct. 1 1, 1862 ; he resigned his commission May 25, 1863, and in
June following was mustered out of service and returned home.
Mr. Mayo has served one term as Assessor of Concord, He
was married in 1864 to Clarinda Williams; they have three
children.
Joshua Matliewson.
Joshua Matliewson was born in P'ebruar)', 1 771, in Massa-
chusetts; came to Sardinia from Vermont in 181 1; his occu-
pation was a farmer ; was married in 1 791, and died March 6,
1823 ; his wife's maiden name was Margaret Hale, who was
born about 1772 in Massachusetts, and died April 14, 1821.
They had twel\-e children :
Hale, was born in the }'ear 1798; was married to Pruda
Williams, and died in Aurora in 1875.
Elijah, was born in 1795 ; married to Polly Palmer in 18 18 ;
died in Orleans county, N. Y., Nov. 31, 1876.
Jonathan, was born in June, 1796.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, 4O9
Joshua, was born in 1797; was married to Almira Flagg ;
died in March, 1864.
Bcthia, died youn<j^.
Anna, was born in 1801 ; married Asa Wells; died in June,
1820.
Laura, was born about 1804; married Asa Wells; died in
September, 1846.
Daisey, was born about 1809; niarried Delos Birdsley ; died
at Arcade in 1880.
Phebe, born in 1810; died in Illinois.
George, born in December, 1812; married Patience Starks ;
she died ; he married a Mrs. Damon ; he died at Springville.
Frederick B., born in October, 181 3; married Phoebe Squires,
who died ; he married for his second wife Eliza Gibbs ; he
lives in Concord.
May, born May 29, 181 5 ; married to George Baker, who died
in 1879; ^1^^' lives in Iowa.
Joshua Mathewson settled where Byron Wells now lives, in
1812.
S. H. McEwen's Statement.
My father Timothy McE\\en came to Buffalo in 1806 from
Utica, where he was married. My mother's maiden name was
Huldah Ho\'t. Father was a shoemaker and leather dealer, and
carried on that business in Buffalo on the east side of Main
street, between Seneca and Exchange, where he owned an acre
of land in the center of the block. He lived there and carried
on business until the burning of Buffalo. (3n tiie morning of
that day they packed up so much of their most valuable prop-
erty as they could load into a one-horse sleigh, and my father
bound me on his back with a blanket, and my mother took my
sister Susan — fourteen months younger than I — on her back in
the same way, and they drove the horse and walked in the
snow through the woods to what is now Abbot's Corners, in
Hamburgh. My father left his family at Mr. Titus' and
returned to Buffalo on the evening of the next. day and found
his propert)' all burned up. He set to work immediately col-
lecting materials for re-building. The next season he volun-
teered and went over to Canada and assisted in taking; Fort
4IO BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Erie. I was born Nov. 14, 1809. When I was six or seven
years old, the Indian chief Farmer's Brother came to our house
sick, and remained there sick till he died ; I used to carry
water to him. My mother died in the Spring of 1818; the
next Fall I went to live with my uncle, Joseph D. Hoyt, and
lived with him till I was twenty-one years of age. He carried
on the tanning business in a tannery between Exchange and
Carroll streets, and I learned my trade with him. I then went to
Chippeway, Canada, and carried on the tanning and leather busi-
ness during the years of 1834 and 1835. In the summer of 1836, I
carried on the pelt and wool business with John Bush, father
of Myron P. Bush. In the Fall of 1836 I came to Springville
and bought an undivided half of the tannery ai.J stock of J.
D. Hoyt. The tannery stood on the Shuttleworth lot, east of
the mill race and between Main and Franklin streets. We ran
the business together till 1845, ^vhen I sold out to the Hoyt
estate. I then bought the old Lake store on Main street and
ran the hide and leather business till 1 366, when I sold the
property to Ozro Churchill and went into partnership in the
tanning business with Sampson & Willcox, and remained
therein ten months, when I sold out to them and retired from
the leather business. Since then I have been in poor health,
and have occupied my time mainly on my small piece of land.
Mr. McEwen married Julia Ann Shultus; she died Dec. 5th,
1845. He married his second wife, Eliza Jane Smith, Jan. 5th,
1853. Their children are :
Ida Ann, born Dec. 22, 1853, and died Nov. 13, 1862.
Addie Jane, born Sept. 16, 1858, and died Sept. 21, 1872.
Blanche, born Jan. 14, 1862.
Carrie H., born Feb. 16, 1864.
Seth H., born April 2, 1866,
Earle S., born Feb. 10, 1872.
Stephen McEwen died March 26, 1882, aged seventy-two
years, four months and twelve days.
Joliii H. Melviii.
John H. Melvin was born in Springville, N. Y., [an 5, 1847;
at an early age he was adopted into the famil}' of Amos Mel-
vin ; in i860 he entered the ofTfice of J. B. Saxe. publisher of
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, 4I I
the Springville Herald, as an apprentice to the printers' trade.
After leaving the office of Mr. Saxe he worked as a journe)'-
>Tian printer in various localities in New York, Pennsylvania
and Virginia, and in the cities of Buffalo and New York, ex-
periencing during the meantime the vicissitudes incident to the
craft, until he associated himself witli W. W. Rlakeley on the
Springville Jour)ial mid Herald in November, 1867 ; sold out
his interest in 1873 and started the Pioneer printing office in
Hamburg; from there he opened a job office in Buffalo in
1876, which he conducted, together with engraving (he is also
an artist and engraver), until the Fall of 1879, '^vhen, in connec-
tion with T. G. Meyers, he commenced the publication of the
Local Neivs in Springville, N. Y. He was a member of the
Seventy-fourth New York State National Guard, and accom-
panied his regiment to Pennsylvania at the time of Lee's inva-
sion. Mr. Melvin was married in 1872 to Zelia ]\I. Smith,
daughter of Calvin Smith. They have one child :
Lizzie, born June 5, 1874.
Mr. Melvin's mother, Mrs. Amos Melvin, was born in Pl\-
mouth, N. H., June ii, 1797 ; her maiden name was Relief
Blodgett ; she was married in her native town in 1822 and five
years after removed to Wayne county, N. Y., and from there
to Spring\-ille in 1833, where she has ever since resided. She
retains her physical and mental powers remarkabl}' well, and
relates many interesting incidents connected with the pioneer
history of that part of her native state where she lived ; among
others she speaks of her father's going a distance of forty miles
to the cit\' of Concord to mill, with a hand-sled, it being the
nearest mill at that time — ^1760.
Weiidel Morton.
Wendel Morton was born May 1st, 1781, in the town of
Stoughton, Mass. Here the years of his minority were passed,
and after attaining his majority he was married to Miss Polly
G. South worth, of his native town, who was born April 14,
1779 ; iri 1804 he moved to Onondaga county, N. Y., where he
remained until the year 1826, when he disposed of his effects
there and came to the town of Boston, Erie county, N. Y.;
here he resided with his famil\- for ten y^ears, when he trans-
412 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
ferred his property and bought again at West Concord, which
has since been known as Morton's Corners.
W endel Morton was a man far above mediocre, and possessed
much native abiHt}' that rather tended to the humorous, which
under more auspicious circumstances would have brought him
before the pubhc a prominent character. He was an own
cousin to the indomitable Governor Morton, who for twenty
successive years was the Democratic candidate for executive
honors in the Bay state before he succeeded, and then only
elected by one majority. Before leaving Onondaga county he
filled several positions of an official character, and among these
was that of Deputy Sheriff. During the preliminary examina-
tion of the Thayer brothers before a Justice for the murder of
John Love in the town of Boston, Dec. 24, 1824, Wendel Mor-
ton was their keeper ; one day the Court was adjourned for
dinner, leaving Morton, the prisoners and a few spectators in
possession of the room; Israel Thayer stepped to the Justice's
desk, and taking the Bible he presented it to Morton, saying with
much bravado, " Elder, you preach us a sermon from a text."
Morton received the book and deliberately opened it, when the
first thing that his eye rested upon was this impressive pas-
sage : which he rendered in a low and solemn voice " He
that sheddeth man's blood by man his blood shall be
shed." This fell upon the culprit's guilty conscience like a
clap of thunder from a clear and cloudless sky, all his assumed
stoicism fled at the just accusation, and he spitefully snatched
the Bible from Morton's hand, saying with an oath, " You are
a poor preacher and I don't want to hear any more of your
talk." Morton said, " From the very looks of the accused one's
face upon my reading this passage I became convinced that the
right ones had been apprehended, as the sequel proved."
During the later days of his life he became partially blind,
but this affliction did not destro}- his genial nature, and almost
up to the closing scene, he had alwa\'s recourse to a fund of
rich and racy anecdote to entertain his friends He died Oct.
4, 1868, after having compassed nearh' four score years and ten.
Mrs. Morton was of the old school of gentlewomen, whose
every day deportment made the humblest of homes a paradise,
and not onlv this but it carried consolation to the homes of
BIOORAI'IIICAL SKKTC IIKS. 413
-cUhci's in life's darkest hours. She cheerfully accepted each
situation and made the most of it without a murmur. Mer
identic, uniform kindness, combined with a nature that entered
largely into the burdens and sorrows of others, won for her
hosts of friends who mourned her death as a mother. She
departed this life Aug. 7, 1858.
Five children were born to this union, v\z. :
Eliza S., born Sept. 14, 1804; died Dec. 28, 1877.
Otis C, bom
Alanson P., born April 14, 1811 ; died March 4, 1872.
Mary A., born 1816; died 1848.
Samuel A., born May 8, 18 18.
Saiuiii'l A. Morton.
Samuel A. Morton was born in the town of Manlius, Onondaga
county, N. Y., May 8, 18 18, and came to this town (Concord)
in the year 1830. For a term of years, he in company with
his brother Alanson, carried on the business of hotel keeping
at Morton's Corners together with that of farming. Mr. Mor-
ton held a commission as Postmaster at Morton's Corners,
under the administration of Franklin Pierce and also of James
Buchanan, Sept. 27, 1853. He was united in matrimon\- to
Miss Ursula P. Ostrander, who was born Nov. 5, 1827, in the
town of Hoosic, Rensselaer county, N. Y., and he took his bride
to the very place that has since been their home. Mr. Morton
is what might be termed a progressive farmer, who, being fully
impressed with the belief that the comforts of life may be
enjoyed by those who till the soil as well as by those who live
at careless ease on an assured competence, has surrounded his
home with every convenience that the age affords, and thouo-h
his years now number more than three score, time has dealt
leniently with him and finds him in possession of health,
strength and vigor to prosecute the labors ef his favorite and
chosen calling.
Four children were born to this union, viz. :
Mar\' A., born Aug. 24, 1854; died Oct. 9, 1854.,
Laura F., born Aug. 23, 1855.
Wendell J., born March 30, 1859.
Carroll G., born Dec. 25, i860.
414 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
John P. Myers.
John P. Myers was born in the town of Hume, Allegany
county, July 4, 1843. He came to Springville in the year 1877
from Sardinia. He is a merchant and one of the firm of Beebe
& Myers, extensive dealers in dry goods. He was married in
the year 1870 to Miss Florence A. Beebe. They have had two
children both of whom died young.
In October, 1861, Mr. Myers enlisted in the one hundred and
fourth regiment, New York State Volunteers, to serve three
years. He was engaged in nearly all the battles of the Army
of the Potomac until the battle of Antietam, where he \\as
wounded by a musket-ball shattering the bone near the ankle.
The ball was taken out seven years afterward, which he has
preserved in remembrance of Antietam. Was in the hospital
five months A\hen he was offered his discharge, but refused it
preferring to rejoin his command. Was taken prisoner at Get-
tysburg, July I, 1863, and was taken to Belle Island near Rich-
mond, where he remained about seven months, from there to
Andersonville, where he remained until Sherman on his march
to the sea, came so near to them that they were taken to Camp
Millen, from there to Savannah, from there to Jacksonville,
Fla., and from there back to Andersonville on Christmas day,
where he remained until the close of the war, making him a
prisoner twenty-two months. What he suffered during his long
confinement in Rebel prisons, helps to make up one of the
darkest pages in our American history.
Elisha Mack.
Elisha Mack came to this town in 1827. He was a la\\}-er
and held the of^ce of Justice of the Peace in the town a num-
ber of years and also was Post Master in Springville twelve
years. He engaged to some extent in the mercantile business
and built a store and dwelling house where the Presbyterii.a
Church now stands. He was also a farmer and managed a farm
on the east part of lot nine. He sold out his business in this
town and moved to Illinois in 1846, and settled near Xauvoo,
where he died soon after. He had four children :
Sarah, James, Helen and Benjamin, who are all li\ing in the
west.
BIOCrRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 415
Andrew McLin.
Andrew McLin settled on lot thirteen, on Townscnd Hill,
in 1 8 17. He died a few years afterwards, leaving three children.
Jacob, was killed when a young man, by a falling tree while
felling trees in the woods.
Polly, was a school teacher and married Asa R. Trevitt and
died in the town of West Seneca.
Martha, married Levi Ballou and died in Buffalo.
fJac'ob Mar.siolja.
Jacob Marsielja was born in Holland, Europe, Dec. 22, 1837.
Came to America when about eight years of age, and to Con-
cord about 1865 ; married Margaret C. Baker in 1866. They
have five children :
Sarah A., born May 22, 1872.
Charles E., born Feb. 26, 1874.
Ella M., born May 21, 1876.
Clyde J., born Aug. 27, 1877.
George A., born May 9, 1879.
Mrs. Marsielja's father, William Baker, one of Concord's
early pioneers, was born in Orange, Franklin county, Mass.,
March i, iSoi. He came to Concord in 18 17, and located near
East Concord, and has been a resident of the town ever since.
He was married in Concord to Anstris Edwards, who was
born in Providence, R. L, Nov. 9, 1798. She had been pre-
viously married in New England, to Ansel Norcott, with whom
she came to Concord about 1820. Mr. Norcott died leaving
two daughters :
Nancy R., married James Fleming.
Catherine, married Dr. Henry D\'e and since died.
l-5y her second marriage, with Mr. Baker, they had eight
children :
Lyman P., born 1826; married Matilda Strickland.
Cynthia, born 1828; married Rev. Charles Shelling.
Ansel, born 1830; married Jennie P^irman ; died 1869.
Eldridge, born 1833 • died young.
Ovanda, i| . , n ) married Frank Kester.
„ . , ■ twms, born 1835, ,- . , ,w-,i- it-t
Uvmda, ', ) married William Wilcox.
Margaret C, born 1838 ; married Jacob Marsielja.
Mary E., born 1842; married William Power; died 1866.
41 6 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
Frederick Meyer.
Frederick Meyer was born May, 1836, in the City of Buffalo,
and came to Concord in 1858. Was married June, 1856, to
Magdalena Derrinberger, who was born in 1837. He is a
farmer by occupation. His father's name is George Meyer;
his mother's maiden name was Magdalena Haas. His father
has lived in Boston seventeen years. Family record :
George, born March 27, 1857.
Frederick, born Aug. 13, 1859.
William A., born March 26, 1863.
Henrietta, born July 16, 1873.
Albert, born June 12, 1879.
William P. Mills.
William P. Mills was born Jan.. 8, 1822, in Middletown,
Orange county, New York. His father's name was Ebenezer
Mills ; his mother's maiden name was Maria Coleman. For
several years before reaching his majority, Mr. Mills was a mer-
chant's clerk in his native village. He was married in May,
1845, to Deborah Clark, and, in the following December re-
moved to this town with his father-in-law onto Townsend Hill.
He has resided at different places in town ever since, and has
been extensively engaged in farming, dairying and cheese-buy-
ing. They have three children, viz.:
H. Eugene, married in 1873 to Lottie Crary, ^\•ho has since
died. Mr. Mills' present business is selling carriages.
Frances M. married Ralph Greene, dentist ; resides at Fre-
donia, N. Y.
Clark W., drug clerk.
Saiiford Mathe"vi'SOii.
His father's name was Charles Mathewson ; his mother's
maiden name was Cordelia French ; his grandfather's name
was Jonathan Mathewson ; his grandmother's maiden name
Lucy Crosby. He was born in the Town of Sardinia, Aug. 3,
1846. He was married in the year 1874 to Miss Jennie L.
Otis, daughter of James Otis of Sardinia. He has resided in
Sardinia, Yorkshire and Concord, and has followed the business
of farming.
Their children are Gracie E. and James C.
IJIOCKAI'IIICAI. SKETCHES. 417
Abraliaui Mi<ldeauj;Ii.
Abraham Middcaugh came here, bou<^ht and took a deed of
lot nine, consisting of the south part of theVillage of Springville,
in 1817. He also articled other lands and returned home and
began making preparations to move here. He had sent on a
part of his goods, and while preparing to follow himself with
the remaintler; he liad occasion to stay one night at a hotel ; he
got up early and went out to the barn to take care of his horse,
which kicked him, causing his death a short time after. Some
of his friends came here and disposed of the goods alread)'
bought and also the land he had bought.
He was a brother of Mrs. Daniel Tice and Mrs. Joseph Ham-
mond.
Hugh McAleese.
Hugh McAleese was born at Ballymana, County Antrim, Ire-
land, in 1832. His father's name was Daniel and his mother's
maiden name was Eliza Quinn. He came to this country on
a sailing vessel in 1848; w^as nine weeks and three days cross-
ing to New York ; went to Kinderhook, Columbia county, and
learned his trade in Kinderhook and Albany. He came to
Springville in i860, and has carried on the blacksmithing busi-
ness here since that time.
His brother, John who was killed by the cars in Canada in
1859, came here before he did and run a blacksmith shop.
Hugh was married to Miss Hannah Feigh in 1863. Their
children are John E., James, Hugh, Sarah and Jessie.
Lewis Nichols.
Lewis Nichols was born June 12, 1773. He married Betsy
Hovell, who was born July 18, 1774. They came to this town
from Scipio, Cayuga county, N. Y. in 181 8, and located at what
has since been known as Nichols' Corners, where Mr. Nichols,
always lived until his death in 1862 ; Mrs. Nichols having died
in 1854. Their children were:
Abijah,born March 5. 1792; married Anna Pixly ; died about
1872, in town.
Lucy, born March 9, 1794; married Stephen Knight, F. W. B.
minister; died about 1871.
41 8 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Polly, born July 3, 1796; married Arza King; died about
1865, in Cayuga county.
Sally, born Sept. 3, 1798; married William Elliot; resides in
Cayuga county.
Isaac, born March 12, 1801 ; married Zilpha Ford; died
in town.
Betsy, born April 29, 1803; married Orrin Lewis; died
about 1844, at Dubuque, Iowa.
David, born May 28, 1805 ; was a M. E. minister; died about
1876, in Kansas.
Lewis, born Feb. 14, 1808 ; died in Illinois about i860.
Aner, born April 28, 1810; married Joshua Steele; died
about 1 87 1, in town.
John, born Aug. 11, 1817; married Clarinda Richardson in
1 840.
Nancy, born Sept. 5, 1820; married Orrin Lewis, resides in
Dubuque, Iowa.
John Nichols.
John Nichols come to town with his father and alwa}'s
resided upon the homestead until 1869, when he moved to
Springville, where Mr. Nichols died in 1875. He has held the
offices of Assessor and Overseer of Poor. Their children are :
Betsy, died when a child.
Charles H., married Elva Styles in 1870; resides on the
homestead.
Levi L., married Elizabeth Carroll in 1869; resides in Buf-
falo ; cattle dealer.
Carlos J., married Addie Campbell in 1870; resides at Rich-
wood, Ohio ; dentist.
Lawrence, married Addie Davis ; have one son, Arthur ; drug-
gist in Springville.
Isaac Nichols.
Isaac Nichols, son of Louis and Betsy Nichols, was born
March 12, 1801, in Huntington, Conn. When seventeen years
of age, he removed to Concord, where he resided until his
death, Dec. 10, 1864. He was married Dec. 24, 1820, to Zil-
HIOCKAl'IIICyVL SKETCHES. 419
pah Ford. The following;" is the faniilx' record of their cliil-
dren :
Luther r\, born, Oct. 3, 1822; married, first to Juha Ann
Woodbur)' ; lives in Iowa.
Harriet P., born Nov. 5, 1823 ; married Dewe}' Tift ; died
June 1 1, 1882.
Martha H., born June 25, 1825 ; married Alanson Ford ;
h'ves in Iowa.
Julia Ann, born July 19, 1827; married Jacob Lampman.
Lucy M., born Nov. 21, 1829 ; married William Woodbur\- ;
lix'es in Hamburg-.
Alvin L., born June 26, 183 1 ; married, first to Lllen Hyde,
second, to Maria Styles.
David B., born Feb. 3, 1835 ; died July 23, 1856.
Isaac N., born Sept. 18, 1837; married Helen Smith; killed
by a falling tree March 7, 1862.
Mariette, born Nov. 5, 1841, married Jasj^er Luther; lixes in
Collins.
Aliuoii Nichols.
Almon Nichols was born March 12, 18 19, His father, Abi-
jah S. Nichols, was born in Connecticut, and removed to Scip-
io, Cayuga county, N. Y., and subsequently came to the town
of Concord in the year 1818; his mother's maiden name was
Anna Pixley. Almon Nichols is a farmer by occupation; was
married in the year 1842 to Melissa Griswold, who died in the
year 1847 ! "^"^'^^ married to Clarinda Webster Feb. 10, 1850, who
died April 15, 1851, and was married to Diana Richardson, his
present wife, Aug. 25, 1851, who was the daughter of Jeremiah
Richardson, and was born July 4, 1824. Mr. Nichols has taught
fifteen terms of school in this and other towns. He was elected
Justice in 1S70.
His children are :
Wallace, born Feb. 16, 1845 ; married Jenette Briggs.
Betsey Clarinda. born April 12, 185 i; married LcKo\- Mil-
lington.
Helen, born June 4, 1852; married I-Ldward Hatch.
Manley, born Aug. 14, 1854; married Ilattie Sherman.
420 KIOCRAI'IIICAL SKETCHES.
Beiijaiiiiii Nelson.
Benjamin Nelson came to this town from Brandon, Vt., about
1818; his wife's maiden name was Annie Morton. He settled
on the Cattaraut^us creek on the farm now owned by H. T.
Wadsworth ; from there he moved to the place where John
Vosburg now lives ; this he soon after sold and bought the
place where Charles Pingrey now lives ; he then moved to the
Horton place on Vaughan street, where his wife and three chil-
dren died ; he afterwards moved to Springville, where he died
April 14, 1861 ; Mrs. Nelson died Sept. 12, 1850.
They had ten children:
Wilbur A., died Sept. 21, 1850.
Jonathan M., died in 1846.
Aurora A., married George Kingman and lives in S[)ring-
■ville.
Abercia, married Damon Dodge; lives in Minnesota.
Alberto O., lives in Michigan.
Franklin J., lives in Dansville, N. Y.
Wells C, lives in Machias.
Julius G.. died in 1850.
Maria A., married William Josh'n ; lives in Si)ringville.
Harriet M., died in 1850.
Labau A. NetMlham.
Mr. Needham's father, Oliver Needham, was born in Massa-
chusetts; was married there in 181 3, to Lodisa Green ; came
from there to this town in the Fall of 18 19, and settled on lot
six, range seven, township seven, where he always resided until
his death in 1873. In the earlier days of our town he was
Supervisor several )X'ars, and afterwards served as Assessor a
number of terms.
He had five sons, viz.:
Laban A.
Charles, married Eveline Martin ; resides in Boston.
Aaron (j., married Melissa Blanchard ; resitle in town.
Da\id, married Lovina F^ields; resides in Wisconsin.
Warren, resides in Florida.
Laban A. Needham was born Nov. 6, 181 3, in Massachusetts.
He came to this town with his ])arents w hen si.x years of age ;
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 421
in 1.S27 he i)iircliasccl land of the 1 lollaiul C(jmpan)- on the same
lot that his father localetl on, A\hich he has ever since owned
and occupied; between 1830 and 1840 he tau^^ht seven terms
of scliool in Concord ; he was Captain of Mihtia four )X'ars,
from 1839 to 1843. In 1843 !''<-' was married to Mariam Twich-
ell. Mr. Needham has served tlie town as Assessor tweh'e
years in succession, from 1859 ^*' 1871.
Theodore 15. Norri!-.
Theodore B. Norris was born Au^. 3, i8z^., in Oneida count)',
N. \'., and came to Springville in 1847 : he enlisted under the
call of Jul)- 2, 1862; was mustered into the service at RufTalo
Aug. 18, 1862, Compan)- F, One Hundred and Sixteenth regi-
ment. New York volunteers; left September 15th and went
into camp near Baltimore, under command of (leneral Wool ;
left for Louisiana November 5th ; on arriving at New Orleans
his regiment was transferred to General Banks' command, first
dix'ision of the nineteenth army corps, under Brig. -Gen. Wil-
liam H. Emory; he was a member of the volunteer stornnng
party known as " The Forlorn Hope," which was selected for
the storming of Port Hudson ; in this siege he lost an eye; he
participated in the Red river expedition and the battles result-
ing from it; he left Louisiana for Virginia July 5, 1864, arriv-
ing in time to take part in opposing General Early's raid upon
Washington ; his regiment next joined Sheridan in the Shen-
andoah Valley campaign, and took part in the battles of Win"
Chester, Cedar Creek, &c.; after doing three months guard
dut)' at the national capital, he was mustered out of the ser\-ice
June 5, 1865 ; he was Corporal of his compan)-.
Mr. Norris was married in 1872 to Lucinda Hazard; they
have one child, Mabel Norris. Mr. Norris has been Town
Clerk and Collector, and on Jan. 9, J 875, he was commissioned
Postmaster at Springville, which position he has ever since ably
filled.
Ei»lii'aiiii Nee<lhain.
Ephraim Needham was born in Massachusetts in 1791 and
came to this town in company \\ith William and Lucy Chapin.
He settled on lot forty-five, township seven, range six, in
422 bio(;raphical sketches.
1817. He was married to Sally Foster, April, 1820, and went
to Illinois in 1847 ^'""tl died there in 1855. They had five
children :
Huldah, Lysander, Albert, Roana and George, all of whom
are dead except Lysander and Albert; who live in Illinois.
Mrs. Needham is living with her son Lysander, in Brant.
Lysander Needham.
Lysander Needham was born in Concord, Jan, 12, 1823, and
was married to Almeda Cranston June 16, 1834. After her
death he was married to Catharine Tabor, Aug. 30, 1837. By
his first wife he had two children :
Roana, born Jan. 17, 1847; died Aug. 24, 1871.
Ephraim A., born .Sept. 18, 1853 ; is now^ living in Brant.
The children of his second wife are :
Josie, born June 16, 1868.
Emma, born April 3, 1874 ; died Sept. 12, 1874.
Mr. Needham was Captain of Co. E, 67th Regiment and was
at Harrisburg, Pa., in 1863.
Solomon Ostraiider.
Solomon Ostrander came to this town from Montgomery
county, N. Y., in 1848, and settled in East Concord on lot
thirty-five, township seven, range six, where Lyman Smith now
lives. Here he lived until his death, which occurred April 18,
1862. He had fourteen children, three of whom died acci-
dental deaths.
Tunis, married Alida Veder and lives near East Concord.
Margaret, married Christopher Bradt ; died east.
Maryctte, married a man by the name of Cool ; he died in
the east , she afterwards married Berlin Hurd, of Springville.
John, married Rachel Graff; after her death he married Kate
Odell. He died May 10, 1883.
Peter, lives in Montgomery count}', N. Y.
Albert, died April 21, 1871.
Catherine, married Vincent Cole.
Jacob, died June ii, 1864.
William, ilied in Montgomery count)', N. Y.
Solomon, Jr., married Margaret Williamson and lives in Ohio.
lilOdRAl'IIKAI. SKKTCIIKS. 423
AarSn, married Diantho Kin^ and lives near East Concord.
Cornelius, died in Montgomery county.
Sarah, died in Montgomery county.
Jacob Oyer.
Jacob Oyer was born in the town of Ashford, Cattaraugus
county, in 1823. His father's name was David Oyer, and his
mother's maiden name was Mary Elizabeth P^-ank. His grand-
father, Jacob Oyer was taken prisoner by the Indians and taken
to Canada and sold for one crown. His great-grandfather was
killed at the battle of Oriskany. He has lived in Ashford,
Sardinia, Checktawaga, West Seneca and Concord. He has fol-
lowed the business of farming most of his lifetime. He was
Justice of the Peace in West Seneca for eight years. In 1847,
he was married to Amanda J. Spaulding.
Their children are :
Clara E., married to Dr. R. S. Hambleton and resides in
Buffalo.
Eddy Jay died in West Seneca, Nov. 5, 1867.
Margaret Ann lives in Basel, Switzerland, and teaches
English.
Frank E.
Ella De Emma.
Harlan E. is now in a drug store in Buffalo.
C'liaiio.s W. Piiigroy.
Charles W. Pingrey was born March 11, 1843, '" the town of
Sardinia, came to reside in Concord in 1866; is a farmer; he
was married to Sarah A. King, daughter of Alvah King, March
7, 1866, and now lives on the old Homestead farm one mile
east of Springville ; his father's name is William Pingry ; his
mother's maiden name was Mary Ann Wilder. For particulars
of his ancestry record is had to the record of his father, Wil-
liam Pingrc}-.
The}- had three children :
Albert L., born P^eb. 3, 1869.
Frank E., born Aug. 17, 1873; died Jan. 7. 1877.
Clarence A., bom Now 8, 1878.
424 BIOCrRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
AVilliain Piugi-ey's Statement. ^
I was born Aug. I, i8o6, in the Town of Mt. Holley, Rut-
land county, Vt.; came to the Town of Concord (now Sardinia)
in 1817 ; am by occupation a farmer; was married May 15,
1839; '"^"^y ^vife's name was Mary Ann Wilder, daughter of
Charles Wilder, late of the Town of Sardinia ; she was born in
Wendall, Franklin county, Mass ; my father's name was Jona-
than Pingrey ; he removed to Concord (now Sardinia) in 1816;
was born in Rowley, Mass., in 1765; died May 4, 1840; my
mother's maiden name was Eleanor Pease ; father and mother
were married in 1794; mother died June 4, 1850.
My ancestors removed from England as early as 1O41, and
settled in Ipswich, Mass., and engaged in active military ser-
vice in the several wars that occurred at their time, and what
was known as the French and Indian war and fighting Indians
generally as circumstances required, and in the Revolutionary
war one of my uncles was in command as colonel at the battle
of Lexington.
When my father moved from Mt. Holley, Vt., he came with
a two-horse wagon heavily loaded with furniture, farming tools
etc.; was twenty-one days on the road ; left part of his load at
Canandaigua, and returned afterwards for it. We moved into
a log house 18x20 feet, built by Horace Ryder; the floors
were made of split basswood ; the roof was made of shakes
rived from elm timber; this apartment accommodated the fam-
ily (nine persons) until we raised the upper story and made
sleeping room up stairs. Our furniture consisted of a cross-
legged table 3x4 feet, three chairs, some benches and a loom ;
we had two iron bake kettles ; these served us very well until
we built a stone oven on top of a hemlock stump that stood
near the house ; at one time for a few days we were out of
bread while father was gone to Canandaigua after provisions ;
but one of our neighbors, Mr. Charles Wells, furnished us with
flour and venison.
Our farming tools were better than those of most of our
neighbors, as we brought some with us.
The woods were full of deer, wolves and bears and other
smaller wild animals, so we had wild meat \-ery often ; and I
being the small boy, it was my business to bring in the cows.
KIOGRAPIIICAI. SKETCHES. 425
and it was often after dark before I found the cows ; one nii^ht
I was dri\'in<^ the cows home and a wolf howled near me, and
then he went off a distance and howled to get other wolves to
come, but soon returned and followed me near the house; my
sister hearing the wolf howl, blew the tin horn to guide me
towards home.
We had raised a fine crop of r)X', and having one new-milk
cow we calculated to live well, but while our first grist of rye
was at the mill to be ground we lost our cow by an accident in
the woods; this made us rather short, and mother looked sol-
emn.
The cause which led father to leave Vermont and come to
the Holland Purchase was that to assist a young man to start
in business ; he became responsible pecuniarily and met with
such a loss as compelled him to sell his farm and leave his old
home, and his advice to me on a subsequent occasion perhaps
saved me from a similar disaster ; when father moved into the
Town of Concord the Town of Concord embraced ^vhat is now
Collins, North Collins, Concord and Sardinia, but when the
Town of Concord was divided our location \\as in the Town of
Sardinia ; before the division town meetings were held some-
times at one point and then at another, to suit the people.
Religious meetings were held by Methodist circuit preachers
at Ezekiel Smith's ; I recollect that the name of one was
Locke ; the Freewill Baptists held meetings at Uncle George
Richmond's ; Elder Richard Carey and a man named Patchin
and some others from Boston of^ciated at these meetings.
Two schools were kept about equi-distant from us — four and
half miles each wa}'- — one at Dr. Colegrove's Corners and one
at Liberty Pole Corners, one and one-fourth miles east of
Springville ; I first attended school taught by Patty Long in
Jerry Wilcox's horse stable, six miles east of Springville; my
next school, the Winter following, was kept by Benjamin
George, father of Rev. Isaac George, at Morton Crosby's, on
the Cattaraugus creek, five miles east of Springville ; the schol-
ars ranged from. fi\-e to twenty-five >'ears of age.
Ail my father's famil)' but two settled in Sardinia and one
settled in Yorkshire. My oldest brother, Jonathan, went to
Texas, and we ha\-e ne\er heard from him.
426 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
I lived on the farm I first took up fifty years ; began with
sixty acres, and when I sold out I had three hundred ; I settled
where I now live in 1866.
My children are :
William H., born June 5, 1840.
Charles W., born March 11, 1843.
Orange Parineiiter's Stateiueiit.
Was born Sept, 4, 1817, in the Town of Concord; am a
farmer ; was married to Sally Andrews, daughter of Harvey
Andrews ; my wife died. My father's name was Elijah Par-
menter; my mother's maiden name was Sally Miles; my
father came from Rutland county, Vermont, in the year 18 10,
and made a beginning on the farm now owned and occupied by
Harrison Pingrey, three-quarters of a mile east of Springville ;
after living there about one year, he removed to what is now
the Stephen Tefft farm on Cattaraugus creek, about three miles
west of Springville ; he moved from Vermont with an ox-team ;
subsequently settled on a farm in Ashford, Cattaraugus county^
near Scoby's mills, where he lived until the time of his death,
being a period of fifty years or more. He was drafted into the
military service and served in the War of 18 12 until dis-
charged.
Peter Prior.
Peter Prior was born at Back's Hill, in Sussex county,
PLngland, in 1831 ; came to this country in 1834, on the brig
Emma ; was nine weeks crossing the ocean. His father was
lost overboard on the voyage. Came to Buffalo on the canal,
and came to Springville in the year 1865. In 1863, enlisted in
the army, in the One Hundred and Fortjvseventh New York
volunteers, from Oswego ; afterwards was transferred to the
Ninety-first regiment ; was in the Army of the Potomac, and
was in most of the engagements from the Battle of the W^ilder-
ness to the close of the war; was in Wadsworth division, Fifth
corps, when he was killed. His occupation is carriage painting.
In the year 1852, he was married to Mary Ann Meachan, of
Mansfield, Cattaraugus county, N. Y.
Their children are:
Levi, a carriage painter; married to Loretta Pratt in 1879.
Mary, Emma, Lucy and Jennie.
BIOCIKAl'lUCAI. SKKTCHES. 42/
H. Evans Potter.
H. Kvans Potter's <,n-andfather, Ilosca Potter, married Mar-
cia Latten, and came from Cooperstown, Otsei^o county, N. Y.,
to this town in the Fall of 1816 or '17, and located on lot seven,
township seven, ran^e seven. He resided here until his death,
in 1862.
H. Evans Potter's father, Theodore H. Potter, was born in
1813 ; he was first married in 1836 to Sarah Stancliff, by whom
he had two daughters :
Marcia P. married David P. Hale ; resides in Michigan.
Harriet married Osero Churchill ; resides in town.
Mr. Potter was married a second time in 1843 to Naomi Can-
field, by whom he had four children :
H. Evans.
Mary married Lorenzo Vaughan ; reside in town.
Augusta married Elmer O. Leland. cashier in Springville
bank.
Willie S. died in 1861.
H. Evans Potter was born in this town in 1844; he has
always lived in this town with the exception of five years that
he resided in North Collins. He was married in 1866 to
Eunice Hale. Their children are :
Eva M., Willie H.. Beulah N., Lizzie N. and Hugh E.
James Prior.
James Prior was born in the Village of Hollington, Sussex
county, England, in 1826. His father's name was James E.
l^rior, and his mother's maiden name was Babcock. He came
to this country in 1834, on the brig Emma ; was nine weeks on
the ocean to New York ; his father, during the voyage, was
lost overboard ; his mother being left with a family of nine
children. They came to Buffalo on the Erie canal, and, owing
to the death of his father and the circumstances of the family,
he was immediately put to work— at the age of eight years —
and was deprived of the privilege of attending school. When
of proper age, he learned the trade of carriage and sign paint-
ing. He came to Springville in 1849, ^"<^ worked at his trade
until 1861 ; in that year, he formed a co-partnership with
Philip Herbold, and since that time the firm has been engaged
428 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
in the manufacture and sale of household furniture, and have
also carried on the business of undertakers. In 1874, they en-
larged their business, and have manufactured and sold doors,
sash, blinds, flooring, etc., and have also been engaged to some
extent as builders.
In 1848, he was married to Elizabeth Bath, who was born in
London, England. Their children are :
Frank H., who married Helen Wadsworth, lives in Spring-
viUe.
Thomas B. married Mary Stanbro ; carriage and sign painter,
Springville.
Edith.
Thomas Pierce.
The ancestors of our family came from England in 1634 and
settled in Massachusetts. My father came to this state in
1793 and settled in Fairfield, Herkimer county, in. 1807 ; he
removed to Frankfort a short distance east of Utica, where he
lived with his family of eight children until they became separ-
ated b}' marriage. I was born in the year 1800, and in 1829
married the daughter of Jacob Weber, late of Ashford. In
1837 we removed to a farm that I had purchased in Ashford,
where we lived nearh^ thirty years. My father and mother and
oldest sister, myself and wife and two daughters, became mem-
bers of the Baptist church in this village, where those of us still
living now retain our membership. My father died in Ash-
ford, in 1850; m}' mother in 1842. In April, 1865, I buried
my first wife in Ashford and in October, 1866, removed to
Springville and married Miss Maryette Scoby of this place.
My oldest daughter married B. A. Lowe, and resides in Spring-
ville. My second daughter, Ann H. Pierce, lives at home. She
is an artist and her place of business is on the south-west corner
of Main and Buffalo streets. My son Weber T., resides in Min-
nehaha county, Dakota Territory, near the village of Sioux
Falls, where he purchased a homestead of 160 acres. My old-
est brother, Chauncex', died in Ashford, in 1842 ; my youngest,
(jifford, resided in this town a number of years; he married, and
buried two wives in this town ; he married a third time and
remoN'ed to Kansas, where he died two \-ears ago. He left a
d.iughter, Helen A., who lives in East Pike, Wyoming county.
iu(.)(;rai'Iii(Ai. sketciiks. 429^
Joliii Prill.
lohn Prill was born in Schcrber, New Stcrlits, Mcchlcnbcrf,^,
Germany, in US26 and worked at farniin;^ in the old country.
He embarked at Hamburi,di, May i, 1850, and came on a sail-
vessel ; was seven weeks crossinL( to New York : went to East
Otto, CattarauL,ais ccninty, and staid two years ; came to Concord
and settled near Morton's Corners, in 1852, and lived there
twenty N'ears. He bought a small farm, improved it, and added
to it until he had 225 acres.
He sold his farm and cows to Emery D. Albro in 1872, for
$1 1, OCX), and came to Springville to live. In 1875, he purchased
the farm lying one and one-half miles east of Springville, on
which he has since resided.
He was married in 1859, to Miss Mary Tardell. in Hamburg,
Erie county. She was born in Germany in 1832, and came from
near the same place in the old country, that he did. Their
children were :
John, who died in 1852. an infant.
Mary, who died in 1867, aged twelve \ears.
Lena.
Emma.
Meina, died in 1863. an infant.
Albert G.
Lena, married Horace Van Slyke ; the}' have three children.
Emma, married George H. Kuchner; they live in Port Alle-
gan}- ; the}' ha\e one child.
The Pike Family.
Isaiah Pike was one of Concord's ver}- earliest pioneers. He
was born at Plymouth. N. H., Aug. 12, 1786. His father's
name was Uriah D. Pike, who came from England ; was a rev-
olutionar}' soldier, enlisting when sixteen }'ears of age. In
18 10, Mr. Pike walked all the way from his native place, with
knap-sack on his back, to this town and located lands on lot
twenty-two, range seven, township seven. Here he encoun-
tered those privations and incidents which only the pioneers
of a forest country experience. He was an active ]Darticipant
in that part of the war of 1812 which wasenacted in the vicinit}-
of Buffalo and the Niairara frontier. He was Ser<>:eant. In
430 iilOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
1816 he returned to New Hampshire, married Charlotte Hickok,
and came back to his land, upon which he always resided up to
his death, in 1866. He kept hotel at the Pike homestead from
1821 to 1837. Their children were :
Almira, who died in 1843; Uriah D., Albert, Sofina, Cyrene,
Isaiah N.
Cyrene married Loran Vanderlip ; the}' now reside at Cedar
Falls, Iowa.
Isaiah N., married Isabclle Ross ; they now reside at Evans-
\-ille, Wisconsin.
Uriah D. Pike.
Uriah D. Pike was born Aug. 25, 1821, upon the farm which
his father took up in 18 10, and upon which he has ever since
resided. He was married in 1846 to Julia Chase, who died in
1869. Their children are:
Charles, Isaiah and Ida.
Charles was married in 1873 to Cornelia Doty.
Ida is a graduate of the Buffalo State Normal School and
was married in 1880 to Dr. E. A. Vaughan.
Mr. Pike was re-married in 1872 to Caroline Trevitt. Mr.
Pike is a farmer and in his chosen calling has been very suc-
cessful.
Mrs. Joshua Pike.
Whose maiden name was Esther Sharp, was born in Rutland
county, Vt., in the year 1799, and came with her father's family
to Wyoming county, N. Y., in the year 18 12. In 18 16, she
was married to Joshua Pike, came to Concord and settled on
the farm now owned by John Ballou. Mrs. Pike was the
mother of thirteen children, of whom there are but five liv-
ing. Her life has been a checkered one and if duly written
would fill a volume, gifted by nature, with a strong consti-
tution, she has far outlived the alloted span, yet posses-
sing a happy disposition and remarkable powers of memory,
she belongs to the past and \'et lives to enjo)- the present.
Hardly any incident of note has transpired ciuring the past
three-fourths of a century, but what she has some knowledge
of it, and upon local affairs she can recite incidents that belong
to another age, that there are but few who li\'e to remember.
lUnCRAl'IIICAI. SKKTCIIKS. 43 1
Mrs. Pike tells of the first burial in the woods at Morton's
Corners. It was that of a youn<^ man that committed suicide.
His name for certain, was never ascertained, but it was sup-
posed to be White, and the son of a widow. This was some
time in May, 1822, for Mr. Richardson said the trees were in
full leaf. He came to Mr. Battle's and put up a few days.
There was nothing in his demeanor that would create any sus-
picion that he contemplated such a rash act. A day or so be-
fore he left here he made a trade with Battles, and became the
owner of a pocket knife, with which he scv^ered the veins of his
arms. This was done on the trail between this place and
Springville. There was no road then, only a bridle path and
he just stepped from the trail, and when found b\' Roswell
Olcott, he was bleeding profusely. He was discovered sitting
upon a log near where the steam saw mill of Watkin & Gay-
lord now is. Mr. Olcott aroused the settlement and he was
brought back to Battles' tavern and medical aid called, but the
flow of blood had been so great that he died of prostration.
He would not reveal anything of his history. A plain pine
cofifin was constructed by Caleb Knight. There were no under-
takers then, and even if there had been, it would have been
hard work for them to have reached here. The settlers gath-
ered and bore him through the woods up to the grave yard,
though it was not thought of as a church yard then. They
buried him at the foot of the great maple, which then was but
a sapling, not as large as a person's thigh. The)' thought if
his friends should be found, this tree would mark his grave.
The next the settlers were called upon to carr)' there was
Uncle Battles, mine host of the inn. The\- made his grave by
the side of the other, and they have kept on carr}'ing them
there until there is left out of that pioneer band only m\^self
and Uncle Luke Simmons, and it w ill not be long before you
will have to take us there.
Now I have to recite the darkest day of my life's history, for
it did appear as though the sun had been blotted out to me for-
ever. That morning I had been called upon to go a few miles
and visit the sick. My husband and three of the boys, Oliver,
Marsden and Franklin, were to engage that day in getting out
rails, and they had engaged the services of John Millis to assist
432 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
them with his team. This was on the 23d day of January, 1845.
It was a clear bright day, with just snow enough to make sleigh-
ing good. Oliver and Marsden were splitting and Franklin and
his father were piling and also aiding Mr. Millis in loading to
haul out to the road. They were at work on lot eighty-three,
now owned by T. J. Kerr ; just how it happened it was so long
ago, it is hard for me to remember now. I know that a great
many supposed that Oliver glanced his axe, but this was not
so. The boys had quartered the cut, and Oliver, who was intent
upon his work, was cutting away the slivers ; his father had
taken an axe to cut a small sapling that stood in the way near
where Oliver was engaged, with his back towards Oliver, as he
struck low on the sapling, he threw his hips back just in time
to receive the fatal blow of Oliver's descending ax, in his left hip.
The wound was not large, but it was nevertheless fatal, for
it had severed the main artery. As he received the blow he
remarked to Oliver, " Look and see, I believe you have cut
me." Oliver, unconscious of what he had done, replied, " I
guess not." Mr. Pike was a man very easily affected at the
sight of blood, and he spoke up quickly and told the boys to
throw snow in his face as he was very faint. My boys hurriedly
laid him down and tried every means to staunch the blood ;
they put snow upon it, and then Oliver and Marsden pressed
the wound together with their hands, but the blood shot up
in a jet clear over their shoulders ; every means they tried were
fruitless. Mr. Pike made the remark, " Boys, now do not be
frightened, when I tell you this is my death blow."
By this time Mr. Millis had come for another load of rails,
and he was tenderly placed upon the sleigh and carefully
driven to the house. In the mean time a messenger had been
dispatched for Dr. Bruce, who arrived in due time and began
to sew up the wound, two or three stitches had been taken
when he fainted and was gone — yes, dead. I did not get home
in time to see him alive. He who had left me that morning
so full of life and hope would never speak again, and I full)'
realized that my heart was widowed. Since then the shadows
of death have crept thick and fast into my famih' of stalwart
sons and daughters. There were thirteen of them, and I spun
and wove and cared for them all once.
15I()(;RAI'I1I( Al. SKETCHES. 433
Five are left now, eiglit having passed away. Jane went
first, then Marsden ; Irving I gave to my country, and he sleeps
where Southern vines creep o'er his grave. Oliver died in Illi-
nois ; the rest of them near me here, and they lie buried up
here. Yes, death is very cold and desolating. At times the
past conies back to me as though it were but yesterday. I
know it was the night that the Morton boys opened their new
house by giving a grand ball. For weeks had the event been
talked up and the young came from far and near, and I sup-
pose it was a grand affair for that time. But for me, \\hat a
night ; how I looked ahead into the great black future and my
heart cried out in the bitterness of its agony. How the tink-
ling of those old-fashioned sleigh-bells smote my heart as the
merry-makers went dashing by. I would not have anyone infer
that I was neglected in my sorrow. Mr. Morton's people were
more than kind, and they would have been glad to have post-
poned their ball if they could. All my neighbors and friends
stood by me then and tried to lighten my burden.
Harrison Piiigry.
Harrison Pingry was born in the Town of Sardinia, June 5,
1840. His father's name is William Pingry, and his mother's
maiden name was Mary Ann Wilder. He lived in Sardinia
until 1866, when he purchased what has long been known as
the Henman farm, on lot four, township six, range six, in this
town, on which he has resided ever since. This farm was
selected by Asa Gary, in 1809, who occupied it one season, and
then traded for land in Boston, with Calvin Doolittle. Gov-
ernor Smith occupied it in 1810; then it was owned and occu-
pied by James Henman for many years.
Harrison Pingry was married, in May, 1863, to Josephine E.
Wells, daughter of Asa Wells ; she was born in this town in
1841. Their children were:
Glara J., Mary E.
William Wells, who died in infancy.
H. Lee.
Nicholas Peters.
Nicholas Peters was born Nov. 29, 1882, in Luxemburg,
Germany; came to Concord in 1875 ■ '^ '^ farmer by occupa-
434 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
tion ; was married in 1867 to Mary Zihen, who was born in
Prussia. His father's name was John Peters ; his mother's
maiden name was Margaret Oberlinkels. Nicholas Peters was
in the Luxemburg army from nineteen years old until he was
twenty-seven years of age ; previous to settling where he now
lives, he lived near Collins Center about nine years.
Has one child, Nicholas, born June, 1867.
Frank Prior.
Mr. Prior was born Jan. 31, 1850, in Springville, N. Y., of
which village he has always been a resident and where Jan. i,
1874, in company with Richard Holland, he engaged in the
drug business. After an interval of three years, he purchased
Mr. Holland's interest and still continues the business. He
married Helen Wadsworth.
They have three children: Benjamin, John and Elizabeth,
Isaac Palmer.
Isaac Palmer was born in the year 1800. His father moved
from Vermont to this town in 1 817. A few years after, Isaac
was married to Lucy Palmer, of Gowanda. They had five chil-
dren :
Helen married Joseph Tice and moved to Wyoming county;
after his death, she married Henry Thyng.
Hiram married Jane Mayo, and lives in Springville.
Harriet died young.
Henry married Eugena Briggs ; after her death, he married
Evaline Mayo ; she died, and he married his present wife,
Clemantine Hurd.
Marion married Jeremy Smith.
For a number of years, Mr. Palmer held the office of Town
Collector, and was also Assessor, and was Captain of the Spring-
ville Rifle company for many years. He died Dec. 2, 1869,
respected by all.
Daniel Persons.
Daniel Persons was an carh' settler in this town and lived on
the Genesee road, lot twent}'-seven, township seven, range seven,
for a great man)' years and here cleared up a good-sized farm.
ItlOCKAl'inCAL SKF/rCIIKS. 435
After he ^ot to be an old man he sold the farm and moved to
Nichols Corners, bought a lot and lived there until his death.
He was a great many years Deacon in the Baptist church
of Springville. He died Aug. 28, 1877, aged eighty-seven years,
and his wife died Feb. 5, 1874, aged eighty years and ten
months. They had two children :
Truman, lives in Golden.
Mary E., died when a young woman.
AVilliaiii Speiioer Perigo.
Mr. Perigo's father, Lyman Perigo, was by occupation a
tanner, currier and shoe-maker, and served as a soldier in the
war of 1 8 12. He was born in Rutland county, Vermont, Oct.
I, 1792. He was married about 18 18, in Vermont, to Susan
Jones, who was born Feb. 3, 1798, in Rutland county, Vermont.
They had three sons and three daughters, all born in Vermont,
viz :
Susan A., born 1820; married P'rancis White ; reside in
Springville.
Martin A., born 1823 ; died in Iowa.
Mary V., born 1827 ; married John Ballou ; reside in Concord.
Alvira E., born 1830; married Abram Naudau.
William Spencer, born 1833 • unmarried ; resides in Concord.
Samuel W., born 1836; died Dec. 27, 1837.
The family removed to Springville, N. Y., about 1850,
where the father, Lyman Perigo, lived until his death, April 12,
1880; his wife having died July 3, 1877.
James Quinii.
James Quinn came to Concord from Vermont in 1848. He
was born in the County of Antrim, Ireland, Aug. 18, 1832. His
father's name was James Quinn, his mother's maiden name was
Sarah Butler. He was married in 1861, to Miss Charlotte Pal-
mer, who died Nov. 15, 1872, after which he married Mrs. Lydia
Perkins, April 8, 1880. He is a farmer and lives on his farm
one mile south-easterly from Morton's corners. His father died
nine days after their arri\-al in America. His mother lived to
eighty-four years of age and died in Wisconsin Nov. 28, 1881.
436 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Life of Jereniiali Richardsou.
Jeremiah Richardson was born at New Port, N. H., Dec. 30,
1796. Here was his home until his fifteenth year, when, upon
the death of his father, he was sent to Hve with his grandfather
at Milford, Mass. The summers were devoted to the labors
on the farm and the winters to attending school. Mr. Rich-
ardson remained here until his seventeenth birth-da}', when he
went to the town of Hubbardton, Rutland county, Vermont,
where lived an uncle. This was in 181 3, and the country was
much disturbed over the prospect of a long and bloody con-
flict with the mother country. Mr. Richardson says when he
left the protecting care of his ancestors he left with the deter
mination of being the architect of his own fortune. The most
of young men at this age knowing that they were free agents,
would have been allured by the enchantments of pleasure to
have marked out a far different course of life, but his ambition
was to be independent, and his ambition was laudable, for in
after years it enabled him to build up every cause that was to
better the condition of men. Mr. Richardson says that he had
decided to follow the business of farming, and that the Hol-
land Purchase with its cheap lands and easy terms of payment
attracted his attention, and he left Massachusetts with the
intention, after his visit in Vermont, to go directly to Batavia,
the headquarters of the compan)'. Through the entreaties of
his friends there and the war-like aspect along the border, he
consented to remain two years. The first year he found a
home with his uncle, assisting him on the farm, and the next
year he served a neighboring farmer in a similar capacity ; and
he says, " At the end of my engagement, or when the Septem-
ber sun was ripening off the corn, I tied up my scanty ward-
robe in a pocket-handkerchief and set out on foot and alone to
accomplish a journey of three hundred miles. I was fourteen
days on the way, and every foot of it I had walked. At Bata-
via I could have secured land, but I found one great objection,
in almost every house I found a victim of the ague. Much of
the land in the immediate vicinity of the village was under cul-
tivation, and the crops far superior to anything I had ever seen
before, but the fever sickened me of that place, and I inquired
if there was not some part of the company's domain that was
]UUt;RAriIlCAl. SKETCIIKS. 437
not afflicted with this scourge. I was told that there was in
the Cattaraut^us countr\', but it was only fit for Indians and
wild beasts to lixx- in. l^ut I feared the fe\'cr more than I did
these, and I went to the company's office, where, for the first
time, I met Ebenezer Mix. He was then a j'oung man, very
familiar and genteel in his manners. I made known to him
my business and asked him to show me a plot of the Cattarau-
gus region. This was readily done, and I selected one hundred
acres on the southeast corner of lot ninety-one, and I got a
contract by paying ten dollars, which was at that time all the
wealth I possessed.
I knew that it would not do for me to go out there penniless,
so I hired out to chop wood a few days for the distillery at
twenty-five cents per cord. I was something of a chopper, and
about the middle of October I had saved up a few dollars. I
bade my new-found friends good-bye and set out to find my
claim. I came by the way of Buffalo and Boston. I found a
very good road for footmen until I reached Townsend's mill,
now Wheeler Hollow. Here I was directed to a trail that led
me to Colonel Cook's, on lot thirty-three. Mr. Cook had been
in there some time, for he had improvements, and I helped
him to harvest some four acres of corn. At Cook's I was
greeted with a warm welcome, and the friendship we formed
then and there has been unbroken, and that was nearly or quite
sixty years.
A man by the name of Nehemiah Paine had made a begin-
ning on the corner of lot forty-one ; his log cabin stood near
the residence of Nelson Nichols.
The next morning after partaking of my new-found friend's
hospitality, I, in company with the Colonel, started out to look
over my claim. We found it very heavily timbered by beech,
maple and elm, and to most young men the task of redeeming
these acres to a state of cultivation would have appeared her-
culean ; but I was young and inured to toil and strong in hope
and determination. So after assisting Mr. Cook for a few days
I began work for myself right here where my house stands to-
day; this will be sixty-fi\'e years in November ; the first tree I
cut was right here, and the first log-heap was down b}- the
barn ; my well was on the lowest place in the orchard ; I had
438 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
only to dig eight or nine feet and I had an abundance of water.
That Fall I did not chop steady on my place, bi't lent a day
now and then to neighbor Cook, which he returned with his
oxen when I had got ready to log off ; I chopped two acres,
which we put into heaps ready for burning in the Spring.
During this time I had lodged and boarded in Mr. Cook's fam-
ily. He, though young, had a wife ; I saw that his house room
was limited, and thought it might be as well for me to look out
for another place to pass the winter.
About the last days of November I went back to Batavia
and engaged in my old occupation of chopping wooci for the
distillery at twenty-five cents per cord. I was very steady, and
though I could not cut so much per day as some, I generally
made out as well as any who followed chopping. I was there
about four months, and when we settled up I had over $50 my
due for my Winter's work.
About the first of April I again returned to my claim, and
about the first work I undertook for myself was to put up a house.
The fall before I had cut logs of a suitable length for this pur-
pose, and again I sought the aid of Cook's willing hands and
in three days' time I had a home; humble as it was, only
twelve feet square, with a bark roof, stick chimney and split
basswood logs for a floor. I was v^ery happy. About the first
of May I burned my fallow and planted corn and potatoes.
This proved to be the ever-remembered cold season, and ni}-
farming turned out to be barren and profitless. Every month
during the year had more or less frost in it, and one night in
July, I think it was the 13th, ice formed on a sap trough that
happened to have water in it, full half an inch. To add to my
other troubles, along about the middle of June I was taken
down with the ague. To one of less hope, the outlook of my
beginning would have been very discouraging. I was alone
and had just begun on land that I knew the best years of m}-
life would be consumed in making it habitable. I was sick
with a disease that all told me I must wear out. I began to
realize that there was a limit to my endurance, and I often
thought that the fever would wear me out first. Notwith-
standing I kept about onl)'when the chill was on and did chop
and girdle over some six acres. The girdling ma}- not be plain
r.KXlRAl'IIICAI. SKF/I'CIIKS. 439
to all, now 1 (-lid not always when clcarinL^ cut the largest
trees; I would cut throuijh the bark clear around the big trees
when in full leaf, this would cause them to die and sometimes
these trees would remain standing for \'ears. I remember that
I left a large elm standing just below the upper orchard in the
swail. This tree was the largest I ever saw, being some seven
feet in diameter; )-cars after I gave it to John Millis, ^\•ho cut
it down and by placing smaller timber around it, he burned it
to ashes and made these into salts. We did not always chop
up the big trees after they were cut down. We would " nig-
ger " them ofT with fire brands ; that is, we would take the half
consumed brands and pile them across the big trees at the
desired length we wished them, and the torch would be applied.
In this way we saved a great deal of hard chopping. About
the middle of August I \'isited Squire Frye, who lived in Zoar,
while there I suffered a chill, this proved a blessing to me for
it enlisted the sympathies of Mrs. Frye's feeling heart and was
the means of my getting free of the. ague. I wish to say here
that Mrs. Jesse Frye was a noble woman, whose greatest
pleasure was in giving relief to the sick and sorrowing. She
induced me to remain all night and in the morning when about
to leave, I found she had prepared for me a bottle of medicine.
She took the inner bark of white ash and burned it to ashes,
this was put into w-hisky and by partaking of this freely I broke
the ague, though it had left my system in a weak condition.
The early frosts in September killed my corn and potatoes
dead. The corn had just reached the state suitable for boiling
and consequently was unfit for food, and my potatoes were but
little better. My corn I cut, but it was so green and badly
frozen that it decayed it a few days. My potatoes were not
much better and the result of my farming that year might be
summed up in four bushels of very small potatoes, but like
Crusoe on his lone island, " I had extended my domain and
taken more in m\' enclosure." Two acres were ready for the
next }'ear's crop and six more could very easily be added b}' a
little logging and burning, part of this I accomplished that fall
and after taking care of m}' potatoes, I set out again for Batavia
where I found a place with the same man I had served the
previous Winter. I engaged to chop for twelve dollars per
440 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
month, hardly had a week passed before I was compelled to
give up. The fever had just about used me up ; I knew I must
make some arrangements to get through the Winter. I made
a proposition that I would remain until Spring, do what I
could and I would leave it all to him in regard to remunera-
tion. This he readily assented to. About the house I did
chores, took care of the stock, and, in fact, I made myself very
useful ; when I came to settle, he reckoned up my time and
paid me twelve dollars per month in full. This was far better
than I had anticipated, and it enabled me to pay up my
interest, and left me a small sum to begin my Spring's work with.
That Spring Uncle Battles took up one hundred acres on lot
eighty-two. He was a soldier of the Revolution, and a few
years before he died he obtained a pension. He had a family
of boys and girls. Battles put up quite an imposing log house
where he entertained travelers. His house stood a little to the
w^est of the present house built by the Morton brothers.
That Spring I cast my first vote. The town meeting was
held at Townsend's, on the hill. I think Barrett was up for
Supervisor, Gen. Knox for Commissioner. This made me
fully realize that I had commenced the years of responsibility,
and that I not only owed allegiance to my Country, but also to
a higher power whose protecting care had watched over me, in
my lonely cabin home. I began to read my Bible, and I verily
believe if it had not been for the promises, I should have given
up and gone back East. " If a man love me, he will keep my
word ; and my Father will love, and he will come unto him,
and make our abode with him." I began to realize that I was
not alone in the deepest of solitude, and I felt- that I was in
company with the Greatest of Beings.
All kinds of provisions that Spring, were ver}' scarce and
dear. Corn that would actually grow was worth one dollar per
peck. I planted six acres and used just a bushel. I had to
get through the Summer with some thirty pounds of meal,
twenty-two pounds of pork, and a small quantity of small pota-
toes, that I must eke out until the new crop got large enough
to use. I counted up the number of days and then I counted
my potatoes and knew how much meal and pork I could use to
make my scanty store last. But after all m}- caution. I fell
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 44I
short some two weeks ; during that time I had to subsist on
bassvvood and e\m leaves, and by scraping off the inner bark of
these trees. I actually suffered from the pangs of hunger.
That year, though the season was late, the crops were good and
I soon had an abundance with plenty to spare. Feelings of
great thankfulness took possession of me.
In August, Elder Folsom held a series of meetings in Bos-
ton. It was a good wa}' to walk but I attended and became
converted to the truths of Christianity. Since then I have
always done what was in my power to do, to build up the
cause. More than sixty years ago, I thought of a church and
parsonage here, and I have lived to see it done.
That year after securing my crops, I turned my attention to
digging sap troughs, and when the sugar time came I had over
five hundred of these ready to set. The season proved a good
one and I began earl)', I think I tapped a few trees about the
middle of Februar)% and made about forty pounds of sugar.
This I put into a bag and threw aci'oss my shoulder, and with
my dinner box in one hand, I walked to Buffalo the same da}',
sold my sugar for five dollars cash, and the next day I walked
home again. All I was out for expenses \\'as a shilling, for
lodging, at the old Eagle Tavern. This inspired me with
confidence in the profits of maple sugar, and I have since set
as high as 2,800 buckets in one season. These buckets were
the work of my own hands and were made during the Winter
months. When I began Sugar making, I used five-pail kettles
for boiling ; over fifty years ago I conceived the idea of evap-
orating in sheet-iron pans, and myself and brother Elijah, con-
structed the first one. Had I obtained a patent upon this it
would have been very profitable, for since then they have
come into general use ; but I did not think of making money
in any other way only by work. I have been thinking of my
life of sugaring, and 1 have been reckoning up. I have made
nearly, or quite one hundred tons of sugar, and upon an aver-
age I have received ten cents per pound. This would amount
to S-0,ooo, and I think I am safe in saying that the profits of
this industry have been as good as any that I have undertaken
and I have made it a rule never to destro\' a maple tree, unless
it grew directly in my path. The bo}'s that used to work for
442 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
me in the bush, used to think me severe because I would not
allow them to cut maple hand spikes. Those maple hand
spikes to-day are large trees, and if put to use would make a
good amount of sugar. Yes my maple orchard was full as
profitable as my apple orchard, and I devoted a good deal of
attention to it.
Mr. Richardson tells me that the Spring and early Summer
of i8i8, he spent in clearing. He had nearly twenty acres
ready for cultivation, and that he began to think of visiting the
East and getting his brothers to come here and settle. After
talking with Colonel Cook, in relation to this period in Mr.
Richardson's life — a suspicion that there was another and a
stronger magnet that induced the young pioneer to take that
long weary journey, afoot, than kindred ties, and that the hazel
eyes of the gentle Anna Webster shone brighter and were
more cheering to the lonely hours of the young pioneer than
all the stars that shine in the vault of Heaven, for believe me,
in every life and its history, there has been a woman in it
sometime; be it so.
I learn that he went back that June, and I take the " old
family record," and I found it duly written out in his own bold,
plain hand, that Jeremiah Richardson was married to Anna
Webster, Nov. 29, 1818. Not much for one here to weave into
the warp of his stern, earnest life — the threads of romance ;
but I knew him so well : knew that he who was oak and rock
in storm, was in sunshine as gentle and tender as the flowers
that to-day bloom above his grave.
The next February I learn that he returned, bringing with
him Anna and his brother Elijah, who was a blacksmith ; he
located at Nichols Corners, and if I am informed right, he was
the first one of his trade here.
For nearly fourteen years, Anna Webster lived to bless his
home, when the star-light of his boyhood went out in the dark
night-clouds of death, Sept. 2, 1832. By this dispensation,
seven little children were left to his care, viz.:
Jeremiah T., born Jan. 8, 1821,
Clarinda, born July 10, 1822.
Dianah, born July 4, 1824.
David M., born Jan. 30, 1826.
lUOCKAPHKAL SKK'ICI IKS. 443
Alansoii M., bom Jan. i~, 1S28.
Ann.i Jane, born Oct. 5, 1830.
Levi, born Jan. 23, 1832.
These chiKlren are all now lixinsj,- but Anna Jane, who died
June 1 1, 1869.
I learn that for nearh' two \'ear.s he was left alone with these
children. Then he found another Anna who would take the
l^lace of the lost one, antl on the third day of February, 1834,
he was married to Anna Jane Woodward, and she journeyed
on with him near unto thirty-five )'ears, when she too became
wear)- of the burden and lay down to rest. When death, the
friend of the sick and the sorrowing, kissed down her eyelids
still, May 26, 1868. She had borne him eight children, viz.:
Mary C, born March 8. 1837.
Eliza, born June 11, 1838.
Harvey W., born May 3, 1840.
Francis, born Aug. 11, 1842.
Preston C, born May 14, 1844.
Charles H., born March 11, 1846.
George, born June 4, 185 1.
Cornelia A., born Sept. 21, 1856.
These children are all living but Charles II., who died April
26, 1876. Previous to her death Mr. Richardson had enter-
tained thoughts of retiring from the acti\-e duties of his large
farm.
For o\'er fift}- \ears had he been on dut}-, and he felt that
the evening had come and he sought rest. Half of his real
estate was divided up among the children of Anna Webster.
Soon after he sold the remainder, and this will go to the chil-
dren of Anna Woodward. For four \'ears, the toil-worn jjio-
neer walked on alone with his two youngest children, but his
house was not the refuge of former years, and to fill it he
realized that he needed the love anti care of some good being
to cheer the latter days of his long and useful life. This being
he found in the person of Mrs. Selina Webster, to whom he
was married Nov. 14, ^872. This was a happy union. She
cared for him as tenderly as a fond mother does for her child,
and until his last sickness he enjoyed the comforts of a pleas-
ant and hapj)}- home.
444 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
When he felt that his Hfe was drawing to a close, he called
his children about him and bade them good-bye, and such was
his faith that even in the hour and agony of death, he consid-
ered the pains of his dissolution nothing but the breaking down
of the partition that stood between his soul and the image of
his Creator.
At 5 o'clock P. M., Dec. 4, 1879, ^^- Richardson ceased to
breathe. On the seventh, his mortal remains were laid away
in the grave, and very soon all that the world will know of him
will be gleaned from a perusal of this short sketch.
Deacon John Russell.
Deacon John Russell, another of the pioneers of this town,
first came here but a few weeks after Samuel Cochran, in the
Fall of 1808. His history during the early settlement of this
town is so closely connected with the history of Cochran that
the history of one is to a great extent the history of the other,
and if written separately would prove but a repetition. But
there is so much of real worth, of moral greatness and true
herosim about the life and character of Deacon Russell that he
deserves more than a passing notice. It is true he was not a
great man in the worldly acceptation of that term. He was no
genius, but he was strongly marked as a man of strength. He
bore in his character and mental and moral physiognomy cre-
dentials showing that he was appointed by a high power. He
possessed the power of endurance, and was capable of pursuing
an undeviating course or line of conduct for years, never yield-
ing to discouragement, but patiently removing the obstacles
in the way anci rising superior to all opposition. The number
of men are very small who have left behind them so straight
and undeviating a line of conduct, and few men ever lived in
this town, to whose influence the communit}^ are more indebted
for their life-work for the good of society.
Deacon John Russell was born in New Hartford, Litchfield
county, Conn., Oct. 17, 1779. His father was an insane man
and consequently John, from early childhood, was compelled to
toil to the full extent of his ability. He often said he had
never known what it was to enjoy leisure hours and have time
for recreation and amusement. The insanit\' of the father
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 445
rendered the family hearth not only a place of dant^er but also
an undesirable place to rear children. This, to<^ether with the
poverty of the family, rendered it necessary to commit the
rearini;" of John to the hands of strangers, and at the at^e of
eigiit, he was indentured to a farmer till he should attain his
majority. He was, therefore, virtually fatherless from his
earliest recollection ; he enjoyed occasional interviews with his
mother, but of very short duration ; yet, he did not Icavx' the
man to whom he was indentured till a fortnight after he
was twenty-one, when, with his pack on his back, he started
a lonely, yet heroic wayfarer for Oneida county, N. Y.,
where he arrived in the Fall of 1800. Here he remained nearly
two years, working by the month, and here he was married to
Miss Merinda Austin, the daughter of the man for whom he
labored. In 1802, he left Oneida county for Madison county,
and bought a piece of land, in company with one of his broth-
ers, near Cazenovia. He remained here, working upon his
land 'till the Fall of 1808, at which time, in the month of No-
vember, he removed to this place, where he resided until his
death. He, therefore, reached the place of his final destination
a few days after he was thirty years of age and on the month
he died.
This place was then an entire wilderness, with but one family
in the limits of the present town of Concord. A man by the
name of Stone had made a beginning a year before. John
Albro had also been here but had left a few days before on
account of the death of his wife, but returned again the next
year. Samuel Cochran had been here the month previous,
taken ujj land, cut and rolled up logs for a shanty, but had gone
after his family. On his return there were three families to
spend the winter of 1808 and 1809 together. Two of these
families only proved permanent citizens. Stone soon after leav-
ing for new scenes.
In the Spring af 1809, there were four families in town : Rus-
sell, Cochran, Stone and Albro, who had married again and re-
turned to his former place to remain a few years longer, Here
we have the foundation of our thri\'ing, growing, spreading and
prosperous community. These men labored for the building
up of society and both of them have long since gone to their
446 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
rest, leaving not one of the first settlers of this town in our
midst, and but a fev/ of what may be called the early settlers.
They are all passingaway like the dew of the morning and soon
the marble and the sod will tell us that they are all gone.
The mother of Deacon Russell was a woman of very ardent
piety and her influence was felt on John, and as soon as there
were settlers enough to enjo}' the forms of religious meeting,
he collected them together and read to them sermons and
engaged in singing, although there were none among them that
could pray. The first religious impulse given to this commu-
nit}' was by Russell, although not a christian himself. The
first man who could be induced to pray was a Unitarian, whose
name is forgotten. So desirous were these pioneers to enjoy
religious service that Deacon Russell and wife went to Boston
on foot to attend a meeting and Russell worked hard to
gather together all the religious influence in this communit)'
until 1816, when the Congregational Church was formed and
he became its first Deacon and realh' its first pastor until his
death.
Deacon Russell lost his first wife several years before his
death and was married again. He had but two children: Mrs.
Deacon Eaton Bensley, the mother of George Eaton and John
Russell Bensley and Mrs. Joseph Harkins, the mother of Mrs.
R. W. Tanner and Mrs. Dighton Louck.
Silas Kiislmiore.
Silas Rushmore was a highly respected citizen of Concord
for many years. He married a daughter of Samuel Bradley
of this place. They had two sons — Chester and Charles. Ches-
ter lives in Illinois and Charles is dead. Mr. Rushmore resides
in Illinois and is nearl}- ninety years of age. At m}' request,
he sent me the follo\\ing statement. (Mr. Rushmore has since
died):
1. ]\Iy father's family li\'ed in Greene county, N. Y., until I
was ten or twelve years of age; moved from there to Oneida
county, near Utica ; lived there until I was of age.
2. I served in the war of 1812 ; went to Sackett's Harbor;
was gone from home about six weeks; went to Oswego ; was
gone but a few da}-s. At that time was li\-ing in Manlius,
Onondaga county.
inOGRAPIIICAL SKETCHES. 447
3. Came to Springvillc in the Fall of 18 16.
4. The families livin<^ in Springville and vicinity when I
came, according to my recollection, were Rufus Eaton, Benja-
min Gardner, Daniel Ingals, Varney Ingals (bachelor), David
Leroy (^the noted violinist), Samuel Cochran, Samuel Burgess,
Isaac Knox, Frederick Richmond, Truman White, Francis
White, Moses White (twin brothers), John Albro, Giles Church-
ill, John Russell, Benjamin Rhodes, Eliakim Rhodes, Julius
Bement, Phineas Scott and John Williams.
5. The first saw-mill built by Eaton ; first grist-mill by Ben-
jamin Gardner.
6. Gardner's mill was built before I came; so was Eaton's
saw-mill.
7. Eaton's grist-mill built about 1818.
8. The hotel on Franklin street, fronting the park, built by
David Stanard about 18 17.
9. The first woolen factory built by Samuel Bradley about
1820.
10. The first tannery built by Jacob and Silas Rushmore
about 1 81 7.
11. Second tannery built by Hoveland & Towsley about
1823 or 1824.
12. First distillery built by Frederick Richmond about 1818.
13. Second distillery built by Silas Rushmore.
14. First ashery built by Frederick Richmond before I came.
15. Rufus C. Eaton \\as the first postmaster.
The first town-meeting that I remember, was held in Collins.
At that time Concord included Collins, North Collins and Sar-
dinia.
A. F. Rust.
Mr. Rust was born in Bremen, Germany, in 1840. His ances-
tors followed the sea and were experts at their calling. He
came to America in 1854, on a sailing vessel which was forty-
five days in crossing the Atlantic. He came to Yorkshire,
N. Y., and worked two years for his uncle, Henry Butt, as pay-
ment for his passage from Germany ; his uncle having paid his
fare over, which was §42.00. He attended district school sev-
eral winters and three terms at the Springville Academy, under
the principalship of David Copeland.
448 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
In 1861 he entered the store of Richmond & Holman, at
Springville, as clerk. After clerking three years he engaged in
the livery business with his brother Richard, which they fol-
lowed until 1870, when, in company with Abraham Dygert,
the}' bought the old Springville House of Em. Pierce. Rust
brothers soon bought Mr. Dygert's interest and conducted
the hotel until 1876, when the subject of this sketch engaged
in the grocery business at Springville.
Mr. Rust was married in 1868, to Miss Carrie Moore. They
have four children living: Lottie, Henry, Altha May and
Nettie,
George Renter.
George Renter, son of Adam and Magdela Renter, was born
in Baden, Germany, Sept. 12, 18 18. He landed in New York
city July 6, 1854; came to Concord the same year, where he
located, and now owns and occupies a farm three miles west of
Springville.
In July, 1849, ^'"^ married Elizabeth Smith, also a native of
Baden, Germany. Before emigrating to America Mr. Renter
served ten years in the German army. The following is the
family record of his children :
Lany, born Jan. 15, 1844; married Nicholas Street; died
Oct. 25, 1874.
William, born Oct. 18, 1849 ^ married Ellen Baily.
Frederick, born Nov. 19, 1850; married Lizzie Zimmerman.
Sophia, born March 17, 1852.
Lebold, born May 28, 1855.
Joseph, born June 24, 1859.
Mary, born Feb. 25, 1S62.
Louisa, born Nov. 30, 1863.
John, born Sept. 18, 1869.
He has two grandchildren living with him :
Mary Street, born Jan. 6, 1866.
Lizzie Street, born Nov. 8, 1868.
John Keed.
Mr. Reed's paternal grandfather was a sea captain and an
artist. His father Daniel Reed was born in Connecticut His
KIOORAPIIICAL SKKTCirKS. 449
jTiother's niaitlcn name was Prudence Shephard. The}' re-
moved to the town of Glen, Montgomery county, N. Y.,
where Mr. Reed was born, Oct. 22, 1829. The family came to
this town about 1S38, where Mr, Reed has resided most of the
time since. He has been cn<^aged for many years in the boot
and shoe and leather trade in Sprin^^ville. He was married in
1849 to Mary Jane Hicks. They have three children :
Edward T., hla L., John J.
Nicholas Kassel.
Nicholas Rassel was born at Brandenburgh, Canton of
Dikirch, Luxemburg, in 1837 ; came to this country in 1856.
Embarked at Antwerp and landed at New York. Lived in
Minnesota two years and in Illinois three years. In the Fall
of 1 86 1 he enlisted in the arm\- and served over three years and
was in eighteen different skirmishes and engagements. Was
at Island No. 10, Shiloh. Tannington, Corinth, Natchez, Mem-
phis, Cayuga, Jackson, Vicksburg and in the Red River expedi-
tions. After the close of the war he came to Buffalo, and in
1869 returned to the old country on a visit. Was in business
in Buffalo nine years. Came to Springville in the Spring of
1876. He is a butcher, and keeps a meat market at No. 112
Main street. He was married to Kate Winter in 1871 ; she
died in 1872. Was married to his present wife, Susan Hcin, in
1874. They ha\'e two children :
Nicholas F.,
Barbara Ann Kate.
Oeorg'e A. Kii'linioiid.
George A. Richmond was born in the Town of Sardinia in
1854. His father's name was (jeorge Richmond ; his mother's
maiden name was Emily White ; his grandfather's name was
also George Richmond ; came here from Vermont in 1S07, and
selected land on the Cattaraugus creek in the southwest corner
of Sardinia, and in 1 809 moved his famil}- on to it and built a
log house, as all the settlers at that time were obliged to. and
commenced keeping ta\'ern and clearing up a farm. In early
times Richmond's log ta\'ern was wideh' known and was used
for public gatherings of xarious kinds. In after years (ieorge
450 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Richmond, the second, kept hotel in a frame building near by,
and was also extensively and successfull}- engaged in farming,
and at the time of his death owned over fifteen hundred acres
of land.
George A. has been a farmer and also kept hotel in Spring-
ville. He was married in 1874 to Miss Cecelia Wilgus, of
Whitestown, N. Y.
Jacob Kusliinore.
Jacob Rushmore was a very early settler here. He and his
brother built a tannery in 18 17 between Elk and Pearl streets
in Springville. He built and lived in an old yellow house just
above the present residence of J. P. Myres. He afterward
built the house where Edwin Wright now lives, and during his
life-time acquired considerable property.
He had six children, all of whom are now dead except two.
who live in San Francisco, Cal.
He died April 5, 1855, aged sixty-six years.
His wife died March 13, 1S49, ^gt'd fifty-nine years.
Emory Sanipsoii.
Emory Sampson was born at Harvard, Mass., Oct. 31, 1791.
Here was his home until he had reached the years of manhood.
Some time in the year 181 3 he was united in marriage to Miss
Susannah Herrick, who was born at Northumberland, N. H.,
Oct. 16, 1792. From here the young couple went to New
Hartford, N. Y., where the}' remained about one year, and
from thence to West Bloomfield, same state. The next we
learn of the )-oung pioneer he had taken a squatter's claim near
the village of Batavia ; the low, marshy grounds that sur-
rouncied the village at that time caused a great deal of sickness,
mostly of a malarial type, and the young adventurer after suf-
fering several "shakes" and doing considerable work, left his
claim and went to the Town of China, Wyoming county. In
the month of December, 1817, he located one hundred acres
on lot thirty-six, township seven, range seven, in the town of
Concord. This was the year after the ever-to-be-remembered
cold season, and Mr. Sampson, suffered in common with the
rest of the settlers ; he was a cooper by trade, but as there was
lilOCkAIMIKAI. SKi;i(IIKS. 45 1
but little dcnuiiul for liis scrxiccs here he souglit for work in
Buffalo. Airs. Samjjson and her two Httle cliildren would be
left alone during" the week, but when Saturda\- night came the
young mechanic would receive his wages, and so strong was
his love for those who waited for his coming that he would set
out on foot and alone to make that night journey of nearly
thirt}' miles, through the woods, and he seldom failed to accom-
})lish it before sunrise the next morning. He lived in this
town about thirty years, and cleared up a good-sized farm. In
1S46, Mr. Sampson sold this place and moved to Wisconsin,
where he died Sept. 20, 1852. His wife survi\ed him a few
years and died July 18, 1859.
Thirteen children were born to them, of whom nine are now
li\ing. viz.;
Alar}- Ann, born Feb. 11, 1814.
William A., born Nov. 7, 181 5.
Perrin, born Dec. 15, 181 8.
Sarah M., born April 28, 1820.
John G., born Oct. 28, 1821.
Nancy S., born Oct. 15, 1825.
Henry W., born Sept. 25, 1827.
Aseneth S., born March 4, 1830.
Asa E., born Dec. 4, 1831.
Mr. Sampson held the ofifice of Justice of the Peace and other
town ofifiQes, and he served as a soldier in the war of 1812-15.
He also held the ofifice of Captain in the militia.
Ah'XJiiKlcr Sooby
Came to the town of Otto, from Herkimer count}', in 1824, and
found a home with his brother-in-law, Abram Gibbs, father of
ex-Governor Gibbs, of Oregon. Otto was then but little better
than a wilderness, and the yc^ung and strong adventurer proved
of inestimable \'alue to the pioneer in reducing his claim to a
habitable state. In 1827, he was married to Miss Sarepta Boss.
This proved to be a very congenial union, and their united
efforts established one of the happiest homes that ever falls to
the lot of mortals. A year or so after we find the }-oung couple
located on the Cattaraugus, in the Town of Ashford. at a place
known as the " Transit Falls." but since changed to the " Scoby
452 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Mills." Here he built a saw and grist mill, and, for nearly
forty years, he very successfully carried on these industries,
together with that of bridge building. Besides seeing to his
own concerns, he represented his town for several years on the
Board of Supervisors, was President of the Cattaraugus county
Agricultural Society one year, and also served in a like capac-
ity for the Springville Agricultural Society. He possessed to
the last an inexhaustable fund of wit and humor that drew
friends around him, and he also dispensed an open-hearted hos-
pitality that was inherent to his nature, and made him a favor-
ite of old and young, and scarcely ever was his home on the
creek without one or more guests. But hard work and the
exposure that he constantly endured in and about his mills,
impaired his health and induced him to sell out on the creek,
and take up his residence in Springville. Here he continued
to enjoy the society of his friends and the creature-comforts of
his happy home, but alas, like all things mortal, a great shadow
fell across his pathway, and the light and joy and sunshine of
that home was forever darkened by the death of Mrs. Scoby,
who had been his faithful companion for nearly half a century.
Her death occured June 30, 1874. Nine children were the
fruits of their union, viz :
Madison C, married Agnes Bensley ; Chicago.
Maryette, married Thomas Pierce ; Springville.
Emeline E., married E. Smith ; died 1870.
Emma Jane, married A. Oyer; died 1865.
William G., married Francis A. Eddy; Mansfield, Cattar-
augus county.
Louisa A., married \V. F. Lincoln ; East Otto, Cattaraugus
county.
Adaline L., married William H. Warner ; Springville.
Herbert D., married Sophia A. 'Bensley ; Fort Scott, Kansas.
Marshall I)., married Addella Thomas ; Springville.
The death of his wife left him alone, for his children all had
homes of their own. In view of this he rented his place in
Springville, and the remainder of his days were passed with
his younger son, Marshall D., who was then living at San-
dusky, N. Y. He died June 24, 1880, aged seventy-three
years and eleven days.
II
mOGRAI'IIICAL SKETCHES. 453
Pliiiy Smith.
Fifty-two years the loth day of September, 1883, fliny Smith,
wife and little son, came to this town on the lumbering old
stage coach, w Inch ran over Townsend hill. The}' stopped the
first night in a house where Mrs. Post now lives. Here they
stopped for a number of years. Mr. Smith came here as a
dry goods merchant and commenced business where the Meth-
odist church now stands. A few years afterwards he sold out
and bought a farm, after which he was part of the time
engaged in trade and the remainder in farming. Mr. Smith
was well educated for the times in which he lived, and what-
ever business or office of trust he undertook, he performed its
duties faithfully and well. He was for thirty years treasurer of
the Springville Academy, and was also Justice of the Peace
eight years. He was a faithful friend to the Academy and did
all in his power to aid and strengthen it. Mr. Smith was born
in Orwell, Rutland county, Vt., in 1804, and died in Spring,
ville Jan. 3, 1878. His wife, Rebecca (Murray) Smith died in
Springville, 1883. They had three children :
Orville, the eldest, born in 1828, married Chastine D. Sleeper
and lives in Springville.
Emeline, born in 183 1, married William Reed, a hardware
merchant, of Buffalo. After his death she was married to F. C.
Hill, of Buffalo, also a hardware merchant.
Ann, born in 1836, married Charles Vaughn, and lives in
Concord.
Albert Steele.
David Steel, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in
Concord in 1823 ; he married Julia Hawks, who was born in
1 83 1 They had five children :
Solomon, David Jr., Albert, Sarah and Myron.
Albert was born in Concord in 1847, and married Nina Blake-
ley in 1874, and is at the present time farming in Concord.
They have four children :
Edna, born in 1875.
Lloyd, born in 1877.
Irene, born in 1880.
Julia, born in 1882.
Mr. Steele's father died in 1867; his mother died in 1875,
I
454 BioGRArmcAL sketches.
Luke Siiiioiuls.
Of that sturd)' band of heroic pioneers who sixty and sevent}'
years ago left their New Eni^land homes to come into this then
almost primeval forest to prepare the way for the harvest field,
the church spire and the scliool-house, Mr. Simonds is one of
but few that still survive.
The son of a Revolutionary soldier, he was born at Worcester,
Mass., July, 1798. In the Fall of 1820, he, in company with
his brother Zebedee and John and Masury Giles, came to West
Concord. The four walked the entire distance from Worcester
to Concord, averaging about thirty miles each day — each carry-
ing his worldly effects on hi-^ back. The}' were all young, un-
married men, and located on lot thirty-four, township seven,
range seven. On their arrival, they stopped at Lewis Nichols',
who had settled at Nichols' Corners, while they could build
them a log shanty ; in this shanty, Luke and his brother
Zebedee antl John Giles spent the Winter. The following
Spring, Zebedee built a house on his land and returned to
Massachusetts and was married.
Luke built a house on his portion about a year and a half
after coming.
The wild animals common to the country were then abun-
dant. Mr. Simonds .tells of following a panther from early
dawn one day till darkness prevented his taking aim on his gun,
when he abandoned the pursuit. He speaks of seeing wolves
in what is now his front yard.
Mr. Simonds r.;ives the following information relating to the
early history of his part of the town : First saw mill, built by
John and Masury Giles in 1825, near where the Bolender mills
now are; first grist mill, built by Simeon Holton in 1824; first
blacksmith .sho]), by Elijah Richardson in 1821 ; brick first
made by Pliny Wilson in 1820; first black .salts made by Luke
Simonds. who also made boots and shoes, and frequently went
to Buffalo on foot after the leather ; the first school was taught
by Philip Payne in the Winter of 1820 and '21. The first Sum-
mer school was taught by Rosamond Sampson.
As an evidence of the .scarcity and value of certain articles in
a new country might be inentioned a caldron kettle, in the
posse.ssion of Mrs. Simonds, which was brought from Albany all
r.TOr.RAl'IIICAT. SKETCHES. 455
the way on a wagon, and when dcHvcred at Boston Corners
the total expense was forty dollars.
Mr. Simonds has always resided upon the same land upon
which he located in 1820. He was married in 1827, to Bets}'
Cooper ; has four children living :
Betsy married Thomas J. Richardson.
Mary — unmarried.
Alphine married Jeremiah Louk.
Albert married Mariah Sloan.
Mr. Simonds" brother Zebedeedied in Elma, Erie county, N.
Y., in 1871.
William Smith, Jr.
William Smith, Jr., was born in Vermont in January, 1802.
and came to this town in the Spring of 18 10. He attended
school that Summer to Miss Annie Richmond. He lived with
his father until he was of age and chopped for him and others
in company with his brother Calvin, and was considered one of
the best choppers in the country. After he became of age,
he taught several terms of school. In 1828, he built a store
where the First National bank now stands, and started the
first regular grocery store in Springville, which he ran for a
short time and then sold out. He located on the south part of
lot forty-five, township seven, range six, on Sharp street. He
commenced with sixt}'-five acres of wild land, but kept adding
on from time to time, till he had a farm of two hundred acres
which he afterwards sold to Seth W. Godard ; he then bought
a farm south of and joining the village, lately owned by Allen
Goodemote, which he soon after traded to William P. Mills
for his farm on Townsend Hill, consisting of all of lot three
and part of lot four, where Frank Williams now lives. Here he
died in March, 1870, at the age of sixty-eight.
He was a very industrious, hard-working man, and acquired
a good property. He once received a premium at a town fair
as the best farmer in the town. He reared a large family of
children. Those of his wife Emeline (Godard) Smith were :
Laban W., born March 8, 1835.
Abel W., born Februar\-. 1837; died Feb. 16, 1844.
Jane, born June 3, 1833 : married Chester C. Pingry.
WILLIAM SMITH, JPJ.
I'.KXikAI'Ilir.M, SKKICUKS. 457
Emogcnc, born March 22. i(S42: married A. L.-,Vau_L,^han.
and lives in Springvillc.
Wesley, born Sept. 30, 1S45 ; lives in Wisconsin.
Those of his wife Cinderrella (Briggs) Smith are :
Alphonse, born May 14, 1847.
Angerona, born Sept. 12, i<S48.
Charles E., born ]^\'b. 4, 1S50.
Loraine, born Feb. 14, 1852.
Lorette, born Aug. 26, 1853.
Ella, born Nov. 17, 1854.
Luzerne, born May 26, 1856.
Mary A., born Oct. 26, 1857.
Willie D., born May 1 i, i860.
Lillie O., born March 11, 1863.
Allen L., born Nov. 12, 1866.
Luzerne Smith.
Luzerne Smith, son of W'ilHam Smith, was born in Concord,
N. Y., Ma}' 26, 1856, where he has resided most of the time.
His occupation which he has successfully followed for several
years is that of cheese making. He was married in 1875 to
Anna Vosburg ; they have three children :
Lee, born April 2y, 1877.
Alta A., born in Februar)-, 1880.
Earl, born April 15, 1881.
("liarles K. Sinitli.
Charles E. Smith, son of William Smith, was born Feb. 4.
1850, in Concord ; married Hannah Fuller. They have one
son, Charles. Ls a cheese maker and farmer ; is now and has
been for several seasons making cheese at East Concord.
Alyhon.so Smith.
Alphonso Smith was born in the town of Concord, May 14,
1847, lii-'' father's name was William Smith and his mother's
maiden name was Cinderrella Briggs. He has worked at farm-
ing, but for the last dozen years or more he has followed the
business of cheese making very successfully. He resides at
458 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
the present time in the north part of the town of Concord. He
was married in the year 1872 to Miss Mary E. Acklcy. Their
children are:
Daisey, born July 18, 1874.
Dell H., born March 7, 1876.
Glenn A., born June 28. 1878.
Harlau P. SpaiiUliuji.
Mr. Spaulding was born at Otto, Cattaraugus county, N. Y.,
Aug. 9th, 1839. His father, Harvej^ Spaulding, was born in
Middlesbur\% Vermont, in 1804. His mother Clarissa Hastings
was born at Fort Ann, Washington county, N. Y., in 1805.
They were married in 1824 and moved to Great Valley, N. Y.,
and to Springville in 1826; afterwards resided at different
places until 1850, when they took up their permanent residence
in Springville.
Harlan P. Spaulding enlisted as a private Sept. 16, 1861, in
Company A, Forty-fourth Regiment New York State volun-
teers, and joined the regiment at Albany. The regiment
joined the Army of the Potomac in October, 1861 ; participated
in the battles of Antietam, F"redericksburg, Chancellorsville,
Gettysburg, &c. Mr. Spaulding served with the Forty-fourth
until Oct. 10, 1863, when he was commissioned captain in the
Seventh Regiment U. S. colored troops, and assigned to Com-
pany E. He was sent to Florida in the Spring of 1864, and
returned in August, and was with the Army of the Potomac
until Lee's surrender. On the 9th of April, 1864, Mr. Spauld
ing was breveted by the President, Major and Lieutenant-Col-
onel for gallant and meritorious services.
After Lee's surrender he was assigned to the command of the
Post of Matagorda, Texas, with companies E and G, of his regi-
ment. He remained there until Jan. i, 1866, when the companies
joined the regiment at Indianola, where he was a})pointed
U. S. Marshal for the sub-district of Victoria, Texas ; remained
there until April i, then went to Victoria with companies E
and G to relieve Colonel Colyer, of the Thirty-eighth Illinois
regiment ; remained at this poi^t until November, when he
came North and was mustered out of service at Baltimore.
I'.iocKAi'iiicAi. ski; 1(1 IKS. 459
Frank I*. Spaiildin^-.
I'rank P. Spaukliiii^- was born in S[)rini;villc, N. Y., July I2,
1834. His father's name was Harvey Spaulding; his mother's
maiden name was Chirisa Haskins. When nineteen years old
Mr. S'paulding- went to sea. lie sailed froni New Bedford,
Mass., June 25, 1853, on board the bark 1^'ranklin No. 2, Cap-
tain Samuel Lee, Master, of Newport, R. I. Returned to the
same pnvt July 8, 1857. During;- this whaling- voyage of four
years in the Pacific ocean, they secured over one thousand bar-
rels of sperm oil. The first port made on the outward voyage
was the Azores; doubled Cape Horn P'eb. 20, 1854; made the
first port in the Pacific ocean at Talcahuano, in Chili ; visited
Conception, from which city they sailed in March for a cruise off
the coasts of Peru, California and the Galapagos Islands ; visiting
the ports of Payta and Tumbez, in Peru. At the latter place Mr.
Spaulding explored the ruins of one of those ancient cities
built previous to the discovery of America by Europeans. Off
the coast of Mexico they encountered a typhoon la.sting twenty-
four hours, carrying away several of their boats and damagmg
their ship. The voyage around Cape Horn was unimportant.
Mr. Spaulding embarked on a second whaling voyage on the
same vessel and for the same waters, Sept. 29, 1857, John S.
Howland, Captain. On reaching the La Plata River the vessel
sprunk a-leak and they put about for Rio Janeiro for repairs;
remained at that city five weeks ; during this time Mr. Spauld-
ing saw the Emperor Don Pedro review his troops. Leaving
Rio Janeiro they doubled Cape Horn in rough weather, stop-
ping at the Island of Juan Fernandez for sup[)]ies, after which
they cruised off the co ist of Peru, making the port of Hono-
lulu in Sept., 1858, where they staid five weeks. During this
time Mr. Spaulding saw much of the Sandwich Islan.ds and
their King, Kamahamaha IV. They left Payta, Peru, for
home in December, i;-6o. Off the coast of Juan Fernandez
they encountered a gale, damaging their vessel so that they made
for Valparaiso, where the vessel was condemned and the cargo
of twelve hundred barrels of oil sent home by another ship.
Mr. Si)aulding took passage on a steamer for Talcahuano, Chili,
with the Captain ; from there sailed for liome in the bark
460 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Franklin No. i. Captain Gifford, Master, arriving at New Bed-
ford, June 23, 1861.
During his travels Mr. Spaulding was a shrewd and intelli-
gent observer, and if space permitted much might be related of
his observations that would be of interest.
Mr. Spaulding had been at home but a short time when he
entered the union army, enlisting Sept. 18, 1861, in Company
A, 36th Regiment New York State volunteers, which was
attached to McCIellan's command ; participated in the penin-
sula campaign, battle of Fair Oaks, the seven days fight to Har-
rison's Landing, the second battle of Bull Run, Fredericksburg,
Chancellorsville, etc. He was mustered out of the service July
15, 1863, at New York. While on duty in New York he saw
the attack on the Tribune of^ce and heard Gov. Seymour's
noted speech to the rioters.
Mr. Spaulding was married in 1866, to Isabelle L. Robinson.
They have had six children :
Lizzie C, Carrie F. (dead), Frank J., Alice M., Elois L.,
Luzerne H.
AVilbur H. Stanbro.
Wilbur H. Stanbro, son of Amos Stanbro and Hannah Wil-
cox Stanbro, was born in Concord, Oct. 15, 1S30. He had
always been a resident of his native town ; his occupation was
farming until 1 870, when he removed to Springville and engaged
for a time in the harness business ; then for a while in the boot
and shoe trade. At present he is employed in selling nurser}-
stock. He was elected Assessor of Concord in 1877 and served
one term.
Mr. Stanbro was married Dec. 22, 1852, to Harriet L. Cran-
ston. They have a family of three sons and three daughters,
viz :
Mary F., married Thomas Prior.
Wilbur D.
Cora C, married Arther R. White.
Carrie G., Amos Karl and Charles B.
Fi'ankliu C Slmltes.
Franklin C. Shultes was born in Concord, N. Y.,Jan. 8, 1844,
of which town he has alwavs been a resident. He was married
lUUC;RArHRAL SK Kiel IKS.
461
Jan. I, 1866, to Rebecca Holman. The\- ha\e one son and one
daughter, viz :
Franklin \V., born Nov. 20, 1867.
Cora B., born April 13, 1869.
Mr. Shultcs was a union soldier, enlisting in August, 1862. in
the ii6th New York X'olunteers. Company F, was mustered
out of the service in the spring of 1864.
Charles C Severance.
Charles C. Severance was born at Burlington, Vt., Oct.
17, 1807. His father's name was Consider Severance, who was
born at Shelbourn Mass., Dec. 21, 1771 ; his mother's maiden
name was Elizabeth Craig, born at Northampton, Mass., in
1774 ; his grandfather's name was Matthew Severance, born in
1735 in Massachusetts; his grandmother's maiden name was
Experience Nash, born in Massachusetts in 1745. Mr. Sever-
ance graduated at the University of Vermont in August, 1827;
studied law at Clinton count}', N. Y., and was admitted as an
attorne)' in October, 1833, and moved to Springville, N. Y., in
No\ember, 1833. He was married to Eliza F. Badgely at
Cortlandville, N. Y., Jan 10, 1842. who died Jan. i, 1843. He
was married at Spring\ille. N. Y.. Feb. 2 1, 1849, to Selena B.
462 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Ingals, the daughter of Dr. Varney Ingals, who died Jan. 8.
1856, leaving two children:
George Spencer, born Dec. 13, 1850; died June 2, 1864.
Henry, born Feb. 10, 1852, who lives in Springville.
He was married again at Chazy, Clinton county, N. Y., to
Hannah M. Douglass, April 6, 1858, who died June 2, 1859.
Mr. Severance was a justice of the peace from 1840 to 1847,
inclusive; also from 1851 to 1859 inclusive; from 1864 to 1867
and from 1877 to the present time. He was Town Clerk from
1838 for nine years consecutively, and was Member of Assem-
bly for the years 1848 and 1851, and was Surrogate of Erie
county one term. In 1851 he was one of the Assembly com-
mittee appointed to visit the several state prisons of the state
and to make a report. He was Supervisor of the Town of Con-
cord for the years 1846, '47, '48, '49, '50, '66, '68 and 'y^,- He
has frequently been Trustee of Springville academy, and has
also frequently been Trustee of the Village of Springville and
President of the Board of Trustees, which position he occupies
at the present time. He has always been a free-hearted, liberal
and public-spirited citizen.
William Sliultes.
William Shultes came about the same time as his brothers,
and located next to David Shultes on lot twenty-one, township
six, range six. He cleared a farm on this lot and about this
time was married to Sally Sampson, daughter of Peter Samp-
son. He, in company with Peter Sampson and Urial Torre)',
of Boston, started the first mail coach ever run between Spring-
ville and Buffalo. It was a four-horse Troy coach, carrying the
mail and passengers ; the mail route at that time being over
Townscnd hill. He died July 6, 1849, leaving no children.
Carlton Spooiier.
Carlton Spooner was born in the Town of Nunda, Li\ing-
ston county, N. Y., July 28, 1820; came to Concord in 1822 ;
his occupation a farmer; was married Oct. 7, 1838; his wife's
name was Phebe Shippy, of Concord; his wife died in 1874;
was married to Polly Cox in December, 1872, who died Dec.
18, 1877 ; was married to his present wife, Emeiine .Shultus, in
bi()(;rai'iiical sketches. 463
1878. His father's name was Ebcnczcr Spooner ; was born in
New Bedford, Mass.; his mother's maiden name was Polly
Newell; was born in the Town of Danb}-. Rutland county, Vt.
His father mo\ed to Nunda and from there to Concord in
1822; settled at Nichols Corners, West Concord, about 1828;
removed to Spooner Hollow, one and one-half miles west of
Sprini^'ville, and from there to Scoby's Mills, and li\'ed there
until the time of his death, in April, 1832.
Ebenezer, son of Carlton Spooner, enlisted in the One Flun-
dred and Sixteenth regiment when it was formed, served three
years in the War of the Rebellion, and until discharged; was
taken prisoner and kept three months ; now lives at Waverly,
Cattaraugus county, N. Y. W'as promoted to the rank of
Lieutenant for meritorious conduct while under fire.
The following is the family record :
Ebenezei", born Aug. 16, 1839; married Deborah Millington.
Druzilla. born in 1842; married to Dwight Perkins.
Phebe .\nn, born in 1844.
Gilbert, born in 1847; married to Julia Fairchild.
L. C, born in 1850 ; married to Ella Lord.
Maria, born in 1854; married to Howard Clark.
Emma, born in 1856.
Marilla, born in 1859.
George B., born in 1863.
Frauk O. Smith.
Frank O. Smith was born in the City of Buffalo in 1855;
came to Springville in 1859, "^^'^^ married in 1874 to Miss Ettie
¥. Dygert, daughter of Abram D}gert ; his father's name is
Orville Smith, his mother's maiden name was Chastine D.
Sleeper ; his grandfather's name was Pliny Smith, his grand-
mother's maiden name was Rebecca J\Iurra\-.
He came to reside in Springville in 1859. His grandfather,
Pliny Smith, was one of the old settlers in Springville, where
he resided at the time of his death. His wife's father, Abram
Dygert, was one of the early settlers in Ashford, Cattaraugus
county, and was one of a large number who emigrated from
Herkimer county, N. Y. He came to li\e in Spring\'ille, in
1865. and with occasional temporar}- absence, continued to
464 lilOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
reside here until the time of his death. They have one child, a
son,
Pliny A. Smith, born at Springville in 1875.
Joliu Squires.
John Squires, born March 1st, 1816, in Concord, is a farmer;
Avas married April, 22, 1838, to Caroline Stowell, who was born
in Wooster county, Massachusetts, June i, 18 16. His father's
name was Seely Squires, who came to Concord in 1814. His
mother's maiden name was Susan Drake. She died March 2,
1879, aged 83. The children of John and Caroline Squires are:
Thomas S. Squires, born in Concord, Feb. 27, 1839 - married
October, 1866, to Paraloxy Cornwell, daughter of Deacon Wil-
lard Cornwell, and now lives at Mt. Carroll, 111., where he is en-
gaged in the hardware business. Has one boy about sixteen
years of age.
Luthera E., was born Aug. 11, 1840 ; married June 7, 1868 ;
her husband's name is Cornelius Treat, have one son five years
old.
Caroline, born March 20, 1842 ; married to the Rev. Sextus
Smith, July, 1864; lives at Union Mills, La Port county, Ind.
Bettie E., born March 4, 1844; married August 4, 1864, to
Hon. C. P. Vedder ; lives at Ellicottville. Had one son, John-
nie C. Vedder, born Aug. 27, 1867, died Feb. 21, 1882.
Susan J., born Oct. 29, 1849; married Oct. 20, 1876, to
Charles McCoy. She died Feb. i, 1879.
Seely, born May 20, 1855 ; died Jan. 20, 1856.
George L. Staiibro.
Mr. Stanbro's grandfather, Prentis Stanbro, Sr., was born in
R. I.; married in 1 805, to Polly Beebe. He lived at Volling-
ton, Conn., and Plainfield, N. Y. From the latter place he
moved to Concord, N. "Y., in 1828, and located on lot
fifty-one, township seven, range six, where he lived until
his death. He had a family of eleven children ; Prentis,
Gardiner, Maria, Lucinda, Russell, Harriet, Angeline, Henry,
William, Charles and Hannah. The youngest was born
in Concord, the others in Plainfield, N. Y., except Prentis,
the eldest — father of Geor<je L. Stanbro — who was born in
lUOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 465
Vollington, Conn., Oct. 31, 1806, came to Concord about 1827,
and located on lot forty-three, township seven, range six,
where he lived until he moved to Springville, where he died
June 14, 1881. He was married to Eliza Ann Churchill. They
had only one child who lived to mature years.
George L., who was born April 24, 1833, in Concord, where
he has always resided. He was married in 1853 to Sarah J.
Burnap ; they have three children :
Lucelia M., born Nov. 11, 1856; married in 1878 to Seth S.
Hawks.
Elmer L., born Dec. 31, i860.
Harley L., born Jan. 18, 1871.
Mr. Stanbro has always been engaged in farming, and for
eight years he has also been engaged in the life insurance
business.
Stephen E. Spaulding.
Stephen E. Spaulding, son of Harvey Spaulding, was born
in Ashford, N. Y., June 15, 1842. He has been a resident of
Springville since 1850, and where he has followed the pursuit
of photograph artist since 1867.
Mr. S. was a soldier in the Rebellion; enlisted Aug. 8, 1862,
in Co. F., 1 16 N. Y. S. Vol. He was a musician, but his energies
were not always devoted to furnishing music for his comrades.
He was often at the front of the line of battle using a weapon,
or assisting in other ways. He participated in all the battles
in which his regiment took part ; was discharged June 14,
1865.
Mr. S. was married, 1869, to Ellen S. Green, daughter of
Ray Green ; they have two sons,
Albert R.; born Oct. 17, 1870.
Eugene G.; born Sept. i, 1878.
C. J. Shuttlewortli.
Mr. Shuttleworth was born in Orange county, N. Y., in 1834.
His father, Charles Shuttleworth, was a native of Essex county,
England. Mr. Shuttleworth removed to Springville with his
parents when he was eleven years of age. His father was a
miller and followed his occupation in the mill of Colonel Cook,
466 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
where youn^ Charles learned to be a miller. He worked in the
mill and attended school in the Academy under the principal-
ship of Professor Jonathan Earle, until ninteen years of age,
when he commenced business for himself by renting of Ben-
jamin Joslyn, the "big mill." He soon bought an interest
in the mill, and from that time up to 1874, with the exception
of two or three years, he was sole or part proprietor of the mill.
In 1861, he entered into partnership with D. C. Bloomfield,
and built the Springville foundry, which he conducted until
its destruction by fire in May, 1876. He then erected a
foundry, machine shop, &c., on what was known as the Cook
mill site, where he now conducts business. ,
Mr. Shuttleworth is also extensively engaged in building. He
is also largely employed in mill building. Mr. Shuttleworth
possesses rare natural mechanical talent, which, combined with
his great business energy and perseverance, and public spirit,
makes him an important factor in the growth and development
of his town.
Mr. Shuttleworth was married (3ct. 25, J 859, to Eliza H.
Holland, daughter of George Holland. They have a famih' of
six children as follows:
Elizabeth H., born Sept. 25, i860; married June i, 1882. to
Rev. Samuel W. Eddy.
Charles R., born Sept. 30, 1863.
Mabel B., born Sept. I, 1867.
James E., born May 24, 1872.
Luther J., born Aug. 1 1, 1865.
Maleska G., born March 16, 18/O.
The Shaw Family.
Samuel Shaw was born in Connecticut, Nov. 21, 1777. Re-
moved to the City of Utica, N. Y., at an early day; manufac-
tured the first brick for Nicholas Devereaux store, the first
brick building erected in Utica ; removed to the Town of Con-
cord, June, 1816; located one mile south of Springville on a
farm and lived there the greater part of his subsequent life.
His wife was Phoebe Rushmore, born in Orange county, N. Y.
April 19, 1784. Their children were:
Samuel, born Sept. 29, 1807; now living in Milwaukee, Wis.
bi()(;rapiii(ai, sketches. 467
Joseph, born Au<,^ 12, 1810; died Aug. 20, 1846.
Nathan, born Aug. 25, 1812 ; died about Aug. 10, 1865.
Sahnon, born April, 15, 18 16.
Daniel, born June 27, 1818; died in Springville, Aug. 20, 1846.
Mary E., born Oct. 10, 1820; died in Springville, July 16, 1847.
Silas, born Oct. 11, 1822; died in Springville, May 19, 1849.
Emma T., born June 23, 1825 ; now Mrs. Morgan Merritt,
resides in San Francisco, Cal.
Samuel Shaw, senior, died in Springville, Feb. 11, 1852.
Phoebe Shaw, his wife, died in Springville, May 30, 1847.
Salmon Shaw's Family.
Salmon Shaw married Julia Ann McMillen, daughter of the
late Joseph McMillen. They have now two children living:
Thomas S , and Abbie C.
Thomas S. Shaw was married Nov. 26, 1879, ^o Miss Ida
Reed, daughter of John W. Reed, of Springville. Salmon
Shaw was, for a while, a clerk in the County Clerk's ofifice, of
this county, and was also a Deputy Sheriff. He was the can-
didate of the Whig party for Sheriff of this county in 1855, and
was also the candidate of the Republican party in 1861. He
was for several years traveling and collecting agent of Pratt &
Co., the extensive hardware dealers of Buffalo. After that, was
partner in and manager of a large tannery in Olean. He was
also at one time engaged in mining at Leadville, Col.
Georg-e Smead.
George Smead was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1834.
Came to this country in 1852; was thirty-four days crossing
from Antwerp to New York. Came to White's Corners and
worked one year in a tannery. Came to Springville and learned
the cooper's trade of I B .Childs and worked for him altogether
about ten years. Went into the army in 1861 in the 64th
Regiment New York Volunteers ; was in the second corps of
the Army of the Potomac ; he was at Fair Oaks, the seven
days fight, Malvern Hill, the second Bull Run, Antictam, Fred-
ericksburgh, Chancellorsville, Gettysburgh, the Wilderness,
Spottsylvania Court House and Cold Harbor, where he was
wounded and lost an arm. He returned home in 1865. Was
4^8 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
married in the fall of 1867, to Miss Lana Mahl. Their children
are: George L,, Ada Louisa and Ira M. They live at No.
1 1 Elk street.
Whitman Stone.
Whitman Stone was the first settler on lot sixty-one, town-
ship seven, range six, where Samuel Twitchell and Owen Baker
lived afterwards, and where Mr. Snyder lives now. He was a
carpenter and put up some of the first frame barns built in this
town. He married Frelove Foster and went to Eden sixty
years ago. He was somewhat prominent as an ofificer in the
militia ; he afterwards went to Hanover and Ripley, Chautau-
qua county, and finally to Kendall county, 111., where he
died.
His eldest son, Marshall, is the only known survivor.
Phineas Scott.
Phineas Scott came to this town from Danby, Vermont,
about 1 8 16, and first settled on the Cattaraugus Creek, south
of Springville ; built him a shanty and kept bachelor's hall and
cleared up some land. Afterwards moved onto what has since
been called the Post place, on lot eleven, township six, range
six, and about that time married Polly Smith, of Chautauqua
county ; lived there about ten years when his wife died, leaving
four children, viz :
George W:, who became a merchant in Buffalo, and died in
1877.
Mary Matilda, who died in Minnesota in 1876.
William J.
Marcus D., who lives in Chautauqua county.
About 1830, he married Hannah Smith, sister of his first
wife and moved to Townsend Hill, where ho lived until his
death. He accumulated a large property and at one time
owned, free from encumbrance, over one thousand acres of
land. He died in May, 1872, aged about seventy-eight years.
His second wife's children are;
Lewis, who lives in Iowa.
Eliza, married David Pugsley and lives in Iowa.
Maryette, married James McClure, and lives in Boston.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 469
Amanda, married Elias Gould, and lives in Golden.
Angerona, married Merritt Pugsley, and died in Wisconsin.
Deles O., lives in Iowa.
Hiram lives in this town.
Oliver lives in Ashford.
David E. and Henry, live in this town.
William J. Scott.
William J. Scott was born in this town in 1824; was brought
up on a farm, and was used to hard work ; worked out several
years for different parties, afterwards rented farms in different
places. Bought farm on Townsend Hill in 1852. In 1876.
removed to Chautaucjua county, bought three cheese factories,
remained one year and returned to this town. In 1850 was
married to Hannah Parsell. Their children were :
Mary, who married Charles F. Williams and lives in Chau-
tauqua county.
Dennis, married Rachael Ritman of Hamburg and removed
to Chautauqua in 1876, and afterwards died with the typhoid
pneumonia.
Edwin 1 ves in this town.
David E. Scott.
David E. Scott was born on Townsend Hill, in this town,
April 26, 1849, ^"^ ^^^^ resided here all his lifetime, except
when absent on two hunting expeditions that he has taken to
the Far West. One in 1867, when eighteen years of age and
the other several years later. He hunted bufTalo, deer, elk,
antelope, etc., for over six months, in Nebraska, Kansas and
Colorado. Oct. 10, 1872, he married Loraette Smith, daughter
of W^illiam Smith. Jul}' 10, 1875, she died, leaving one child.
Edith, then about a year and one-half old. He purchased
land on Buffalo street, Springville, on which he built a house
in 1875, in which he resides. Sept. 5, 1879, ^^^ ^^'^^ married to
Clara B. Williams, by whom he had one son. He is a farmer
and owns a farm on Townsend Hill.
Fanny M. Sherman, A. M.
Fanny M. Sherman was born Jan. 12, 1842, in Ashford Cat-
taraugus county, N. Y. Her father's name was Charles
470 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Sherman ; her mother's maiden name was Mary Whitney. Miss
Sherman graduated at the Springv^ille Academy in 1862, pre-
vious to which she had taught nine terms of school ; after
graduating, she taught one year at Lawrenceville, Pa., and at
different places in Erie and Cattaraugus counties, until 1865.
when she entered the Genesee College at Lima, as a student,
and remained about two years. In 1866, she became precep-
tress of the High School at Ypsilanti, Mich., which position
she occupied two years. From Ypsilanti, she went to Califor-
nia, and taught seven years in the high schools of San Fran
Cisco. In 1875, she returned to Springville and accepted the
position of preceptress of Griffith Institute, which position she
filled until 1882, when she accepted a like position at Hamburg,
N. Y.
While in California, Miss Sherman was granted a Teacher's
State Life diploma, and since her return she has had the hon-
orary degree of A. M. conferred upon her by Alfred University
and Allegany College.
Miss Sherman is one of a family of eight, who have all been
more or less engaged in teaching.
Her father, Charles W. Sherman, died April 2, 1883, aged
se\^enty-two years, eight months and twenty days.
Calvin C. Smith.
Mr. Smith is a brother of S. R. Smith, and was born near
Springville, Sept. 27, 1838, where he has ever since resided.
He was married Nov. 15, 1864, to Josephine Flemings. The}'
have two sons :
Grant, born Aug. 19, 1865.
IraW., born Oct. 12, 1871.
Mr. Smith has followed the occupation of farming, with the
exception of three years, when he was in trade in Springville :
one year, 1863, as grocer, and two years, 1864 and '65, in the
boot and shoe trade.
Stephen K. Smith.
Mr. Smith was a son of Calvin Smith, one of the earliest
pioneers of Concord, a sketch of whom will be found in an-
other part of this work. He was born June 27, 1830, in Con-
cord, on the farm now owned by him, and the one which he
I
HIOCiRAl'IIICAL SKKTCIIKS. 47I
has always either resided upon or occupied, with the exception
of three years spent in California — 1854 to 1857 — where he was
successfully en^^aged in mining in the Sierra Nevada moun-
tains.
Mr. Smith's farm of 225 acres is one of the finest in town
and under his careful cultivation has been made to yield suffi-
cient produce to maintain a dairy of sixty cows, while, when he
first commenced its supervision, only twenty-five were kept.
Mr. Smith was married in 1859 ^'^ Mary E. Gardinier. In
the Spring of 1865, he moved to Springville, and erected the
first cheese factory built in town. He continued to purchase
and build factories until he is now probably the largest i)idh'id-
iial cheese manufacturer in the world, being now sole proprietor
of sixteen factories: Five in Concord, six in Cattaraugus
county, four in Sardinia, and one in Colden. During the year
1880, nine hundred tons of cheese were made ; two hundred
cheese per day being made in the best of the season ; the pro-
ceeds of this immense product of cheese amounting to a quar-
ter of a million dollars. The Yorkshire Corners factory, now
owned by Mr. Smith, was the first cheese factory built in Cat-
taraugus county. In 1864 — it was then owned by D. J. Wood-
worth — it probably made the largest sale of cheese for the high-
est price that was ever recorded, the sale amounting to about
twenty-five tons, at twenty-six cents per pound.
Besides Mr. Smith's extensive cheese business, of which he
has the sole proprietorship and management from the time the
milk is received at the factory until the patron receives his
money ; he conducts a general business in furnishing building
materials, and also manufactures all the boxes used for ship-
ping the cheese, besides large quantities for others.
For the successful management of Mr. Smith's business,
much is due to his efficient clerk, F. O. Smith, who has been in
his office nine years.
Mr. Smith has made it a rule to expend all moneys earned in
improvements and the extension of his business.
He takes an interest in all industrial projects that have for
their object public improvement.
In 1883, he was elected President of the Farmers' Bank of
Springville.
472 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Samuel 1>. Stevens.
Samuel D.Stevens was born March i, 1814, in Vermont, and
came to the Town of Concord in the year 1832; his occu-
pation a farmer; was married in 1838, to Sarah Philips, daugh-
ter of Deacon Asa Philips ; she was born in Salem, Mass.,
Nov. 3, 1 8 14; his father's name was Levi Stevens; his mother's
maiden name was Rhoda Hazeltine. Deacon Asa Philips died
at the age of seventy-one years and eight months ; his wife
died at the age of seventy-one years and seven months. They
came to Concord in 1817 ; settled one mile south of where they
now live on a farm, and subsequently came to live at their pres-
ent location ; have no children.
Henry D. Sterns.
Henry D. Sterns was born Aug. 16, 1832, in Vermont; came
to Concord in 1837 ; is a farmer ; was married in 1856, to Barb-
ary Vance, who was born in Canada ; his father's name was
John Sterns; his mother's maiden name was Polly Preston;
his farm consists of one hundred and fifty acres ; it was all a wild-
erness when he came here, but he has cleared most of it.
Their children were :
Holland, born May 3. 1857; died June 28, 1863.
Ida A., born March 31, 1863.
Charles H., born Dec. 19, 1864.
Elmer J., born Aug. 12. 1869.
Alvin E., born March i, 1872.
Grace A., born March 22, 1874.
Ray W., born May i, 1876.
Eva M., born April 15, 1880.
We came to Vermont with horses and sleigh. When we
first came here the road was not cut out, and we had to follow
marked trees ; we sometimes went to meeting with oxen and
sled in the Summer time.
John Becker was the first settler on our street between
Woodward's Hollow and the town line.
Then came Truman Vanderlip, Zacheas Preston, Henry
Sterns and Mr. Dingman.
A Mr. Babcock came from Canada and located and was the
first man that died in our neighborhood.
BIOC.RAl'IIICAL SKKTCIIES. 473
Ira Stebbins, John Lyndc, Daniel Horton and William Mor-
ton located here soon after.
Oiriii Sibley's Stateinent.
I came from the town of Wellington, Tolland count}', Conn.,
in 1816. Benjamin Sibley and Joshua Agard came out in the
Spring and bought land and returned, and we all came out in
September. There was Joshua Agard, Benjamin Sibley, Abi-
jah Sibley, Mr. Cunningham and their families and myself; I
was nineteen, nearly twenty, when we came. Agard 's first
wife was my sister; her name was Lucy Sibley. Mr. Cunning-
ham settled on the hill north of us. The rest of us located on
lots sixty-three and fifty-five, township seven, range six, adjoin-
ing each other. We settled on what has been called the " State
Road." It was marked through when we came, but was not
cut out. We cut it through to GrifTfith Corners two or three
years after we came. When we came there was not a house
between the dye factory and East Concord.
Lyman Drake and Mr. Thurber lived down the valley tow-
ards the Boston line. I helped raise a log house for a Mr.
French in 181 7, where Orville Canfield now lives, near the dye
factory.
Aaron Cole came in about two years after we did, and so did
Ephraim Needham, and Mr. Chapin's people came about that
time also.
Mr. Cunningham did not live but a few years ; he left only
one child, Elizabeth Cunningham ; she married Moses Calkins
and died a few years ago.
Mahala Eaton taught the first school, I think in 1820 or
1 82 1.
I was awfully scared the first night we were here at the owls
hooting; I had never heard an owl before, and I thought they
were panthers. I heard a hog squeal one day in the woods not
far from my house, and I went to see what was the matter, and
found a bear killing and eating the hog ; I got a gun and shot
and killed the bear; it was a large she bear and very poor; I
sold the skin in Buffalo for five dollars ; the hog was not mine,
but belonged to my neighbor, Aaron Cole. I once chased
474 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
three bears over to the Buffalo creek, but did not kill any of
them.
One night I heard a noise out in the woods resembling some-
what the crying of a child, and I imitated the noise as well as
I could, and the noise in the woods was repeated at intervals
and came nearer and nearer ; I supposed it to be a panther, and
concluded it was not best to call him up too close, and there-
fore stopped imitating him.
Marshall 1). Scoby.
Marshall D. Scoby was born Feb. 5, 1846, in Ashford, Catta-
raugus county; his father's name was Alexander Scoby; his
mother's maiden name was Sarepta Boss ; his grandfather,
Samuel Scoby, died in Springville in 1872, aged ninety-three
years. Marshall has been farmer, and in the flour and feed
business, clerk and salesman and hotel keeper. Dec. i, 1874,
he purchased the Sandusky House, in the Village of Sandusky,
Cattaraugus county, and has conducted the same successfully
since that time. Sept. 23, 1874, he was married to Miss
Adella Thomas, of Yorkshire. They have two children :
Edna J., and Lottie L.
Edwin A. Scott.
Edwin A. Scott was born on Townsend Hill in this town,
Dec. 26, 1858. His father's name was William J. Scott; his
mother's maiden name was Hannah Parsell. He attended
school at the Springville academy, Hamburg and Forestville ;
he studied law in the office of C. C. Severance, Springville ; he
taught school on Townsend Hill and in Waterville. He was
married to Miss Mary Stowell, of Ashford, Sept. 17, 1879, '^''"^
is at present practicing law in Springville, N. Y.
Heury M. Scott.
Henry M. Scott was born in this town, Oct. 16, 1851. His
father's name was Phineas Scott, and his mother's maiden name
was Hannah E. E. Smith, daughter of James Smith, of Chau-
tauqua county. In 1867 he went West and remained one sea-
son in Wisconsin and Minnesota ; he also spent two years in
Buffalo ; the rest of his life has been spent in this town. He
BIOC.RAPHICAL SKKTCHKS. 4/5
owns a farm on Townscnd hill, but his occupation at present
is selling marble for a firm in East Aurora. He was married in
the year 1871 to Miss Loraine Smith, dautrjiter of William
Smith.
Their children are :
F'loyd, born April 25, 1873.
Bianca, born Nov. 19, 1879.
Laiisoii A. Staiibro.
Lanson A. Stanbro, son of Henry C. and Catharine Griffith
Stanbro, was born in Concord in 1842, where he has since lived ;
by occupation he is a farmer; he enlisted in August, 1862, in
Company C, One Hundred and Sixteenth regiment New York
State volunteers. At the siege of Port Hudson, June 14, 1863,
he lost an arm, and the subsequent September he was dis-
charged from the service for reasonable disabilit}'. He was
married April 10, 1862, to Thyrsa Bryant.
They have five children :
Catharine E., born in March, 1863; married William Land.
Julius, born April 3, 1865 ; died May 2, 1883.
Frank, born in January, 1867.
Alice, born in September. 1872.
Clark, born in June, 1877.
Labau AV. Smith.
Laban W. Smith, son of William Smith, Jr., was born in
Concord, March 8, 1835. He was married March 27, 1862 to
Mary Pingry, daughter of Ezekiel Pingry, of Yorkshire, Cattar
augus county, N. Y., an early pioneer in this vicinity. Mr.
Smith has always been a resident of his native town and is a
farmer by occupation ; he is at present a member of the board
of education in Springville. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have had five
children, viz.:
Wallace, born June 17, 1865.
Alice and Albert, twins, born March 10, 1868. Albent died
June 16, 1869.
Herbert, born Sept. 27, 1874.
Isidora, born Oct. 13, 1876.
476 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Clark C. Sibley.
In 1816, Abijah, Benjamin and Orrin Sibley, brothers, came
to Concord from Willington, Connecticut, where they were
born, and bought land of the Holland Company on lots sixty-
three and fifty-five, range six, township seven. Here they
lived many years. Benjamin died at Sheboygan, Wisconsin,
about 1850. Orrin lives in Boston, N. Y. Abijah, father of
Clark C. Sibley, was born Nov. i, 1788. He married Lucy
Mercy in 18 16. He always lived where he first located until
his death on June 3, 1856.
His wife died March 19, 1859 > they had a family of seven
children as follows :
Adaline and Edwin, twins, born Oct. 4, 1816 ; died 1880.
Joseph, born Dec. 19, 1817; died March 7, 1864.
Anson D., born July 2, 1819 ; died April, 1875.
William A., born May 3, 1822; died Jan. 17, 1867.
Clark C, born July 19, 1828,
Lucian G., born July 12, 1834.
Clark C. Sibley was married Oct. I, 185 1, to Sally M. Fris-
bee, by whom he had six children, viz.:
Sarah, born July 19, 1852; married Morris P. Baker.
Carlton, born Jan. 2, 1854; married Mattie Gardner.
Charles L., born July 17, 1855 ; married Adda Wilcox.
Anson, born March 16, 1857 • married Emma Hancock.
Clark E., born May 14, 1864.
Orrin, born Feb. 12, [868.
Mrs. Sibley died Jan. 9, 1869, and Mr. Sibley was married a
second time Nov. 12, 1873, to Miss Ella L.Smith, by whom
he has three children, viz.:
Bessie, born July 13, 1875.
Earl, born Sept. 26, 1877.
May, born May i, 1881.
With the exception of three years spent in Sardinia, Mr.
Sibley has always been a resident of Concord ; he moved from
the homestead farm to East Concord, in 1869.
Benjauiiii Sibley.
Benjamin Siblc)- came to this town in 1816, in compan}- with
his brothers Abijah and Orrin, and his brother-in-law, Joshua
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 477
Agard. Thc\' all settled on farms joining each other ; Benja-
min, Abijah aiul Joshua on lot sixty-three, and Orrin on lot
fifty-five.
In early times, this place was called the "Sibley settlement,"
from the three brothers.
Me lived here about thirt)"-t\vo years, and cleared up a farm,
after which he sold out and moved to Sheboygan county, Wis.,
where he died May i6, 1849. Anna, his wife, died March 10,
1876, at Sheboygan Falls, aged seventy-two.
Benjamin Sibley was a good neighbor, a good citizen and an
excellent man.
The)'^ reared a family of six children :
Jonathan, the oldest, married Louisa Hatch, of Boston ; he
died at Pentwater, Mich., March, 1875, in his sixtieth year.
Mary Ann married VV. H. Prentice, of Aurora. She is still
living, at Shebo}'gan Falls, Wis.
Amanda married John Shadbolt, and died at La Crosse, Wis.,
March 23, 1882, aged sixty years.
Juliet married John Gardinier, and lives in Waupaca county.
Wis.
Charles is now living at Lind, Waupaca count}% Wis. His
first wife was Hattie Eels; his second, Ellen Crippen ; third,
Mar\- Rice ; fourth, Mrs. Anna French.
Clark married Martha Monroe, and is li\ing at Waldo, She-
boygan county, Wis.
John Oiirdiuier.
John Gardinier lived in this town when a young man for
a number of years. He married Juliet Sibley, daughter of
Benjamin Sibley. A few years after he mo\ed to Waupaca
county, Wisconsin, where he now resides. He is a farmer and
stock-raiser and has been Sheriff of Waupaca county several
years. Eight children were born to them :
Lucas, the eldest, was killed b\- liglitning June 23d, 1858,
aged ten years.
Julia, married Dr. Levi H. Pelton. of Sheboygan I'^alls.
Anna, died in Concord, Feb. 16, 1853.
Charley, lives in Lind. Wis.
May, married Pldward Jeffers and is li\ing in Ikiffalo, N. V.
478 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Morgan L., died Oct. 21st, i860.
John, Jr., died March 11, 1877.
Hattie, is living with her parents at Lynd, Waupaca county,
Wisconsin.
Epaphras Steele.
The Steeles are of EngHsh descent, In 1861, one George
Steele emigrated from Essex, England, to Cambridge, Mass.
He and his brother John soon after settled in Hartford, Conn.,
where Epaphras Steele's father, Jonathan Steele, was born.
He died in Boston, N. Y., aged ninety-four years. Epaphras
Steele removed in 1806 from Hartford, where he was born Dec.
12, 1792, to central New York, where he resided in Cayuga and
Onondaga counties until 18 19, when he settled upon new land
in the east part of Boston, N. Y., where he became familiar
with pioneer life in its roughest forms. He had a good educa-
tion for those days and was highly respected by the; commu-
nity in which he lived, as is shown by the fact that he was
thirteen times elected Supervisor of Boston. He was also Cap-
tain of militia many years. While a resident of Boston he
became a member of the Free Will Baptist Church in that
town. In 1846 he moved to East Concord, where he lived
until his death, in 1876. He was married Feb. 15, "1819 to
Dimmis Blakeslee, from Massachusetts. The Blakeslees were
originally of Scotch-Irish origin. They had a family of five
children, all living, married and having families as follows:
Emily, married George Bridge and resides in Colden. They
have two daughters: Mary, married a man named Smith, and
Emily, married Edwin Isintrout.
Eliza, married Burroughs Norton ; lives at East Concord :
have one son living: Herbert, married Mary Fuller, and one
daughter, Ellen.
Esther, married Michael Hollister; lives at East Concord;
have one son : Byron, married Carrie Johnson.
James, married Sarah FitzPatrick ; they have one son and
one daughter.
James L., was a Lieutenant in the ist Regiment Oregon Vol-
unteers, serving three and one-half years, his Regiment doing
service in guarding the Oregon frontier. Here he became also
somewhat famous as hunter of elk, panthers and bears.
BIOGRAIMIICAL SKETCHES. 479
Rev. John C. Steele, now of Dale, N. Y., married Carrie
(Griffith ; they have two daughters. Mr. Steele is a minister in
the Free Will Baptist Church.
(icorge Shiiltiis.
George .Shultiis. brother of David, came to tin's wilderness
soon after he did. He settled on lot nineteen, township six,
range six. clearing up his farm as soon as possible, where he
built and conducted a distillery. When the road from Wil-
liam Warner's place to the I'otter place, along the Eighteen-mile
creek was laid out he had the contract for cutting it out and
for building the bridges. He also was one of the parties that
built the Bloomfield mill and at one time was part owner and
manager of an iron foundry in the village of Springville. He
was the father of nine children :
Ann, the eldest, is dead.
Leonora, married a man b}- the name of Hulbert. and li\'es in
Minnesota.
Chaunce}-, is dead.
Jerome is dead.
George, is now living in Minnesota.
Jane, married A. Lambert, and lives in Illinois.
Perr\', Elmer and Ward, are now living in Springville.
George Shultes died Jan. 20, 1870.
Jouatliau Spauldiug-.
Jonathan Spaulding came to this town from Lancaster, Coos
county, N. H. His wife's maiden name was Abigail Meader.
The}- started from Lancaster Aug. 8, 18 15, and arrived at Con-
cord Oct. 9, 1815 ; they stopped about ten days at Bloomfield,
Ontario county. They came with horses and w^agon, and were
six weeks traveling on the road. For about two years after
they arrived here, times were extremely hard, and it was very
difficult to get enough to eat. Money would not buy provisions
because nobody had anything to sell. At one time, Mr. Spaul-
ding's family lived six weeks on pudding and molasses, with
nothing else to eat. At another time, the}- procured a
piece of pork, and Mrs. Spaulding abstained from eating any
of it herself, and did not allow the children to ha\-e any of it,
48o BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
although they were all very hungry, but saved it all for her hus-
band so as to give him strength to chop.
They had seven children, who were all born before they came
to this town :
Sally, the oldest, married a Mr. Kibbie.
Daniel, the second child, in company with his sister Sally
and her husband, and Mr. Kibbie, Sr., went over to the Alle-
gany river and built an ark or boat, and lived in it through the
Winter, and in the Spring floated down the Allegany, Ohio
and Mississippi rivers to Alabama, where they all died soon
after with the yellow fever, except one child.
Jonathan Jr., was born in 1800, married Mary B. Higgins,
and died in this town Oct. 30, 1845.
Abigail married Samuel Fairbanks, and died in Ashford
about 1870.
Joseph Meader.
Adaline married Nathaniel M. Jones, of Boston, and died
about 1852.
John T. G. married Minerva Spaulding, and died at Wood-
ward's Hollow, April i, 1874, aged sixty-four years.
Joseph Meaclei* Spaulding.
Joseph Meader Spaulding was born in New Hampshire, Sept.
19, 1803, and came to this town with his parents in 18 15 He
was married to Betsy Wilson, June 17, 1832. He always lived
on the old farm which his father cleared up, from the time he
came here until his death, except two years, during which time
he went to Ashford Hollow and bought a saw-mill and grist-
mill, and built a store, and in company with his brother-in-law,
Daniel Wilson, he carried on business for two years, and then
returned to his farm in Concord.
He had three children :
George W^
Abel A., born Dec. 28, 1834, and died Dec. 27, 1852, aged
eighteen years.
Mary J., born May 25, 1838; married Otis Davis in 1859,
and lives in New Auburn, Sibley county, Minn.
Mr. Spaulding died April 22, 1871, aged sixty-seven years,
seven months and two days.
hio(;kapiiical sketciiks. 481
His wife, Betsy Wilson, was born in the Town of Putney.
Windham county, Vt., and died in Concord, April 25, 1876,
aged sixty-eight years, five months and sixteen days.
George W. Spaiilding'.
George W. Spaulding was born in Concord, July 21, 1833.
He has lived on the old homestead all his life except five years
— two years he served as clerk for Alanson King at Ashford
Hollow, after which he bought Robbins & Cronkhite's grocery
store in Springville, in which he carried on business for three
years, when he sold out to Drake & Stanbro ; he then taught
school four Winters, and lived at home with his father Sum-
mers. He was married to Orcelia O. Washburn, Jan. i, 1861 ;
she was born in North Collins in 1844. Since his marriage he
has conducted the old homestead farm. He has five children :
Allie M., born May 3, 1863.
Howard M., born Nov. 8, 1866.
Aba L., born June 20, 1869.
Bertha, born April 17, 1873.
Ralph Hoyt, born Sept. 19, 1875.
David Shultus.
David Shultus was born in Kinderhook, Columbia county. N.
N. Y., March 4, 1779; was one of the first settlers in this
town ; and moved here in 1810; he settled on lot twenty-two,
township six, range six, near what is now called " The Shul-
tus Bridge." He was a successful farmer and reared a large
family of children. When he first came here, and for many
years after, the forests were filled with bears, panthers, wolves
and other wild beasts, with which he had many an exciting
adventure.
His children were :
Flliza married J. Reynolds; he is dead and she is living in
Buffalo.
Emeline married Griffin Wiley, and died in Cattaraugus,
about 1848.
Adeline married Jacob Siebold ; she died in Buffalo, about
1878.
Washington is supposed to be living in Arizona.
482 BIOCiRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Wellington married Jennette Grossman ; died about i860, in
the West.
Julia Ann married S. H. McEwen ; died in Springville, Dec.
5, 1845.
Harrison was shot by an Indian in North-west Wisconsin,
about 1865.
Charles died at sea, about 1850.
David Shultus died June 7, 1859, ^iged eighty years. Lucy,
his wife, died Jan. 16, 1848.
Amos Staubro.
The Stanbros are of English descent. Amos Stanbro was
born at Hopkinton, R. I., July 6, 1791. He lived in the New
England States until the Spring of 1825, when he came to
Concord, where he resided until his death, which occurred Jan.
20, 1864. The first year or two after coming to Concord Mr.
Stanbro lived where Frederick Clark now resides ; he then
bought land on lot fifty-one, range six, township seven, where
he lived until his death. Mr. Stanbro was a good neighbor and
a good citizen ; he was an active, industrious and energetic
farmer, and acquired quite a large property by hard work and
good management ; he sometimes held town offices, and he
also served as Captain in the militia. He married Hannah
Wilcox at Stonington, Conn., where Mrs. Stanbro was born ;
she died April 3. 1846 ; Mrs. Stanbro was a good woman.
Eleven children were born to them, as follows (the four old-
est were born in New England) :
Mary Ann, married Orley Perkins ; died Oct. 9, 1858.
Luc)', married Sanford Mayo ; lives in Springville,
Emeline, married Philip Ferrin ; lives in Springville.
Eliza, married Robert Yates ; lives at East Concord.
Charles C, married Aurelia Wilcox ; lives at East Concord.
Horace, died Sept. 25, 1853, aged twenty-five years.
Wilber H., married Harriet L. Cranston ; lives in Spring-
ville.
Jane M., died Nov. 22, 1855, aged twenty-two years.
Almon W., married Helen Weeden ; lives in Buffalo.
Clorinda, died Sept. 18, 1859, aged twenty-one years.
BIOdRArillCAI, SKKTCIIKS. 483
Ursula, died Aug. 30, 1859, aged eighteen years and eight
months.
Mr. Stanbro was married a second time about 1850 to Mrs.
Amy Greene, by whom he had four children :
Loraine, married A. D. Jones ; Hves in Springville.
Estelle, married Henry Curtis; Hves at East Concord.
Warren H., Hves West.
May, married W. D. Jones, Hves in Springville.
Alinon W. Stanbro.
Almon W. Stanbro, son of Amos Stanbro, was born in Con-
cord April 6, 1S35 ; he obtained his education in the common
schools and in the Springville academy; he taught school, both
common anci select ; he studied law and was admitted to the
bar and practiced his profession in Springville and in Buffalo.
He held the ofifice of Justice of the Peace in Concord for sev-
eral years, and was elected Supervisor of the town for the year
1867, and also for the year 1869. He married Helen Weeden,
daughter of Jabez Weeden. They have one son living, and
they had a daughter who died young. Mr. Stanbro now re-
sides in Dakota.
" Governor " William Sniitli.
" Gov." William Smith came from Vermont to this town in
the Spring of 18 10, and moved into an empty log house that
he found standing on lot four on the farm where Harrison Pin-
grey now lives. The " Governor" selected land down on the
Cattaraugus creek on lots fifty-six and fifty-seven, where S. E.
Tefft now lives ; here he built a log house and did some chop-
ping and in the Fall he moved his family down. The " Gov-
ernor " was physically a strong man and a good worker, and in
a few years had quite large improvements. While he lived
here the bears and wolves were thick and committed many
depredations on his sheep and hogs. On one occasion a bear
came and was trying to get a hog out of the pen. The " Gov-
ernor" not being at home. Mrs. Smith and the hired man went
out and succeeded in driving him off and saved the hog. In
1816 or 1817 he sold out that place to Stephen Williams for
cash down, receiving his pay in sih'er, of which there was nearh-
4^4 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
one-half bushel. He then located on lot forty nine, where
Frederick Clark now lives ; while he lived here his son Stephen
died. He lived here a few years and cleared up a number
of acres of land ; he sold out to Varney Ingals, and located on
the south part of said lot forty-nine ; he staid there a few
years and then moved to lot forty-one, by the big spring, where
he lived a number of years ; after this he lived on the Catta-
raugus creek at Ashford Hollow, and on lot forty-five. Sharp
street.
Of his five children, Stephen, William and Calvin died in this
town.
Deborah married Samuel Wilcox and died Nov. 15, 1850, in
Concord , aged fifty years and five months.
Sally, married Clement Carney and moved to Michigan.
"Governor" William Smith died Oct. 9, 1857, aged eight}'
years.
Hannah, his wife, died Dec. 29, 1853.
Calvin Sinitli.
Calvin Smith was born in Vermont Sept. 30, 1803. His
father came to this town in the Spring of 1810; he lived that
Summer on lot four, where Harrison Pingrey now resides, and
his children, William, Calvin and Deborah, attended school to
Annie Richmond, which was the first school ever taught in this
town. As chopping was the principal business at that time.
3'oung Calvin and his brother became experts, and when onl\-
fourteen or fifteen \'ears of age, besides aiding their father,
took many jobs of the settlers ; they chopped a great deal of
the timber where the Village of Springville now stands. When
about twenty years of age he bought his time of his father and
located on the north part of lot forty-two, on Sharp street.
March 12, 1826, he was married to Harriet Mayo, and a few
\-ears after mo\ed to the northeast part of lot forty-three; here
he cleared up the farm where his son Stephen R. now lives,
where he lived twenty-five or thirty years ; he then moved to
the central part of lot fifty, now owned by David S. Ingals ;
afterwards he bought land on the west part of lot forty-one,
where he resided at the time of his death. He was a good
neiohbor, a good citizen and an honest man, and acquired a
y
K.
\
CALVIN SMITH.
486 BIOGRAl^HICAI, SKETCHES.
good property by hard and honest toil ; he was a worthy mem-
ber of the Free Baptist church, and contributed liberally to the
fund for building" the house of worship for that denomination
in Springville.
They reared a large family of children, as follows :
Cynthia, born Jan. 20, 1827; married Abram Patch; died
Jan. 28, 1863.
Malvina, born Sept. 18, 1828; married Archibald Preston;
lives in Yorkshire.
Stephen R., born June 27, 1830; married Mary Guardinier ;
lives in Concord.
Lucy Ann, born Dec. 23, 1832 ; married A. J. Backus ; lives
at North East, Pa.
Jeremy, born March 3, 1836; married Mariam Palmer; lives
in Springville.
Calvin C, born Sept. 27, 1838; married Josephine P'lem-
mings ; lives in Springville.
Lorinda, born Dec. 29, 1840. died Oct. 28, 1842.
Celinda, born Nov. 6, 1842 ; married Yates Guardinier; live
in Concord.
Philena M., born Dec. 2, 1855; married Murray Chandler;
live in Concord.
Zelia M., born May 17, 1859 ! married John H. Melvin ; live
in Springville.
.James Stratton.
James Stratton settled on Townsend hill in 181 1. His wife's
maiden name was Betsey Wheeler ; they lived here a few years
and then removed to Little Valley, Cattaraugus county. They
were among the very first settlers in that town. The\- reared
a famih' of children and lived to a good old age.
Charles C. Staubro.
Charles C. Stanbro was born in Concord in 1826, and has
resided there ever since. He obtained his education in a com-
mon school on Townsend Hill and in the Springville Academy.
He afterwards taught several terms of school, both common
and select. He has been a farmer and cheese-maker, and has
kept a general store for several years in East Concord. He
never preached for pay, but formerly occupied the pulpit at
HIOCRAI'IIU AI, SKKTCIIKS. 4S7
times aiul docs so still, especial!)- 011 funeral occasions, where
his serxices are ah\a\-s acceptable and satisfactory to his
audience. He has been twice elected Justice of the Peace,
which ofTfice he now holds.
TIm' Towiisoiid Family.
Jonathan Townsend, from whom Townsend Hill takes its
name, was born in 1765, in New Salem, Franklin county, Mass.
His father's name was Jonathan Townsend, and his mother's
maideii name was Huldah Newton. When he became of a<^e,
he married, accumulated property, and owned a farm in Massa-
chusetts. He came to this town and purchased land in 1810;
he mo\'ed part of his famil}' here in 18 ) I, and the remaining
portion in 1812. He came into town on the Genesee road, and
had to cut it out part of the weiy. He was about .forty-five
years of age when he came ; had a large family and more prop-
erty than the new settlers had generally. He built a frame
house on the southeast part of lot four, township seven, range
seven, on the spot where the frame part of R. F. Williams's
house now stands.
In 1 8 16, he built a grist mill on Smith brook, on the south
part of lot eighteen, township seven, range seven, in what is
now called Wheeler Hollow. It was located about eighty rods
below the Wheeler mills. This mill did quite a good business
and frequently had to be run night and day to accommodate
its customers, who sometimes came quite long distances. He
also built a distillery afterwards on the same lot, in the \icin-
it}- of the mill.
In 1 8 19, he commenced keeping hotel.
In those days, the mail route and main traveled road from
Spring\-ille to Buffalo was over Townsend Hill.
In 1822, he built a two-stor>' brick house, in front of and con-
nected with his frame one. This was the first brick house
built in town. The upper story contained a hall, which in
those early days was a new and rather desirable thing to ha\e.
Here for many years the town meetings were held, and the
voters old and young, met to elect town ofificers ; here the town
ofificers met to transact business for the town ; here the voters
of the vicinity voted at the Fall election.
488 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
For ten or fifteen years succeeding 1815, Jonathan Town-
send undoubtedly did more business than any other man in
this town. Besides his farming operations, he run a hotel and
blacksmith shop on Townsend Hill, and built and run a grist
mill, blacksmith shop and, in part, a distillery in Wheeler Hol-
low.
In 1835, Mr. Townsend sold his farm to the great land specu-
lator, Alanson Palmer, of Buffalo. He removed from this
town and purchased and settled on a lot of wild land in the
Town of Collins, a mile and a half or two miles west of Wood-
ward's Hollow.
He died in the Town of Collins, Oct. 21, 1838, aged about
seventy-three years.
Mr. Townsend was twice married. His first wife, Mary Has-
kell, died in Massachusetts, at the age of twenty-four years,
leaving two children. Olive Finney, his second wife, came
here in 1812, and shared the privations and hardships of the
pioneers, and lived until June 4, 1862, when she died in this
town at the house of her daughter, Mrs. Alanson Wheeler, aged
about ninety-three years.
Three of their eleven children are still Jiving: Huldah, El-
vira and Hosea W.
Their children were :
Sally, born June i, 1785.
Jonathan, born May 15, 1787.
Uzial, born Nov. 2, 1790.
Suel, born Jan. 27, 1793.
Olive, born July 7, 1795.
Huldah, born Dec. 15, 1797.
Noah, born Feb. 12, 1801.
Elvira, born Aug. 30, 1803.
Hosea W., born March 30, 1807.
Diadamia, born May 13, 18 10.
Adin, born Aug. 16, 1813.
Jonathan Townsend, Jr., married Betsy Davis, in Massachu-
setts ; he died in this town, June, 1857, aged seventy years ;
she died in this town, June 1868, aged seventy-seven years ; no
children.
BIOC.RAI'IIICAL SKETCHES. 489
Uzial Townscnd married I'atty Wheeler in Massachusetts.
They came to this town in 181 1, and were here one Winter be-
fore the rest of the family came. They located on Townsend
Hill, and lived there about twenty-five years, when they
removed from town. They lived on the reservation near Buf-
falo several years, where she died in 1846. About twenty-five
years ago, he went to Illinois with his son, Gilbert W. Town-
send, where he died Aug. 13, 1864, aged seventy-four years.
He left one son and several grandchildren. He was a farmer.
Suel Townsend married Polly Wheeler. He was a miller
and blacksmith, and lived in Wheeler Hollow. He died fift}'
years ago ; they raised two sons.
Olive Townsend married Kendall Johnson, of Collins. He
lived near Mansfield. She died in 1826, aged thirty-one years;
she left five children.
Huldah Townsend married Enoch Sinclair in 1816, in this
town. He was a farmer and shoemaker, and lived on Town-
send Hill ; they left this town and moved to McHenry county,
111., in 1845, ^"d, in 1864, removed from there to Hampton,
Franklin county, Iowa, where he died in 1873 ^g^d eighty-
three years ; but she is still living, at the age of eighty-six
years. There were seven children in their family.
Noah Townsend married Acsah Wheeler, daughter of Ben-
jamin Wheeler, deceased. He was a farmer and shoemaker,
and lived on the farm where his widow now resides, on Town-
send Hill. He sometimes held town offices ; could ha\e held
more but declined. He was an intelligent and respected citi-
zen. There are six children in the famil)-. He died in 1853,
aged fifty-two years.
Elvira Townsend married William Owen ; she has not
lived in Concord for more than fifty years ; she now resides
in Crawford county, Penn. She has one son ; her husband is
dead.
Hosea W. Townsend lesides in Bufla'.o ; has six children ; is
seventy-six years old.
490 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Diadamia Townsend married Alanson Wheeler. The\" both
died in March, 1883.
Adin Townsend married Electa Alichell ; he died in 1844,
aged thirty-one years; he left four children.
Asa K. Taber.
Asa R. Taber was born in the year 1833, in the Town of New
Bedford. Mass; came to the Town of Eden, Erie county, N. Y.,
and settled in Springville in 1857; occupation a merchant ; was
married in 1857, to Laurette X. Taber, daughter of Camden S.
Lake. He received the greater part of his education at the
Springville Academy.
His father's name was Asa Taber; his mother's maiden name
was Sarah Washburn ; his grandfather's name was Joseph Taber ;
his grandmother's maiden name was Rebecca Mason ; his
mother was of French and his father of Welsh descent. All
settled at an early day in the old Town of Dartmouth, Bristol
county, Mass. His grandfather Lettice Washburn was a
soldier in the Revolutionary' war, and his uncle Lettice Wash-
burn was a clergyman and Chaplain in the War of the Rebel-
lion.
Benjamin C. Trevitt'.s Statement.
My father mo\-ed to this town in 181 7, from Bennington
count}-, Vt.; Joseph Hanchett had settled on the place where
I now live before the War; my father bought him out for four
hundred dollars, and he moved to Ohio.
M}- uncle, Channing Tre\-itt, settled where the Wheeler
brothers are, about 181 1, and built the first mill there in 18 12
or 1813; he was pressed into the service of the Go\ernment
with his team to draw cannon from Buffalo to Erie at the time
Commodore Perry was fitting out his fleet there, and was taken
sick and died soon after he returned home.
Jonathan Townsend built his grist-mill in 18 16.
Jonathan Spaulding mo\-ed here in 1815, and Asa Philip in
1817.
My sister Electa taught school one Summer in Cooper's barn :
I think it was the first school taught in the district. Mrs.
Persons taught two Summers in her own house. William Owen
BIOGRArHIcAI, SKETCHES. 49I
tauL^lit two Winters; ] think Sinclcar tauglit one, then Da\'id
Bensley, and then a man by the name of Judson.
My father, Benjamin Trevitt, died in this town in 1857, aged
about seventy.six years; my mother died in this town in 1835.
aged fifty-nine.
Electa married Daniel Philips, and died in 1825, aged twenty-
four.
Asa R. married Poll}- McLen ; she died : he lives in East
Hamburg.
Amanda died in 1 851, aged forty-three years.
Acsah married P'lecher Fairbanks.
Hiram C. married Jane Cooper; he died in 1845, aged thirt)'-
three years.
Benjamin C. Trevitt's Family.
Benjamin C. Tre\'itt married Martha Olcott. Their children
are:
Amelia, married Frank Hoffman ; he died ; she lives at her
father's.
Electa Ann, married George Davis, and resides in the town
of Aurora.
Viola, married William Woodward, lives at Woodward Hol-
low.
Alfred lives at his father's.
Milton lives at his father's ; married Leona Adams.
Hattie S., married Adelbert Tyrer ; lives in this town.
Benjamin C. Trevitt died April 3, 1883, aged seventy-nine
years, six months and sixteen days.
Roswell Olcott.
Roswell Olcott came to this town in 18 17 from Pompey,
Onondaga county, and settled on lot twenty, township seven,
range seven. He afterwards lived on the Cattaraugus creek
near Fryes. He moved to McHenry county, 111., about 1847
He was constable and collector in this town for several years.
Mr. Olcott died in Illinois in 1876. His children were :
Mary Ann — she is dead.
Martha, married Benjamin Trevitt, and li\-es in this town.
Lebus died in consequence of a wound received in the army.
Acta L., Carlos and Fanny are married and live West.
492 BIOC.RAFHICAL SKETCHES.
Mrs. L. H. Tvvichel's Statement.
My father, Asa Philips, came out here intending to go out
farther West. He brought for Mr. Townsend's people and others
who came from the same place in Massachusetts that he did, let-
ters from their friends in the East, and Mr. Townsend and others
persuaded him to locate here, which he did. He bought of
Nicholas Armstead one hundred acres of land, with a few acres
improved, the frame of a saw-mill up but no house. Father's
family moved here in 1817, from New Salem, Mass.; came with
two yoke of oxen, a span of horses and two cows. They started on
the first day of October and arrived here on the last day of the
month. We first moved into a small log school-house that
stood on top of the hill, west of George Spalding's house on
his land. We remained there six weeks, when they wanted
school to commence and we moved into Mr. Townsend's black-
smith shop in Wheeler Hollow. Sometime in the Winter
father got a frame up, planked it, shingled part of the roof, laid
down loose boards for a floor, and we moved into it without
any doors or windows. A fireplace was built up as high as the
mantel-piece, and was used so till next Summer; the smoke
went up and out free and unconfined by any chimney. Next
Summer he bought brick of Samuel Cooper and finished up
the chimney, and finished sJiingling the housei. The settlers in
that part of the town when we came were, Frederick Wood,
Thomas Magee, James Russel, Ambrose Cram, Jonathan
Spaulding, Enoch Sinclair, Carey Clements, Roswell Alcott,
Ephraim Barker, Samuel Cooper, Mr. Mitchell, Joseph Herrick,
Sen., Asa Herrick, William Herrick, Samuel Eaton, Samuel
Sampson, Emery Sampson, Daniel Persons, Benjamin Trevitt.
John Andrews, James Tyrer and the Thompsons.
Sally Spaulding married Isaac Kibbie, and they, with old
Mr. Kibbie and his wife and Daniel Spaulding, eldest son of
Jonathan Spaulding, went over to the Alleghany river and
built what they called an ark, and lived in it during the Winter,
and in the Spring floated down the Alleghany and Ohio rivers,
and went to the far South, and before a year had passed word
came that they had all died with the fever except one child. I
remember that I was up at Mr. Spaulding's soon after and saw
HIOGRArillCAL SKETCHES. 495
Mrs. Spauldin^ crjnnt; for the death of her children far away in
a strange hind.
The big swamp west of our place was a great resort for bears
and wolves. I have often laid and listened to the prolonged
bowlings of the wolves out there in the night time. Our cows
frecjuently went into the swamp and the boys, when they went
after them, would sometimes send the dog in to bring them
out. One time they sent the dog into the swamp, but instead
of bringing out the cows he drove out a large bear. The boys
were frightened and started to run ; one of them could not get
along very fast, and the others tried to assist him up a tree but
could not succeed ; they screamed and the bear changed his
course and did not molest them.
The Thompson children once found a small cub asleep beside
a log, and Unice took it in her apron and carried it to the
house, and made a pet of it. It would follow the children
around and play with them like a young dog. It was very
mischievous also. One day while the family were all out of
the house, he crawled up the ladder and found a tub of molas-
ses sitting up stairs, and being very fond of sweets he tried to
get some, and tipped over the tub ; the chamber floor was loose
boards, and when the family returned they found the molasses
mostly on the furniture and floor below. The cub had to die.
Some of the school teachers who taught in our district in early
times were Electa Trevitt, Sally Spaulding, Enoch Sinclair,
William F. Owen, David Bensley, Mr. Sweetland, Rebecca
Canfield, Wells Brooks, Morris Fosdick, Cephas R. Leland,
Dudly O. Stephens, Robert G. Flint, Elzra Chaffee, Elam
Booth, Mr. Gilbert, Henry Ackley, John G. House, Jonathan
Briggs, Laura Ann Carr, Mary Gardner, Laban A. Needham,
Mariam Twichel. William Twichel, Catharine Southworth, Mary
Ann Sampson, Warren Fisher, A. C. Adams, Mr. Pierce, Emo-
gene Smith.
Asa, died Nov. 13, 1842, aged seventy-one years, eight months.
Rhoda, his wife, died October, 1842, aged seventy-one years,
nine months.
Rhoda Herrick, daughter of Asa Philips, died in 1832, aged
thirty-two.
494 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Mary Chase, daughter of Asa PhiHps, died in 1874, in Little
Valley.
Arba, married Anna Russcl ; died in Ohio in 1844.
Susanna, married Johnson Chase ; lives in Machias.
Marcus, married Asenath Herrick ; lives in Ohio.
Hannah, married Lemuel H. Twichel ; lives in Concord.
Asa, married Sarah Ann Petton ; he lives in Lockport, N. Y.
Amos, died in 1831, aged twenty years.
Sarah married Samuel Stevens, and lives in this town.
Lemuel H. Twichel.
My father came from Massachusetts to Madison county, this
state ; remained a few years, then came to this town. My
brother. Royal and I, came here in 1821 with an ox-team, two
cows and ten sheep, and had but five dollars in money. We
paid our way mostly by selling wooden dippers that we made
before we started. Next year father and the rest of the family
came. We lived the first year in the Stratton house on the
lower part of the Fay farm, on the Genesee road. My father
bought of Mr. McLen, the land known as the Heacock farm,
on lot thirteen, township seven, range seven, and now owned
by N. B. Moore. We moved on to it and lived there eight or
nine years. Sold the farm to Calvin Blake and bought land on
lot fifteen, township seven, range seven, near the creek road to
Boston, and moved onto it. Besides working at farming my
father made spinning wheels for spinning linen and wool.
Also made rakes, sometimes made cabinet ware, &c. My
father's name was Lemuel Twichel, my mother's maiden name
was Esther Seaver. Father died in this town October 2, 1856,
aged eighty-two years ; mother died in this town August 7,
1870, aged about ninety- two. Their children were:
Royal, born 1801 ; married Ruth Field. She died. He is
also dead.
Lemuel H., born Dec. 31, 1804; married Hannah Phillips,
lives in this town.
Joseph S., born Oct. 8, 1806. Lives in Boston.
Adaline, born Feb. 24, 1809; married Moses Leonard, and
died about 1873, in this town.
BIOflRAI'HICAL SKETCHES. 495
Lucy, born March, i8i i; married Franklin Twichel ; he died.
She Hves in Boston.
Mariam. born Jan., 1813; married L. A. Needham. Lives in
this town.
Enos, born Dec. 1814; married EHza Jones. He was killed
by the fall of a tree in Otto.
William, born Dec. 1816; married Mary Winship ; she died.
He died in the Fall of 1865.
Li 1823, I helped cut out the Genesee road, four rods wide,
from Mr. F'errens on East, towards Griffith's Corners. The
road had been traveled some years but was only cut wide
enough for teams to pass through.
One time when we lived on the Heacox farm, Joseph and I
found three bears, three-fourths of a mile north-east of our
house, in their den, under the roots of a tree which was turned
up in such a way as to form a suitable place for them. I went
for the gun but I had but one charge of powder. I could see
the old bear's white teeth as she growled in the dim light of
the den, and I took sight accordingly and fired and killed her.
Joseph went up to Mr. Ashman's for help, and Mr. Ashman
and Mr. Briggs, father of Erasmus Briggs, came down. One
of the bears came out and tried to escape but Mr. Briggs shot
and killed him. All three were killed. We let Mr. Benjamin
Fay have the skins, and Mrs. Fay made some muffs, capes. &c.
Some of those articles are in existence, now after the lapse of
over fifty years.
I moved down on the Eighteen-mile creek, near the \'alley
road to Boston, in 1826, and commenced building a saw-mill
that Fall. I lived there about thirt)- years, manufactured lum-
ber and carried on farming; kept dairy part of the time. I
moved to Little Valley, staid one year, came back, located two
miles south-west of Springville ; lived there till Spring of 1865
and then moved to Vaughn street where I now reside. Lem-
uel H. Twichel's children were :
Marcus E., born Oct. 2, 1839; died in 1855.
Erastus, born Aug. 22, 1841 ; married Francis Garlock, of
Auburn. Lives in Burdet, Schuyler county ; is a Presbyterian
clergyman.
496 KIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
Esther, born June, 1846; married Albert Bement. Lives in
Colden, Boston.
Lucy, born, May 14, 1848 ; married D. W. Bensley. Lives in
Springville.
Asa, born March 7, 1850; married Carrie Palmer. Lives in
Concord.
Lemuel H. Twichel died June 30, 1881, aged seventy-six
years, six months.
Lewis Trevitt's Statement.
Lewis Trevitt is now living on his farm in the north-\\'est
part of the town on the road, over Townsend Hill to Boston.
He has lived on that farm about sixty-five years and he is over
ninety years of age. He says :
" I was born September 10, 1790. I came to this country in
1810 ; I was about twenty years old and unmarried. I worked
before the war in Boston part of the time, and part of the
time in Concord. I had a job of winrowing forty acres of tim-
ber for Captain Hanchet who lived on the south part of the
farm that Benjamin C. Trevitt now owns and occupies. I also
chopped a job for Samuel C"ooper, who then lived on the G.
Spaulding farm. The chopping I did was down on the flat, on
the south part of the farm. When I came, there was no saw-
mill, grist mill, grocery store or hotel, in town.
The settlers in the north-west part of the town, before or
during the war, were John Ures who lived on the farm I now
own, on the west side of the road north of my house. He
died before the close of the war. His wife was sister to Ben-
jamin Fay, and afterwards married Joseph Yaw, of Springville.
Jessie Putnam also lived on this farm, north of my house, on
the east side of the road. He and his wife afterwards lived
and died on the Heacockfarm, lot thirty-eight, township seven,
range i^even, west of Adams'. Isaiah Pike was here a single
man. Lyman Drake and family lived down on the creek, near
the town line. May Barrett lived about a mile north-west of
my place, and Mr. Killom down at the foot of the hill, New-
Boston.
In the early days provisions were very scarce and it was
sometimes very difficult for people to get enough to eat.
1
TilOGRAI'HICAL SKETCHES. 497
During the war many of the settlers were called out to serve
as soldiers on the Niagara Frontier. I remember one time
.several of us had been called out, and were walking down to Buff-
alo ; among the number was Smith Russell, who was a marks-
man. A hawk was discovered sitting on a tree a long distance
off and one of the company said to Smith, if he would shoot
that hawk he would eat it. Smith drew up his rifle and tired
and killed the hawk, but the other man failed to perform his
part of the contract. I returned to Vermont before the war
closed and married Sarepta Matthews, and not long after the
close of the war, returned and located on the farm where I
now reside, and have lived here ever since.
Wolves used to frequently kill the early settler's sheep.
They killed, or mangled in a shocking manner, thirty of mine
at one time. It was a pitiful sight to see the poor animals
mangled, bleeding and dying. They killed six for John An-
drews, all he had. A bear came and took a fat hog out of
Captain Hanchett's pen and carried him off.
When the Erie Canal was being built, I took two yoke of
oxen and went down and worked on the deep cut this side of
Lockport, until I got the ague, then came home and was sick
all Winter. Next Summer I had the bilious fever and was
sick a long time. My brother, Channing Trevitt, built a saw-
mill on the place where the Wheeler Brother's mill now is,
about 1813. I think the first school in this district was taught
by Nehemiah Waters, in a building that stood on land that I
now own. My father, Benjamin C Trevitt, was born in New-
port, R. I., March 10, 1749. My mother, Phcebe Carter, was
born in New Haven, April 10, 1750.
Their children were:
Polly, born May 19, 1778; married Erastus Spaulding ; died
1862, aged eighty-four years.
Benjamin, born March 17, 1788 ; died Jan. 4, 1857. aged sev-
enty-five years, nine months and eighteen clays.
Channing, born July 22, 1782; died Sept. 13, 1813, aged
thirtj'-one years.
Sally, born May 27, 1783 ; married Levi I3<illou ; died, 1863^
aged seventy-nine years.
Constant, born June 24. 1787; still living in the west.
498 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Lewis, born Sept. lo, 1790; now living.
Eleazer, born Dec. 18, 1702 ; died in Minnesota.
Phoebe, born Oct. 21, 1796.
Lewis Trevitt's family record :
Sally C, born Sept. 11, 181 2 ; married Timothy Clark ; lives
in Collins.
Lewis M., born Nov. 16, 1816; married Mary M. Cross:
lives in Wisconsin.
Constant W., born Jan. 2, 1819; died Jan. 18, 1857, in this
town.
Jonathan M., born Jan. 20, 1821 ; died Sept. 18, 1826, in this
town.
Polly S., born Jan. 24, 1823 ; married John Howrey ; lives in
Wisconsin.
. Benjamin M., born F"eb. 26, 1825.
Mark M., born July 10, 1827; married L Sails; died April
21, 1878.
Caroline E., born March 22, 1829 ; married L^riah Pike ; lives
in this town.
Hyman J., born March 6, 1831 ; married Albina Trevitt ;
lives in Kansas.
Wesley O , born Nov. 9, 1833 ; married Eliza Amsby in
1879; li^'es in Kansas.
Christiana, born April 23, 1836.
Sarepta, Lewis Trevitt's wife was born April 23, 1792 ; mar-
ried Aug. 29, 1813, in Vermont; died P"eb. 16, 1867, in this
town.
Since the foregoing was written Lewis Trevitt died, (3ct. 30,
1880, aged ninety years, one month and twenty days.
Wesley Trevitt.
Wesley Trevitt was born in Concord, Now 9, 1833. He
attended the Springville Academy ; taught school several
terms in the town of Concord and in the town of Sardinia. He
served in the army in the time of the rebellion, in a Wisconsin
regiment. He removed to Highland, Kansas, in 1869, where
he has since resided. He married Eliza Amsb)'. He is a Jus-
tice of the Peace, and is also engaged in insurance, loan and
collection business.
BIOCJRArillCAL SKKTCllES. .499
(Foscph Tanuer.
Joseph Tanner was born ia St. Lawrence county, N. Y,, in
1803. Was married in 1828 to Florilla Toolcy; moved to
Attica, N. Y., and from there to Springville in 1857. Their
children are :
Anna L.; married George R. Bensley ; resides in Chicago.
Richard W.; married Marinda Harkness.
Charles J.; married Louisa Bund}'; resides in Chicago.
Mrs. Tanner died in Spring\ille in 1872.
Hicliard AV. Tanner.
Richard W. Tanner was born at Attica', N. Y., June 5, 1832.
Came to this town in 1849, and has since followed the occupa-
tion of grocer. He is at present Secretary of the Board of
Trustees of Griffith Listitute. He was married in 1856 and has
five children, as follows :
Anna P.. Harry W., Grace H., Allen J. and Clark W.
AVillaid H. Ticknor, E.sq.
Mr. Ticknor is a son of Daniel W. Ticknor. His ir.other's
maiden name was Lucinda White. He was born April 21,
1853, in Concord, N. Y. Received the jMincipal part, of his
education at Griffith Listitute, Springxille, N. Y., but attended
school one term at the Hamburg Academy — Fall of 1874 ; two
terms — 1872 — at Forestville, N. Y., and one term — Spring of
1875 — at Bachtell College, Akron, Ohio. He taught school
five terms and was for six months Princii)a] of the graded
school at Otto, N. Y.
He studied law in tlie office of Hon. C. C. Severance and
was admitted to the bar in Buffalo, June 14, 1878. He is now
a successful practitioner in Springville. In 1880 he was one of
the L^nited States census enumerators for the town of Concord.
He was rmarried Nov. 21, 1876, to Alma S. Wheeler. They
have two daughters; Alma E. and Orphia S.
C'ornelins Treat's Statement.
In the year 1804, my father, John Treat, came from Ver-
mont and settled in the Town of Aurora, near the present Vil-
lage of Aurora. He built for himself a log cabin, hung up
500 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
blankets for doors, and, in general with the early settlers,
shared the rudest privations incident to pioneer life. His
household goods were of the most primitive description, his
table consisted of a large chest, which is still preserved in our
family as a souvenir of the past. My father was married July
19, 1823, to Eunice Amidon. In the year 1838, he came to
Concord and purchased the farm where I was born, and now
resides at Waterville. Here my father died Jan. 10, 1864. My
mother survived him thirteen years. She died Nov. 25, 1877.
They had ten children, as follows :
Polly M., born April 26, 1824.
Jemima, born April 11, 1825.
Cyntha, born Feb. 19, 1827.
Almon H., born Nov. 28, 1828.
Fayette, born Jan. 8, 1831.
Erastus, born Dec. ii, 1832.
Charlotte, born Nov. 10. 1835.
Thomas, born Sept. 28, 1838.
Betsey A., born Feb. 27, 1843.
John C. born Dec. 20, 1844.
I was married June 6th to Ellen L. Squires. We have one
child, Thomas S. Treat, born Aug. 2, 1876. Sixteen years of
my life, or nearly that length of time, was spent in running the
saw mill formerly located on my farm, now a thing of the past.
James Titus.
James Titus was born in the Town of Eden, County of Erie,
May 23, 1826. He resided in that town until the year 1870,
when he went to Dunkirk, where he remained one year work-
ing at his trade, viz., that of a millwright, which avocation he
has followed almost uninterruptedly for twenty years. In the
Spring of 1872, he came to Concord and purchased of his
brother. Sterling Titus, forty acres of land, which was originally
a portion of the Ostrander farm, located one-half mile south of
East Concord, where he has since resided. He was married
July 4, 1849. to Phoebe Matteson.
Their children are : Emma J., and Frank J.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, 5OI
Stephen Tefft.
Stephen Tefft was born Dec. 20, 181 3, in Newport, Her-
kimer county, N. Y., and came to Erie county in 1852 ; he is a
farmer; he was married March 20, 1850, to Caroline Jenkins,
who was born in Herkimer county, N. Y., Aug. 2, 1828; his
father's name was Wilham Tefft, who served as a musician in
the war of 18 12, and received a land warrant for military
services, and subsequently received a pension. His mother's
maiden name was Ruth Ann Wheaton. William Tefit was
twice married, his second wife was Susan Wheaton, a sister of
his first wife, who still lives. He died at the age of eighty-six
years. Their children were :
Ruth Ann, born Sept. 30, 1850; died Aug. 27, 1863.
George E., born Nov. 10, 1851 ; married May 20, 1874, to
Alice Vedder.
Franklin, born June 7, 1853; died Nov. 8, 1862.
Alma, born Nov. 7, 1854; died Aug. 29, 1863.
Erastus, born Nov. 25, 1859.
Carrie, born Feb 2, 1861.
Alice, born Dec. 7, 1865.
James L. Tarbox.
James L. Tarbox was born May 5, 1847, ^^'^ came to Con-
cord in the year 1855, from Richford, Tioga county, N. Y. ;
his father's name was Benjamin Tarbox ; his mother's maiden
name was Rachael Eaton ; he is a merchant b)' occupation ;
was married June 24, 1869, to Mianda L. Rice, who was born
in the Town of Richford, Tioga county ; was in mercantile
business at Wheeler's Hollow three years before he came to
Morton's Corners. They have one child, Nellie M. Tarbox,
who was born Dec. 5, 1878.
Rollin 31. Tioheuor.
Mr. Tichenor was born in Bridport, Addison county. Vt.,
March 26, 1831. Came to Springville in 1851, where he has
since resided. He was married in 1853 to Sylvia King, daugh-
ter of Winsor King. Mr. Tichenor enlisted February 15. 1865,
in Company K., Twenty-seventh N. Y, Cavalry ; was discharged
June following, on account of the close of the war.
502 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
N. H. Thurber.
N. H. Thurber was born in Black Rock in the year 1840^
and came to this town in 1843. ^^^ father's name was John
Thurber, and his mother's maiden name was Frances Howard,
His grandfather's name was John Thurber, and his grand-
mother's maiden name was Clorina Brown. He is a printer by
occupation. He pubHshed a paper here called the Springville
Tndunr ior i\early two years, viz: 1865-66. He was married
in the year 1864 to Miss Esther West. Their children are:
Eddie N.. and Mary E.
Riidolpli L rich.
Rudolph Urich was born in Switzerland, September 8, 1827,.
and came to the town of Collins in the year 1849, '^'"'^ removed
to Concord in the year 1855. His father's name was Rudolph
Urich ; his mother's name was Elizabeth Hoffminster. He
was married October 2, 1854, to Mariah Irish; is a farmer.
His father was held for military service for twenty years in
Switzerland. He has two children :
George, born May i, 1855.
Elizabeth, born December 30, 1859.
The Vaugliaii Family.
James Vaughan, Sr., came here in 1809, and bought a quar-
ter section of land on lot twenty-five, on what is now called
Vaughan street. A short time after he returned to Washing-
ton county, N. Y., where he died December 14, 1831, aged
fifty-seven years. His eldest son, William Vaughan, came here
and settled on the south j^art of lot t\\cnt\'-fi\'e, where Asa
Twichell now lives. Here he lived se\eral years, when he re-
turned East where he died January, 1882, aged eighty years.
Pauline Vaughan married a l\Ir. Bcadleston. .She lived here
a few years in earl)- times, and then removed from this town,
and died in 1877. E|)inctus came to this town about 1825, and
cleared up a farm on the north part of lot t\\ent\'-fi\e. He
reared a famih- of children, and died in this tow 11 in 1854, aged
fifty-one years. James, jr., cleared up a farm on the same lot.
He mo\-ed to Wisconsin nearl)- thirt)' \'ears ago, and died in
1877. His wife still li\es in Waupaca. W'isconsin.
I
HKUiRAI'HICAI. SKKICHHS. 503
Alonzo and John are still living at Waupaca, Wisconsin.
Mrs. James Vaughan, sr., died in this town in 1842. L. C.
Vaughan died in this town August 31. iS/.S, aged sixty-five
years. Mrs. Nancy Vaughan Bloodgood still lives in this town
at the age of seventy-three years.
Saiuuol ('. P. Yaiisliii.
Lemuel C. P. Vaughn was born Sept. 9, 181 3, in the town of
Queensbury, Warren county, N. Y.; came to Concord May 16,
1832; he was by occupation a farmer; was married May i, 1832 ;
died Aug. 31, 1878 ; his wife's maiden name was Acsah Twiss,
was born in the State of New Hampshire ; his father's name
was James \'aughn ; his mother's maiden name was Nancy
Moon.
Mrs. L. C. P. Vaughn says: My husband's father, James
Vaughn, bought the farm we now live on in 1809 of the Hol-
land Land company; we have occupied the farm since 1832;
our farm was all woodland; we first built a log house 20x26
feet ; it was called a good house ; lived in it ten years and then
built a frame house, and cleared our land by degrees. My
husband's father, James Vaughn, was in the military service in
the war of 18 12.
Their children were :
Julius J., born March 21, 1833: married to Amos W'ickham
June 5, 1867 ; lives in Michigan ; is a doctor.
Russell J., born A])ril 6, 1835 ; married Theresa Green April
27, 1858.
Alonzo L., born March 26, 1837; married Emma Smith
Feb. 15, 1865.
Jennie A., born Jul}- 4. 1840 ; resides in New York city: is a
stenographer.
Covell S., born Jan. 2, 1843 : li\es in Michigan ; is a dentist.
Lorenzo A., born Jan. i 1, 1S45 : married Mary Potter March
24, 1869.
Achsah D.. born Oct. 28, 1847: married Daniel Lewis Oct.
10, 1870.
Riissoll .J. Vaush".
Russell J. Vaughn was born April 6, 1835, in the Town of
Concord. He was married in 1858 to Miss Theresa Green, who
504 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
was born in 1836. His father's name was L. C. P. Vaughn
his mother's maiden name was Acsah Twiss ; he is a farmer
and owns a farm of 180 acres on Vaughn street, ninety acres of
which was formerly owned by his uncle, James Vaughn. Mr,
Vaughn was elected school commissioner of the third district
of Erie county in the Fall of 1872, and served one term.
They have six children :
Earl R., born in 1859; married Ida Pike in 1880; he is a
dentist ; lives at Falls City, Neb.
Eloise, born in 1864.
Hoyt, born in 1866; died in 1872.
Ray, born in 1872.
Covell. born in 1875.
Mabel, born in 1878.
Alonzo Vaiiglin.
Alonzo Vaughn, the subject of this sketch was born in the
Town of Concord March 26, 1837; he attended school at
Springville academy until he was seventeen years of age when
he commenced teaching ; he continued teaching winters,
attending school at the academy in the Fall and working at
home Summers until he was twenty-two years of age. In the
Summer of 1859 he studied dentistry with Dr. Strait, of Buf-
falo ; the two years following he practiced at Warsaw and Le-
Roy ; in the Fall of 1861 he moved to Springville, where he
has practiced ever since. In 1865 he was married to Miss
Emma Smith, of Concord.
They have four children :
Herbert.
Acsah.
Edward.
Calista.
Saiimel I>. Vaiioe and Family.
Samuel D. Vance was born in Quebec, Canada, Jan. 14, 1841 •
he resided in the Dominion until seven \-ears of age, when he
went to Boston, Mass., to reside with his uncle, with whom he
remained one year. He came to Concord in the year 1849; ^^^
has resided in this town ever since with the exception of the
year 1871 and a portion of 1872, when he went to LaCrosse
liIOC;RAriIICAL SKETCHES. 505
county, Wis., hoping thereby to improve his health which had
become seriously impaired ; change of climate having produced
the desired effect, he returned to Concord in the Spring of
1873, and purchased what is usually known as the Sprague
farm, situated midwa)- between East Concord and Glenw(K)d,
on which he now resides ; he also owns the sawmill heretofore
under the management of .S. Clark, which is situated near his
present residence. He was married Jan. i, 1 863, to Julia A.
Wilcox.
They have two children :
Cora M.
Nellie M.
Isaac A'o.sburgli'.s Stateineut.
My father, Henry J. V^osburgh. first came to this town from
Kinderhook, Columbia county, this state, in the year 1822 ; that
portion of this town lying north of East Concord was at that
time an unbroken wilderness. He first worked land on shares
near the present residence of Luzerne Eaton and improved the
leisure time he was afforded in chopping and clearing on the
farm where I now reside, which he purchased of the Holland
Land Company. He also built the house in which I now
reside, which was the first frame house built in this vicinity.
After a four years' stay in Concord he removed to Columbia
county, where I was born Oct. 11, 1830. About the year 1831
he returned to Concord and took possession of his farm which
had been rented during his absence.
We came into town by the way of Boston, the Colden road
being then a thing of the future. He assisted in laying out the
roads of this vicinity. He was, after the year 1831, a perma-
nent resident of Concord, until his death, which occurred Sept.
25, 1877. My earlier life was spent in this town and was un-
eventful save an occasional rafting voyage down the Alleghany
and Ohio rivers. In the year 1852 I went to California and
engaged in mining where I remained nearly four years, when I
returned to Concord and worked my father's farm six seasons.
I then purchased land located one-half mile north-west of East
Concord, where I resided until the Spring of 1879, ^^'hen I
bought a portion of the old homestead, one mile north-east of
5o6 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
East Concord, where I now reside. I was married April iQthy
1857, to Miss Anna Smith. My children are :
Carrie A., Ella A., James M., Allie L., Ida M., Effie J.,
Thomas C, Jessie and Myrtie.
Harrison Vaiitlerlip's Statement.
My father came to Concord from Vermont previous to the
year 1840. His name is Truman Vanderlip and mother's
maiden name was Caroline Presson. He first settled at Spring-
ville, from there he removed to a farm located about midway
between Woodward's Hollow and New Oregon, where I was
born July 12, 1840; this in turn, was soon disposed of, when
father removed to New Oregon. Two years later he bought
what was known as the Ford farm, located on lot thirty-nine,
township seven, range seven. In 1853 he removed to Boston
Corners. In the Spring of i860 I went to Illinois.
In the year 1861 I enlisted in the 25th Illinois Infantry; I
participated in ten of the most severe engagements of our civil
war, conspicuous among which were Pea Ridge, Stone River,
Lookout Mountain and Mission Ridge. After the latter fight
Ave were sent to the relief of Burnside and raised the siege of
Knoxsville, Tennesee. I was with Sherman during his famous
march to the sea as far as Atlanta, Ga., when my term of enlist-
ment expired Aug. 4, 1864. I was mustered out of service at
Springfield, Illinois, Sept. 7, 1864; from there I went to the
Pikes' Peak country, Colorado ; I remained in Colorado during
the Winter of 1864 and 1865 inclusive, when I returned to
Illinois, where I remained during the summer of 1865 and came
back to Boston during the ensuing Winter. I was married Nov.
2d, 1868, to Mary L. Jones of Boston. We resided in that
town until the Spring of 1876, when I came to Concord and
bought what is commonly known as the Wheelock farm, at
Waterville, on which I now reside. Our children were four in
number, three of whom are still living, viz :
lola M., Nellie M. and Harrison L.
My father, Truman Vanderlip, lives in Michigan.
My brother Loren lives in Iowa.
My brother John S. lives in Denver, Col.
My brother Henry lives in Iowa.
lUOCRAPHICAI, SKETCUKS. 507
Mary S. lives in Michigan.
Jenny lives in Iowa.
Truman, Jr. and Caroline live in Michigan.
James Vaunata.
James Vannata was born Feb. 13, 1842, in the Town of Con-
•cord, and is by occupation a farmer ; was married Veh. 25,
1863, to Miss Alice A. Wells, who was born June 13, 1846.
She was the daughter of As^ Wells ; her mother's maiden
name was Gertrude Widrig, who was born in Herkimer county,
N. Y., June 14, 1809; was married to Asa Wells,. Jan. 19, 1840,
and died Aug. 20, 1875. Asa Wells was born in Rutland
county, Vt., July 6, 1798; came to the Town of Concord in
1816, and lived here until the timeof his death, which occurred
July 30, 1864. Their children were;
Josephine S.. born Sept. 3, 1841.
Clark C, born Sept. 10, 1844.
Alice A., born June 13, 1846.
Newell G., born April 6, 1848 ; died March 6, 1863.
James E., born March 5, 1868.
Elmer A., born June 23, 1870.
Alice S., born July 8, 1876.
Wells, born May 26, 1879.
Peter Van Valkenbiirgh.
Peter Van Valkenburgh was born Oct. 16, 1820, in Columbia
county, N. Y,, and came to Concord in 1836; is a farmer; was
married Sept. 22, 1842, to Miss Almira A. Austin, daughter of
Luther Austin ; she was born Oct. 12, 1823 ; his father's name
was Richard Van Valkenburgh ; his mother's maiden name was
Polly DeVoe. His father came to Ashford, Cattaraugus
county, in 1837 ; next year he removed to Springville, remained
there several years and then moved to Troy, N. Y., and lived
there until the time of his death, which occurred in October,
1868 ; his mother still lives at Troy. His wife's father, Luther
Austin, came to Concord in 1816; was married October, 1818 ;
he served in the army in the war of 18 12 as a soldier, and sub-
sequently received a land warrant, and, had he lived a few
508 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
years longer, would have been entitled to a pension. He died
in 1858. There children were :
William A., born July 29, 1843.
Herman D., born May 27, 1846.
Rosalia S., born May 19, 1848; died Oct. 7, 1862.
Horatio G., born May 29, 1852; died Oct. 14, 1862.
Charles H., born April 9, 1854.
Mary A., born Oct. 30, 1856.
Johnnie R., born Feb. 11, i860; died Oct. 24', 1862.
Emily E., born May 23, 1863.
Jennie C, born Oct. 21, 1868.
John Van Pelt.
John Van Pelt was for many years an active business man
in Springville. He carried on a general store and also built
and managed a distillery and ashery. He also bought cattle
and drove them to the eastern market. He had several chil-
dren, the oldest of whom, William Van Pelt, is a physician and
lives in Williamsville, N. Y., where he has a large practice and
is a respected citizen.
Augustus A'anuatta.
Philip Vannatta, father of the subject of this sketch, was
born in . He was married in 1829 to Miss Cath-
rine Spoors, of Cortland county, N. Y. They had nine chil-
dren, viz :
David, born in 1830, lives in Vandalia, Cattaraugus county,
N. Y.
Maria, born in 1832, married C. B. Parkinson and lives in
Collins.
Nicholas, born in 1833.
Elias, born in 1835, was killed in the battle of P'air Oaks.
Phillip, born in 1837, '^^'^•^1 i" 1854.
William, born in 1839, served through the civil war and lives
in Canadaigua, N. Y.
James Augusta, married Austin Balls and lives in Cattarau-
gus county.
Augustus, was born in 1843, in the Town of Concord, where
he has ever since resided. He is unmarried and owns a
BIOGRAl'IIICAL SKETCHES. 509
farm near Morton's Corners, where he lives and cares for his
a^ed parents.
Byron Wells.
Byron Wells was born in 1817, in the Town of Sardinia ;
came to Concord in 1821 ; occupation a farmer. Was married
July 12, 1855, to Mary Ann Dodge, who died June, 1861.
Subsequently was married to Mary Munsell, who died March
6, 1870, and was married to ijis present wife, Sarah Sherman,
April 5, 1 87 1. His father's name was Charles C. Wells, and
lived in Buffalo at the beginning of the War of 181 2 ; was in
the military service and taken prisoner at the time Buffalo was
burned. He was taken to Montreal and kept a prisoner until
exchanged, and remained in the service until the close of the
war. Subsequently he was married and settled in Buffalo —
himself and wife being two of the eight members of the first
Methodist church in Buffalo. This church was organized by
the late Gleazen Fillmore, then a young man, who, when he
came to Buffalo, met a minister of another denomination, who
told him that one minister was enough for the place. After
the church organization, they were deprived of a place of wor-
ship and went to work and constructed a church edifice, in six
weeks ready for occupation (probabl)- not quite as expensive as
the Delaware Avenue church of this day). After living in Buf-
falo three years, he removed to the Town of Sardinia and sub-
sequently removed to Concord, where they continued to reside
until the time of his death.
Among the relics of "ye olden times " in the Wells family is
an account book, once the property of Capt. Levi Wells, great-
grandfather of Byron Wells, which contains the account of
money paid by Captain Wells to the offlcers and soldiers of the
Colonial army. The first date or entry is May ye iBth, 1775.
Pasted inside the cover of the book is a commission issued to
" First-Lieut. Levi Wells, dated March 24th, 1760, in the thirty-
third year of the reign of his majesty King George the Second,
by order of Thomas Fitch, Captain-General and Governorin-
chief of his majesty's English Colony of Connecticut, in New
England, in America." It also appears from this book that
Levi Wells served as Captain and Paymaster subsequently in
the Continental Army during the Revolution.
510 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Family record :
Frank S., born May 30, 1857.
Mary A., born June 5, 1861.
Jennie E., born Aug. 18, 1867.
Jessie M., born Nov. i, 1869.
Mary A. Wells died April 15, 1883, aged twenty-one years
and ten months.
Mrs. Wells died March 29, 1885, aged eighty-five years and
nine months, and five days.
Colony of ) ^, ,, r-
^ /• ^ • Thomas Pitch, Eso.,
Connecticut. ) ' ^ <
Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief, in and over his
majesty's English Colony of Connecticut, in New England, in
America.
To Levi Wells, Gent., greeting —
By virtue of the power and authority to me given, in and by
the Royal CHARTER, to the Governor and Company of the said
Colony, under the Great Seal of England. I do by these pres-
ents, reposing especial trust and confidence in your Loyalty,
■Courage and Good Conduct, constitute and appoint you, the
said Levi Wells, to be First Lieutenant of the second
company of a Regiment of Foot, raised within the Colony, to
proceed and co-operate with a body of the King's British forces,
and under the supreme command of his majesty's Commander-
in-Chief; in America, against Canada, in order to reduce Mon-
treal and all other posts of the French in those parts, and fur-
ther to annoy the enemy in such manner as his majesty's Coin-
mander-in-Chief, of which regiment Nathan Whitinc, Esq.,
is Colonel. You are, therefore, carefully and diligently to dis-
charge the dut)- of a Lieutenant in leading, ordering and exer-
cising said company in arms, both inferior officers and soldiers
in the service aforesaid, and to keep them in good order and
discipline ; hereby commanding them to obey \'ou as their
Lieutenant, and yourself to obser\'e and follow such orders and
instructions as you shall from time to time receive from me, or
the Commander-in-Chief of said Colony, for the time-being, or
other of your superior officers, according to the rules and dis-
cipline of war, pursuant to the trust reposed in you.
Given under my hand and the public seal of the said Colony,
bi()(;ra!'hical sketches. 511
at Norwalk, the twenty-fourth day of March, in the thirty-third
year of the rei<^n of his majesty Kiny GEORGE the Second,
Ainioqiic Domini 1760.
By His Honor's conuiiand. THOS. FITCH.
(}K()K(;e Wviil.vs, Secretary.
William Waite.
WilHam Waite, born in the Town of Alexander, Genesee
county, N. Y., Dec. 25, 1830 ; is a farmer and came to Concord
in 1834; his father's name is Weston Waite; liis mother's
maiden name was Cahsta Snow. Wilham Waite was married
in 1852, to Sarah Mayo, daughter of Hiram Mayo, who wasone
of the old settlers. She died in 187 1. Two of Mayo's sons, Sam-
uel A. Mayo and John H. Mayo, enlisted in the army Aug. ii
1862, both w^ere wounded at the battle of Donaldsonville and
died soon after. Mr. and Mrs. William Waite have four
children, vaz :
Henry E., born Aug. 24, 1850.
William W., born July 21, 1854.
Elmer M., born March i, 1859.
Luzerne C, born Nov. 10, 1862.
Mrs. Sarah A. Waite died July 19, 1882, aged fifty years.
William J. Wiley.
William J. Wiley was born in Concord, April i, 1831 ; his
wife, Lucretia Vosburg, was born in Kinderhook, Columbia
county, N. Y., Feb. 9, 1831 ; her father came to Concord in.
1856; his father's name was David Wiley, he came to Concord
in 1813; lived in the town until his death, which occurred
June 9, 1879 ! '"''•'^ mother's maiden name was Alyda Vosburg,
she is still living, aged seventy-nine years. W^illiam J. Wiley was
married Aug. 2, 1865, to Lucretia Vosburgh. His wife's father,
Matthew Vosburg, who now lives on the old " Saxe " farm,
one and one-half miles east of Springville, fell and injured him-
self on the 15th day of March last, and is seriously ill. His
eighty-third birthday occurred on the previous day. Her
mother was sevent}'-threc years of age Jan. 13, 1882. Their
children were :
William V., born Nov. 13, 1857.
512 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Thomas S., born Dec. 23, 1859.
Alyda J., born Nov 20, 1862 ; died in September, 1863.
Nelson E., born Sept. 15, 1867.
Carlos Waite.
Carlos Waite was born in Concord, in the year 1840; his
father's name is Weston Waite and was born in Washington
county, in 1802 ; his mother's maiden name was Calista Snow,
she was born in Connecticut in 1804; he learned the profession
of a dentist and commenced business in 186S, in Springville,
and has carried it on to the present time. He enlisted in the
One hundred and sixteenth Regiment, N. Y. Vol., Aug. 11,
1862, E. P. Chapin, Colonel, and served till the close of the
war. He was" at Port Hudson, in the Red River expedition, at
Winchester and Fisher's Hill, and in the Shenandoah Valle)' in
1864. He was married in 1862 to Miss Augusta Wilcox.
Their children were Allie, Ralph and Angle, who died at the
age of two years.
Allie is married to David Hernden, of Bennington, W)'oming
county, N. Y.
William H. AVarner.
Mr. V\"arner was a son of Samuel Warner and Mary (San-
ders) Warner. He was born in Collins, N. V.. in 1840 and
came to Concord in 1867, where he engaged in farming until
1 88 1, when he removed to Springville. His maternal grand-
father, Joseph Sanders, was a soldier of the war of 1812. Mr.
Warner entered the army as a private, July 20, 1861. In 1864,
he was promoted to Captain, which position he held until
he was mustered out of the, service July i, 1865. He has three
times represented the Town of Concord on the Board of
Supervisors, 1878, '79 and '80. He was married in 1866 to
Adeline L. Scoby, who was born in Ashford, N. Y., in 1840.
They have four children living:
^ M. Alice, born in 1867.
Fred S., born in 1873.
Glenn S., born in 1871.
William 11.. born in 1881.
HIOGRArintAI. SKETCIIKS. 513
.Tohii K. Wriffht.
John Fl. Wright was born in the town of Durham, Greene
count)', N. Y., April 2, 1808. His father's name was Ambrose
Wright and his mother's maiden name was EHzabeth Patterson,
He resided with his parents in his native town until he had
attained his twenty-third year, when he went to Canada and
purchased land situated at or near Niagara Falls. Here he
resided between seven and eight years. During that time the
Patriot war occurred, in which he participated. In the year
1839 he disposed of his farm ])roperty in the dominion and
returned to New York State and located in the town of Boston,
on "West Hill," where he resided until the year 1850, when he
came to Concord and purchased of Levi Vaughn one hundred
acres of land, located at East Concord, where he resided until
his death, which occurred Feb. 26, 1883. He was married July
5th, 1831, to Betsey Buehntr. Their children are :
Mary J. and Peter B
Samuel Warner.
Samuel Warner was a son of Roswell Warner and Lorain
Randall. His grandfather, Plinj' Warner, came from England
and was one of the first settlers in Massachusetts.
Mr. Warner was born in the year 1808, in Barneston, Mass.
He came to Collins in 1830 and to Concord in 1868, where he
now resides. He was married in 1829 to Mary Sanders, who
was born in Vermont in 1810 and died in Collins in 1864.
The}' had a famil)' of eight children :
Hannah M., born Jidy, 1829 ; married in 1853 to Arthur
White ; died. 1875.
Ezra N., born Feb., 183 1 : married in 1852 to Lucy A. Pratt;
died, 1863.
Mary J., born Oct., 1833 ; married in 1858 to H. V. Hicks;
died, 1859.
Sumner C, born Jan., 1836; married in 1856 to Jeanette Mun-
ger ; died in 1865.
Cynthia P., born Oct., 1838; married in 1865 to Albert H.
Cary.
William H., bornjul)-, 1840: married in 1866 to Adalin L.
Scob)'.
514 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Alfred S.,born Oct., 1843; married in 1864 to Louisa Col-
burn.
James L., born Aug., 1846; married in 1868 to Mary Rolfe.
Mr. Warner's children were all born in Collins, N. Y.
David J. AVilcox, Esq.
Mr. Wilcox's father, Elihu Wilcox, was a Vermonter of
Puritan stock, as was his mother also. They came from Ver-
mont to Leon Cattaraugus county, N. Y., in 1827, being some
of the earliest settlers of that town. Here the subject of this
sketch was born Oct. 27, 1848.
He attended school eight terms at Chamberlain Listitute,
Randolph, N. Y., after which, during the years 1872 and 1873,
he was three terms at the Fredonia State Normal School, and
the three succeeding years at Cornell University. Li 1877 he
began the study of law with King & Montgomery, at Ithaca,
N. Y. He remained there one year and then entered the
Albany Law School, graduating with the class of 1878.
He was admitted to the bar as Attorney and Counselor, at
Buffalo, June 14, 1878, and began the practice of law in Spring-
ville, N. Y., the subsequent December.
Before entering the legal profession he taught school eight
terms and during the year 1873 was President of the Cattarau-
gus county Teachers' Association.
In 1878 he was Clerk of the apportionment committee of the
State Assembly.
Mr. Wilcox was married in 1878, to Miss Happie Stowell,
daughter of Charles Stowell, Esq., of Ashford, N. Y. She is a
graduate of Chamberlain Institute and P^emale College.
Mr. Wilcox was elected to the State Legislature in the Fall
of 1882.
P. H. Warner.
Mr. Warner's father, Milo Warner, was born in Ira, Vermont,
about 1790; was married to Lucina Sikes, about 1812 and
moved to Strykersville, Wyoming county, N. Y., in the winter
of 1813, with two yoke of oxen. He resided on the land he
first took up until his death, in his eighty-second year. He
organized the Congregational Church at Strykersville and
served as a soldier on the Niagara frontier.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 515
He had a family of eleven children, nine of whom arc now
living and married — five brothers and four sisters. Two of the
brothers are graduates of Yale College. One sister, Mrs. Mor-
ril, was educated at LeRoy Seminary, taught twelve years in
Packard Institute, Brooklyn, and has since traveled in Europe
two years.
Philetoii H. WariKT
Was born in Strykersville, Wyoming county, N. Y., Jan. 31,
1822. He taught school eleven terms in his native town and
Concord. Was married in 1845, to Allathea H. Mann. They
came to Springville in 1847, and engaged '" t^^*-' millinery trade,
which the)^ continued until 1867, when they retired from busi-
ness.
Mrs. Warner was a daughter of Nathan M. Mann, Esq., one
of the most prominent and respected citizens of Aurora and
Wales at an early day. He was for many years Supervisor
from the town of Wale? and was a personal friend of Millard
Filmore. He had a family of ten children — three sistjrs and
one brother only are living :
George Mann, resides at Aigora, Iowa.
Mrs. Alice Sanders, of Sheridan, Mich., (she is now, 1881,
Vice-President of the Michigan State Bee-keepers' Association).
Mrs. Fanny Eddy, of Aurora and Mrs. Warner.
William Mann, one of the brothers, who died in Buffalo, Oct.
31, i8^'o, aged forty-four years, was a very enterprising and suc-
cessful business man. He was for several years extensively
engaged in the drug business in Buffalo. At the time of his
death he was conducting the business at the Black Hills, where
he was also engaged in mining.
Edward Wyatt.
Edward Wyatt was born in Somersetshire, England, July
31, 1844. His father's name was Joseph Wyatt ; his mother's
maiden name was Martha Light. When fifteen years of age,
Mr. Wyatt was apprenticed to a wheelwright. In 1865 he was
married to Sarah Jane Davey. He came to the United States
in 1869 for the benefit of his health ; his first year was spent
4n the Michigan pineries. The ne.xt year he sent to England
5l6 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
for his family, and located on Townsend Hill, where he has
ever since been engaged in farming. Their children were :
Edwin, born in England.
Joseph, born in England.
Arthur P., born and died in England.
George and Frank.
Mcses White.
Moses White came from Connecticut to this town about i8i i,
and located on lot eighteen, township six, range six, by the "
Cattaraugus creek. He remained about twenty-five years, and
then removed to Jamestown, Chautauqua county. His first
wife's name was Tuttle ; his second wife Sally Cheeny.
Their children were :
Daniel, who died in Tennessee.
Almira, Hiram, Frederick, John and Welles, all of whom are
supposed to be living.
Joel White.
Joel White, brother of Moses, Truman and Frances, came to
this town from Connecticut, and located in Springville. He
was the first wagon-maker in the town of Concord. His wife's
maiden name was Phoebe Blakesly. They had no children. He
removed to Ohio many years ago, and died there about [872.
Frederick White.
Frederick White, younger brother of the others, came to
this town with his parents. He married Malvina Albro, and
removed from here to Cincinnati, Ohio, where his wife died.
He was a soldier in the Mexican war, and is supposed to be
dead.
Joliii AVells.
John Wells was born Dec. 25, 1807, in the town of Sharon,
Schoharie county, N. Y., came to Concord April 19, 1816 ; is a
farmer. He was married Jan. 24, 1836 to Laura E. Ballou,
who w^as born in Tinnemouth, Vt., April 10, 181 7. His father's
name was Azzan Wells ; his mother's maiden name was Anna
Turner.
John Wells has lived in Concord sixty-six years, and if he
inOCJRAl'IIKAl, SKKTCIIES, 51/
was given to story-tclling he could tell much of the trials and
hardships endured by the early settlers of the present thriving
and wealthy portion of the Holland Purchase, then a wilderness,
inhabited largely by wild animals. He tells only one bear
story : " They had a pig and a pig pen, and a bear came for
the pig. The famih', armed with fire-brands, shovels, pitch-
forks and other implements, made a vigorous attack on his
bearship and put him to flight, and the pig was saved. Family
record :
William J., was born April 24. 1838; was married July, 1863,
to Calista Wilson ; is a farmer.
John B., was born March 2, 1840: married March, 1864, to
Annie Pierce.
James F.. was born May 16, 1842 : married in 1866 to Emma
Blakeley.
Cornelia O., born August 18, 185 i : died Nov. 23, 1852.
Ambrose Wriglit.
P'ather of Edwin Wright, was born at Saj-brook, Conn., Oct.
2, 1773. He came of Revolutionary stock, his father serving
in the Continental army, during the struggle for American
Independence. After reaching the years of manhood he was
united in marriage to Miss Betsy Pattison, who was born in
the town of Barrington, Conn., June 12, 1779. Soon after this
event he migrated to the town of Durham, Greene county, N.
v., and was one of the early pioneers of that place. He loca-
ted on the very farm that proved ever after to be his home.
Here he devoted his energies to the improvement of his own
surroundings, and the building up of every cause that tended
to better the condition of his fellow beings. He was a man of
generous and liberal views and for a few years he permitted the
Presb}'terian Society of his town to occupy his dwelling upon
the Sabbath for religious meeting. Under these circumstances
he too became convinced of the truths of Christianity, and
soon after he united with the M. E. Church and for over forty
years he was an active, zealous lay-member and class-leader in
that church. Mrs. Wright died April 4, 1835, aged fifty-five
years, nine months and twent}--two days. He survived her
-518 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
nearly sixteen years, dying January 12, 185 1, aged seventy-
seven years, four months and sixteen days. Thirteen children
were the fruits of this union, viz :
Phila, born March 12, 1795.
Caroline, born Sept. 5, 1797.
James, born Oct. 29, 1799.
Patterson, born Sept. 4, 1801.
Wealthy, born Nov. 19, 1803.
Ambrose, born Jan. 19, 1806.
John Ely, born April 2, 1808.
Mary Jane, born June 20, 18 10.
William Clinton, born Aug. 25, 181 2.
Zelia Diana, born Jan. 6, 1815.
Edwin, born March 11, 18 17.
Betsy, born May 12, 18 19.
Ezra, born Oct. 27, 1821.
Edwin Wright.
Son of Ambrose and Betsy Patterson Wright, was born in
the town of Durham, Greene county, N. Y., March 11,1817. In
the year 1835 he was married to Miss Catherine Schultes, and
in the year 1840, the young couple migrated to the town of
Boston, Erie county, N. Y. After a residence there of four
years, Mr. Wright and family came to the town of Concord,
and this has been their home ever since. He owned and con-
ducted a farm for several years at East Concord. And he was
engaged for a while in trade in Springville, but for many years
past he has been engaged in agricultural pursuits.
He is a public spirited citizen, and takes an active interest in
the political affairs of the town and the county. He is an
agreeable associate and companion, and lives to enjoy the soci-
ety of his friends and the comforts of his pleasant home. Six
children have been born to them, viz:
Ezra, born July 19, 1836; died Sept. 24, 1852.
Isabella, born Aug. 17, 1842; died Dec. 30, i86(.
Edna, born Aug, 25, 1847; married C. R. Wadsworth.
Edwin, born Aug. 25, 1850; died Dec 4, 1855.
Ida M., born July 27, 1854.
Ward, born Oct. 6, 1858; died Jan. 28, 1863.
li
BIOCKAPHICAL SKETCHES. 519
Daiiiol Shultiis.
Was born in the town of Rincbec, Dutchess county, N. Y.,.
Dec. 26, 1786, and consequently is in the ninety-eighth year of
his age. February 10, 1810, he was united in marriage to Miss
Isabella Griffin, who was born in Rensselaerville, Albany county,.
N. Y., Dec. 2, 1793, and died in Springville, April 26, 1881,
after a wedded life of seventy-one years and two months.
Nearly forty-two years ago they came to this town and up to^
within two or three years, this venerable couple had been active
and useful members of Mr. Edwin Wright's home ; but death
called the venerable wife, and now the aged and devoted hus-
band only awaits the summons that will unite him again with
the bride of his \-outh.
Isaac Woodward.
Isaac Woodward's father, Levi Woodward, came in 181 1 to
what is now North Collins, and located one and one-half miles
south of Shirly postoffice. He came from W^arren county, N.
Y., where he was born in 1788 ; he moved to Woodward Hol-
low in 1849, where he died in 1876. He was married in 1812
to Hannah Southwick.
They had eleven children :
Eliza M., James Roberts, William, Isaac, Josiah. L)'dia M.,
Jesse Taft, George, Stephen, Joseph, Job, Phcebe, Jane M.,
Chandler Briggs and James.
They are all living but W'illiam, who died in 1862, and Job,
who died in 1882.
Those living reside in some part of the West, except James,
in Pennsylvania, and Isaac and Lydia, in Woodward Hollow\
Isaac Woodward was born Sept. 19, 18 16, in what is now
North Collins. He came to Woodward Hollow in 1842. Dur-
ing the administration of Franklin Pierce a postofifice was insti-
tuted at the Hollow, and Mr. Woodward appointed Postmaster,
wdiich position he has since held with the exception of about
six years.
Mr. Woodward was married in 1840 to Emeline Morehouse,
who was born in Warren county, N. Y., in 1820.
They have three sons and three daughters :
William, Jennie M., P^red. Warner, Philo, Josiah, Melissa M.,.
Henry Fathy and P^lorence M. Forest Matthews.
520 BIOCiKAPHICAL SKETCHES.
All reside near the Hollow except William, now a resident
of Dakota, and Florence, who resides in Collins. The three
sons all serv^ed in the Union arm)'.
Mr. Woodward has served two terms as Justice of the Peace
and has been Assessor.
George W. Weeden.
George W. Weeden, son of William Weeden, was born May
26, 1832, in a log house standing" on the same spot where his
present residence now stands in Springville; this is the home-
stead farm where Mr. Weeden has always lived. He was mar-
ried in 1854 to Cornelia Stone, by whom he had one son :
Willis L., born Nov. 22, 1855.
He was married a second time, in 1863, to Jane Eaton, who
was born Aug. 7, 1837.
Mr. Weeden has been Assessor of Concord one term, and
also Assessor and Trustee in Springville four years.
His son, Willis L., graduated at Griflfith institute in 1878,
and at Hamilton college in 1882.
Mr. W. L. Weeden is Principal of the Leonardsville Union
School and Academy, the duties of which he discharges with
credit and ability, and he has won by his gentlemanly and
scholarl)' deportment the cordial support of the entire com-
munity where he is teaching.
Willard Weecleu.
Mr. Weeden was born in Rutland county, Vt., July i, 1792.
When the war of 181 2 began he enlisted in the service and
was sent to the Niagara frontier, where he took part in the
battles of Lundy's Lane, Chippewa, Queenston Heights, and
was at Buffalo while its ruini^ were yet smouldering from the
effects of the torch applied by the British and Indians. One
morning after he had stood sentinel all night, for a very trivial
offense he was struck with a sword by one of his superior of^-
cers. Deeming himself grossl\- misused he thought as did
Hamlet :
" Who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes."
in(M;KAriii(Ai. skktciiks. 521
And he decided, "rather than bear those ills we have, to fly-
to others that we know not of."
He became a deserter and made his way southward from Buf-
falo into the almost unbroken wilderness which stretched south-
ward to Olean, then called Olean Point. A reward was offered for
his capture, and when he reached Hamburg he and two fellow
deserters were overtaken and captured. And while stopping at
a hotel on their return Mr. Weeden escaped the vigilance of the
sentinel, and being a swift runner he secreted himself in the
forest before he could be recaptured. Hunger would some-
times compel him to ask for food at the scattered log cabins of
the pioneers ; he was at one time about to stop at a cabin what
is now Boston, when the woman came out, who recognized his
true character, with a loaf of bread, which she gave to him and
admonished him to exercise caution in his movements, as a
large party were in pursuit of him, her husband among the
number. He acted upon the advice. Several days afterwards
he took dinner at a Mr. Plumb's, who had settled in the Chafee
neighborhood near .Sjiringville. on land which Mr. Weeden
afterwards located on. From Mr. Plumb's he made his way
eastward up the Cattaraugus creek, when near the vicinity
where George Richmond, Sr.. grandfather of Nelson Rich-
mond, of Springville, had located ; he climbed a bluff to get a
better view of his surroundings ; looking down on to the flat at
his feet, he saw Mr. Richmond's clearing and Mr. Richmond
engaged at work, and recognized him at once as a man he had
known well in W-rmont, but he dare not make himself known
for fear of being apprehended. He continued eastward along
the creek until he struck the Indian trail leading from Olean
Point to Buffalo; he took this and directed his steps south-
ward ; after several days he came in companv- with a per-
son dressed in full uniform ; the\- became boon companions,
but each said nothing to the other of their past life ; doubtless
they both thought as did Hamlet when he said to his friend
Horatio : ,
" Nor shall ^ou do mine e ir that violence.
To mak; it truster of your own report
Against yourself."
Reaching Olean they bought a boat in company and rowed
522 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
•down the river to some point in Ohio where they sold their
boat for a quart of rum which they drank and then separated.
Mr. Weeden remained in Ohio until a proclamation was issued
declaring deserters free from further molestation, when he
returned to Vermont, where he was married in 1815, to Amy
Chafee, by whom he had three children :
John W., who died young.
Deliza J., married Elikum Shultes.
Alzina S., married Peter Widrig.
Early in the Spring of 18 17, Mr. Weeden loaded his family and
all his effect.-^ on an ox sled and started for Concord. He found
good sleighing all the way. After a year's pioneering he located
on lot thirteen, township six, range six. In 1830 he moved
into a log-house on the premises now owned by George Weeden,
where he lived until his death.
His first w^ife died in 1822, at the age of twenty-four and he
was married a second time to Anna Paine, in 1827, by whom
he had one son, George W. Weeden. She died Oct. 28, 1878,
aged seventy-three years. Mr. Weeden died March 18, 1867.
As before mentioned, Mr. Weeden brought all his effects
when he came to Concord upon an ox sled ; he added to his
meagre foundation until at the time of his death he had prop-
erty probably worth $30,000.
Mr. W^eeden was for a number of years Captain of militia.
Willaid White.
Mr. White's father, Nehemiah White, was born in Vermont,
Aug. 6, 1775, where he died Sept. 27, 1816; he was a farmer
by occupation.
Willard White was born in Vermont, June 24, 1806 ; he came
to Zoar, in Collins, when fifteen years of age; he resided there
and in East Otto, until 1863, when he moved to Springville,
where he lived until his death, July 16, 1882. Mr. White had
five brothers, all of whom died in Vermont, and four sisters ;
two are still living, (1882):
Mrs. Sophia Pine, who resides near Binghamton, N. Y.
Mrs. Cynthia Wilber, of Danby, Vermont.
hio(;rai'I1ical skhtciiks. 523:
Mr. White was married Nov. 25, 1827, to Mary Cox. They
had four daughters :
Cynthia, born Au<^. 30. 1828; married in 1852 to Leonard
Utley.
Lorinda, born Oct. 8, 1830; married in 1865 to Clark Wells.
Lucinda, born March 6, 1833; married in 1852 to Daniel W>
Ticknor.
Lucy J., born March 8, 1837; married in 1868 to Lorenza
Cook.
Willard White died July 15, 1882, aged seventy-six years and
two months.
William Wilcox.
William Wilcox, son of Samuel and Deborah (Smith) Wilcox,,
was born in the town of Sardinia, Sept. 8, 1826, but the family
soon moved to Concord and after some shifts located on the
east part of lot forty-four, township seven, range six, which he
(William) now owns and occupies. He was married to Miss
Avina Barker in 1854. Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox are both mem-
bers of the Free Baptist Church, Mrs. Wilcox having joined
that church in 1854 and retained her membership ever since.
The}- have five children, v\/, :
Jennie A., born Feb. 23, 1846; died Dec. 18, 1874.
Octavia A., born Oct. 18, 1857: died Dec 29, 1875.
Etta Ann, born June 2, 1864.
F'rank W., born March 28, 1869.
Samuel J,, born ^Larch 8, 1871.
Matthew Weber.
Matthew Weber was born in the town of h^-ankfort, Herki-
mer county, \. y , Dec. 4, 1818 ; came to the town of Ashford,.
Cattaraugus count)-, in 1836; is a farmer. Was married in
1841 to Betsey Hemstreet. He has lived in Concord about
twent)' years. His fatlier's name was Jacob Weber; his
mother's maiden name was Margaret Williams He .'^ays : "At
the beginning of the rex-olulionai}- war m}- grandfather, John
Weber, was in the Continental arm\-, and at an early period in
the war was killed with hisi)arty by Indians in ambush. After
killing grandfather the same band of Indians went to his house-
and drove urandmother, with the famil\- of seven children, out
524 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
of the house ; they allowed grandmother to go into the cellar
to get a loaf of bread. She got the bread and a kettle and
some meal in the kettle and they went to the woods and staid
that night and next morning their cow came to them and they
had milk. The Indians took all that was of use and burned the
Jiouse. Grandmother and the children were taken to Fort
Herkimer, near Little Falls." They had four children :
Ellen Elizabeth, born Nov. 8, 1842.
Ann Eliza, born May 22, 1843 ^ married Sept. 24, 1868 to A.
W. Ferrin ; died Feb. 14, 1872.
Blanchard B., born April 16, 1848 ; married Dec. 28, 1868 to
Phalena L. Ferrin.
Lucretia N., born May 4, 1865 ; died April 28, 1865.
The Wheeler Family.
The Wheelers came here in the Spring of 18 16, and Joshua
Sr. died nine years after. The\' located at the foot of Town-
send Hill.
The children of Joshua Sr., were :
Benjamin, who married Sally Perry, and died May 19, i860,
aged eighty-two ; his wife died Feb. 16, 1865, aged eighty
years.
Joshua died man)' years ago.
Pliny married Martha King, and is now living in Little Val-
ley, Cattaraugus county.
Silas is living in Little Valley, Cattaraugus county.
Clarissa married a man by the name of Collar.
Betsy married James Stratton ; is dead.
Patty married LTzial Townsend ; is dead.
Polly married Suel Townsend ; is dead.
Fanny married John Gould and is living West.
Hittia married John Loomis ; is dead.
The children of Benjamin Sr. were :
Acsah married Noah Townsend, and li\es on Townsend Hill.
Alanson married Diademia Townsend ; both died in the
Spring of 1883.
Mary married Allan Drake and lives in Milwaukee.
Sally married Hosea Townsend, and died soon after her mar.
riaee.
bio(;kafiiical sketches. 525
Samuel married Hannah Flemmings; after her death, he
married Sarah Ashman and Hves in this town.
Betsy married N. A. Godard, and died Nov. 17, 1845, aged
thirty-two years.
Benjamin Jr. married first Sally Yaw ; after her death he mar-
ried Mary Childs, and lives in Concord.
Porter lives in Springville.
Almeda lives in Springville.
John B. Wells.
John B. Wells, son of J. T. Wells was born March i, 1840, in
Concord, of which town he has always been a resident ; his
occupation is farming. He was married March i, 1863, to An-
nis M. Pierce.
They have six children, viz.:
George M., born June i, 1864.
Maggie L., born July 28. 1865.
Ida, born Jan. 8, 1868.
James E., born Aug. 17, 1871.
Leslie J., born June i, 1873.
John, born Aug. 20, 1878.
Saimiel Wheeler.
Samuel Wheeler was born in Massachusetts, July 12, 18 10.
Came to this town with his parents in 18 16; has resided in town
since that time ; is a farmer and mechanic. He was married
Nov. 14, 1833, to Hannah Flemmings.
Their children living are :
Maryette, born 1835; married Horace Wilson ; lives in Min-
nesota.
l^enjamin, born 1838.
Samuel, born 1840; lives in this town.
His wife died and he afterwards married Sarah A. Ashman,
in 1842. Their children are:
Albert T., born 1844.
Sarah A., born 1848: married, in 1866, to Harvey Richard-
son ; lives in Aurora.
Helen M.. born in 1850; married, in 1875, to G. W. Wilson ;
lives in this town.
526 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Alma S., born in 1853 ; married in 1876, to W. H. Tichenor ;
lives in Springville.
AmaziahA. married Dolly Waite ; lives in Concord.
Ellen T.
Hiiram Wickham.
Huram Wickham was born in Montgomery county, N. Y.,.
Aug. 30, 1865. He learned the trade of carpenter and joiner,
and came to the Town of Collins in 1825 ; here he followed his
trade for several years. But for the last thirty years his atten-
tion has been directed more or less to farming.
In 1833, he was united in marriage to Miss Louise Irish, and
three children were born to them, viz :
Marinda, born Nov. 25, 1833.
Chauncy L., born Aug. 11, 1839.
Matilda, born July 2, 1848.
In his younger days, Mr. Wickham had a great taste for
hunting, and he relates the incidents of a squirrel hunt that took
place in Collins in 1830. Two sides were chosen, coi\sisting of
eight hunters on a side, and the party that scored the most
points by producing the tails of the game secured, were de-
clared the victors. Timothy Clark was one of the captains and
his brother William the other. The men who were with Tim-
othy were as follows : Hiram Wickham, Ralph Cohley, Ben-
jamin Albro, Howard Albro and three others. Those who
were with William Clark were: Jake Palmer, Rufus Col-
burn and five others, making eight on a side. About
4 o'clock P. M. the hunters came in and the scores counted up,
and it was found that Timothy Clark's side were victorious by
over one hundred counts, and the day's sport wound up by an
o.ld fashioned game of base ball, in which Timothy Clark's
men again came off victorious. He was also one of those who
engaged in the great wolf hunt of 1830.
In the Spring of 1880 Mr. Wickham sold his farm in Collins
and bought the old Morton homestead at Morton's Corners.
Here he and his venerable companion expected to pass the
evening of their life together, but man proposes and fate dis-
poses. Mr. Wickham was taken sick in the Fall of 1882,
which resulted in death a few weeks after.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 52/
Samuel Wheeler, Jr.
Samuel Wheeler, Jr., son of Samuel and Hannah Wheeler,
was born Jan. 25, 1840, in Concord, where he has since resided.
At present he is proprietor of a blacksmith shop at Morton's
Corners. Mr. Wheeler at a very early age displayed rare tal-
ents for the mechanical arts, and though he never learned a
trade, yet there is scarcely anything but what he can construct
out of wood or metal. His shop is a model of neatness and
convenience ; the most of his tools being the work of his own
hands. He was married April 25, 1863, to Miss Caroline Bea-
sor, daughter of Christian Beasor.
They have one child ;
Alta F.. born Jan. 19, 1877.
Frank AVeismaiitle.
Frank Weismantle was born in Bavaria in 1842. His father's
name was George Weismantle ; his mother's maiden name was
Margaret K. . He came to this country in the year
1861. In the year 1865 he went in company with his brother
Peter, and they carried on the blacksmithing business together
for nine years. In 1874 he built the shop No. ii Mechanic
street, where he has since conducted the business alone. In
1865 he was married to Miss Mary M. Fox.
Their children were :
George F.
Frederick William, who died, aged one year.
Edward, who died in 1877, aged seven years.
Lottie, Clara, Frankie S., John.
AVilliain AVriiiht.
William Wright was born in Vermont in the year 1767, and
came here in the .Spring of 1814 and settled on lot thirty-four,
township seven, range six, where Mr. Bloodgood lives. He
lived there until 1827 and then moved to lot twenty-nine, where
Abram Gardenier now lives. He sold out to .Vbram Gardenier
in 1837 ^^^^ went to Sardinia to live with his son Reuben.
They all went away from this town about forty years ago, most
of them going West. William Wright died in Sardinia in
1841 ; his wife died in 1839; they were buried in the old ceme-
tery in Springville.
528 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
William Wright's children were :
Oliver, dead.
Reuben, lives in Fredonia, N. Y., aged eigty-two.
Rebecca, dead.
Stanbury, lives in Morrison, Col., aged seventy-eight.
Charles, dead.
Stephen, dead.
Mary lives at Gardner, 111., aged seventy.
Sally, dead.
John A. Wilson.
John A. Wilson was born in Brattleboro, Vt.. in 1805. He
married Miss Rebecca Minott, who was born in Brattleboro. in
1810. About 1835, they moved to Ashford, Cattaraugus
county, N. Y., and settled there. In 1849, the)- removed to
Concord, where he has since resided.
They had ten children :
Warren W. married Susan Metcalf, and lives in Bath, Steu-
ben county, N. Y.
Horace married Mariette Wheeler, and lives in Minneapolis,
Minn.
Mary married Augustus Chafee, and lives in Springville.
John married Carrie Bull, and died in Bath, Steuben county,
N. Y.
George married Hattie Moore ; she died, and he married
Helen Wheeler; he lives in Concord.
Charlie married Hattie Blanchard, and lives in Gicncoe.
Minn,
Wallace married Mollie Blossom, and lives in Buffalo.
Sophia married Edward Bement, and lives in Springville.
Ella married Alonzo Hadley, and lives in Springville.
Ida married Henry Severance and lives in Springville.
Mrs. Wilson died in Concord in 1876.
Mr. Wilson is now living with his son Cieorge, in Concord.
The Wadswoith Family.
William Wadsworth came from England in 1632, and settled
in Hartford, Conn., 1635, and died there in 1675.
Capt. Joseph Wadsworth, son of William, preserved the
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 529
Charter of Connecticut in the historic oak, Oct. 31, 1687. He
died in 1729.
Sergt. Jonathan Wadsworth, son of Joseph, died 1739.
Capt. Jonathan Wadsworth, Jr., was killed at the Battle of
Saratoga, Sept. 19, 1777.
Henry Wadsworth, son of Jonathan, died Oct. 13, 1821.
Richard W'adsworth, son of Henry, married Ann McLean.
They moved from Connecticut to Canandaigua, and from there
moved to Buffalo in 181 5, and to Springville in 1833. He was
a cabinet-maker by trade. Richard Wadsworth died April i,
1861 ; his wife died Oct. 15, 1859.
Their children were: Walter, Henry T., Anna Maria, Fred-
erick, John B., Cornelius, Richard.
Walter, brother of H. T. Wadsworth, lives in Dixon, 111.
His sister, Anna Maria, lives in Dixon, 111.
Frederick lives in Vicksburg, Miss.
John B. was born in Buffalo Dec. 25, 1823; was brought up
in Buffalo and Springville ; was in California and Oregon sev-
eral years ; was Commissary-General in the forces raised in
Oregon to fight the Indians ; was sutler to the army at Wash-
ington and other places, in the War of the Rebellion. He accu-
mulated a good property ; he traveled extensively in foreign
countries, and he came to the home of his youth to die and
rest by the side of his parents. His respect for his ancestors
incited him to provide for the erection of the fine and costly
family monument which stands in the rural cemetery in Spring-
ville.
Cornelius died in Illinois.
Richard lives in Red Oak, Iowa, and is prosperously engaged
in trade.
H. T. Wadsworth and Family.
Henry T. Wadsworth was born in Canandaigua, Nov, 6, 1813.
His boyhood days were spent in Buffalo; he came to Spring-
ville with his parents in the Spring of 1833 ; he was then about
twenty years of age ; he has lived in this town since that time.
He carried on the harness business in Springville successfully
for forty years.
In 1855, he purchased a farm on lots thirty-three and thirty-
four, township six, range six — a mile east of Springville, on
23
530 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
which he resided. He now resides at his pleasant home on
East hill in Springville.
In 1843, he married Louisa Jones. They have four children :
Charles R., Morris, Helen and Louisa.
Charles R. Wadsworth was born in Springville, Sept. 27,
1845. I'l 1862, "63, '64, he was with his uncle, John B. Wads-
worth, who was engaged in the business of sutler to the army
in Washington and elsewhere. He now, and for several years
past, has carried on the harness business in Springville. He
has also built and owns several dwelling houses in the village.
He married Edna, daughter of Edwin Wright. They have
two daughters :
Mary and Lena.
Morris, son of H. T. Wadsworth, was born in Springville,
July 25, 1849. He attended school at Springville Academy,
and Eastman's Commercial College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. For
several years, he held the position of salesman for Richmond
& Co., of Springville.
In 1873, hs went West, and is now doing an extensive busi-
ness in company with his uncle, Richard Wadsworth, in Red
Oak, Iowa.
Williaii» J. Wiley.
W^illiam J. Wiley was born in Concord April i, 1831. His
wife, Lucretia Vosburgh, was born in Kinderhook, Columbia
county, N. Y., Feb. 9, 1831 ; her father came to Congord in
1856. His father's name was David Wiley; he came to Con-
cord in 1813 ; lived in the town until his death, which occurred
June 9, 1879; ^^i^ mother's maiden name was Alyda Vosburgh ;
she is still living, aged seventy-nine years.
William J. Wiley was married Aug. 2, 1856, to Lucretia Vos-
burgh.
Mrs. Wiley's father, Matthew Vosburgh, who now lives on
the old " Saxe " farm, one and one-half miles east of Spring-
ville, fell and injured himself on the 15th day of March last
and is seriously ill ; his eighty-third birthday occurred on the
preceding day. Her mother was seventy-three years of age Jan.
13, 1882.
Family record :
William W, born Nov. 13, 1857.
BIOORArmCAl, SKETCHES. 53 1
Thomas S.. born Dec. 23, 1859.
Alyda J., born Nov. 20, 1862; died in September, 1863.
Nelson R., born Sept. 15, 1867,
Ira C. Woodward.
The Woodwards are of English origin. Benedict Wood-
ward, grandfather of Ira C, was born in the eastern part of New
York, Feb. i, 1756, and died there Dec. 20, 181 3. His wife,
Elizabeth, was born July 15, 1763, and died Sept. 14, 1841.
Ira, father of Ira C, was born in New Lebanon, Columbia
county, N. Y., March 28, 1795. He married Anna Carr in
1817; about 1830, he removed to Concord — Horton Hill — he
lived there about ten years, and then moved into Concord
Valley, where he died Aug. 23, 1863. His wife died April 26,
1869.
They had a family of nine children :
Eliza A., born Nov. 8, 1819; married Joseph C. Whiting;
died May 29, 1 870.
Ordelia, born Sept. 11, 1821 ; died Aug. 5, 1837, on the ocean
on his way to California.
Benedict C, born Aug. 21, 1823 ; married Mary A. Potter;
died April 14, 1852.
Amanda M., born June 26, 1845 ; died Oct. 23, 1841.
William L., born Dec. 25. 1827; married Harriet li. Rector.
Fred L., born Aug. 8, 1830; died Oct. 27, 1850.
Ambrose K., born Aug. 9, 1835 ; married Mary J. Jones.
Nelson V. B.. born Sept. 27, 1837; married Anna Zwipp ;
died May 30, 1872.
Ira C, born May 3, 1847 '■> married Viola A. Briggs.
Ira C. Woodward was born in Concord, N. Y., he remained on
his father's farm until sixteen years of age, when he went to
Buffalo and entered the paper warehouse of V. B. Nelson. In
1868, he entered into partnership with Charles Baker and con-
ducted the paper business under the firm name of Baker &
Woodward He sold out his interest and engaged as traveling
agent in selling furniture, which business he has since followed.
He now represents large firms in New York, Boston, Chicago,
Cincinnati and Grand Rapids, and is one of the most success-
ful salesmen on the road.
532 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
In 1883, he removed to Springville, where he now resides,
several years previous to which he Hved at Boston, Erie county,
where he was engaged in mercantile business, under the firm
name of Woodward & Churchill,
Mr, and Mrs, Woodward have one daughter, Mattie I., born
Aug. 12, 1871.
Joseph Yaw^.
Joseph Yaw came to this town with Samuel Cochran, and
took up land in what is now the village of Springville. Coch-
ran took one hundred acres on the south part of lot two and
Yaw took all the remainder. Soon after he married the widow
of John Ures. His house stood where Miss Goddard's now
stands. Here he lived about twenty years and cleared up a
farm He died in 1829. The widow went to Minnesota many
years after and died there.
They had four children :
Sally, married Benjamin Wheeler and died soon after.
Aurelia, went to Minnesota and died there.
Marietta, is married ; lives in Minnesota.
Joseph, enlisted in the army during the Rebellion and was
killed.
Peter Ziniiner.
Mr. Zimmer was born in Sardinia March 5, 1838, where he
lived until 1876, when he removed to Concord, where he has
since resided. He has been farmer, carpenter and the owner
of saw mills in Sardinia and Concord.
He was a soldier in the Rebellion, enlisting Aug. 1 1. 1862, in
Company C, One Hundred and Sixteenth regiment, New York
State volunteers ; first went into camp at Fort Chapin, near
Baltimore ; from there his regiment was transferred on board
the steamship Atlantic for Ship Island, but on account of sick-
ness he was left ofi at Fortress Monroe, where he remained in
the hospital two months, at the expiration of which time he
sailed to join his regiment ; at the mouth of the Mississippi his
ship lay in quarantine sixty days ; he met his regiment at Baton
Rouge in April, 1863. He participated in every action in
which his regiment took part throughout the war, being
i?io(;rai'hi( Ai. sKi:r( HKS. 533
wounded in the last one, Cedar Creek, Oct. 19, 1864. He was
mustered out of the service June 8, 1865.
Mr. Zimnier was married June 14, 1866, to Miss Mary K.
Brink.
One dau<;hter livini^ :
Hattie A., horn Feb. 28, 1868.
Au!:^usta, born in 1878: died in November, 1880.
Stjitoiiiout of Mrs. I'^liza t*<\vnul<ls.
My father, David Shultus, walked from Vermont to the town
of '. oncord in Junc\ 1810, located land and then walked back
again ; he moved to Concord from the town of Salsbur\-, Addi-
son county, Vt., Oct. i, 1810. We were three weeks c^etting to
BufTalo and one week gettine^ to Springville. We had to cut
our road as we went along, and we frequently camped out
nights. We came with a team, consisting of two yoke of o.\en
drawing along-reached covered wagon; the cover was of tow-
cloth of mother's making; I was six years old, past ; when v\e
come we found George Richmond living on the Cattaraugus
creek, and Esquire Eaton lived in Springville; soon after Stick-
ney and a blacksmith came; 1 think the latter's name was
Plumb.
I attended school at Spring\-ille in 1812: Waitec Eaton,
teacher; I also attended school at the Libert)- Pole Corners;
Waitee Flaton, Eliza Buttcrworth and a young doctor from Ver-
mont were the first teachers that 1 remember.
A man by the name of Stannard opened the first store, but
so long ago that I cannot name the \ear.
1 think Eaton built a saw- mill about 1812.
Abial Gardner was the first miller I remember.
The houses were all of logs with stick chimne\s and bark
roofs, with open. Dutch fire-place. Father made a table out of
part of his wagon box ; chairs were mostl\- benches and bed-
steads were made of poles interwoven with elm bark, similar to
the seat of a splint-bottomed chair. Father brought our cook-
ing utensils, together w-ith his farming utensils, from N'ermont.
We used to hear the wolves howl almost every night for many
years after we came to Concord ; they were so destructive to
the sheep that the earh- settlers were compelled to build log
534 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
pens, and the sheep would have to be put into these nights and
the pens had to be covered with logs, and even then the wolves
would come nights and try to gnaw the logs ioff to get at the
sheep. Bears were also plenty ; u'pon one occasion I met one as
I was coming from school on the path. There was also plenty
of deer and now and then a panther would be seen.
We had no post route or post system, and the only Avay we
communicated with our friends was to send letters by those
who were going and letters would be received by us in a like
manner by those who would come here.
Grapes and wild plums were of spontaneous growth along
the banks of the Cattaraugus, while the woods would yield an
abundance of beech and butternuts.
The streams were also full of fish, just such fish as are caught
in the lake to-day. Our people made a net and we caught an
abundance; sometimes we supplied our neighbors, though they
were not very numerous or near.
We lived in the wagon until father built us a house.
Chester Spencer.
Mr. Spencer was born in Hartford, Conn.; from there he
came to Cortland county, N. Y., where he was married to Abi-
gail Badgely, sister of the late Morgan L. Badgely ; from Cort-
land county he removed to Augusta, Me., and engaged in
trade; from Augusta he came to Springville, N. Y., in 1840 or
1 841, and entered into the mercantile business, which he pur-
sued for many years; at different times he was in company
with Morgan L. Badgely, J. N. Richmond and his son, Hor-
ace C. He was a successful merchant and a highly respected
citizen; he died in Springville July 26, 1868; his wife died
aged fifty-four.
They had five children, viz:
Frances, married Rev. George Button ; resides at Saginaw,
Mich.
Horace C, married Miss Kate Morris; he has been ver)- suc-
cessful as a merchant ; he now resides at Flint, Mich. — a person
of wealth and influence.
Thomas \\, is a hardware mcrchaiit at Saginaw, Mich.
lilOCKAl'llICAl. SKETCIIKS. 535
Cornelia, married Lorenzo Colt ; died in S]:)rin<^ville, aged
nineteen.
Charles.
C. C. McClure.
C. C. McClure son of John McClure, is of Scotch origin
and was born March 6, 1812, in Cazenovia, Madison count}', N-
Y., and removed with his father's family to Griffin's Mills, Erie
county, in 1825. At the age of fifteen years he began the
trade of shoe-making, which, together with farming, he has
folhnved more or less since. On the 24th day of Nov., 183 1,
he was united in marriage to Miss Laura Thompson and the
fruits of this marriage were seven children, four of them sur-
viving at the present, viz :
Olive, born Feb. 21, 1836.
George W., born Feb. 22, 1838.
C. C, Jr., born Feb. 12, 1845.
L. Alice.
In 1836 Mr. McClure settled in Springville, which has been
his abiding place since. For forty-six years he has lived upon
the same lot. At one time he quite extensively carried on the
business of boot and shoe making, but of late he has more or
less lived at his own leisure, his attention being divided between
farming and his shop. He lives to enjoy the society of his
friends without ostentation and the steady, even course of his
life has secured to him the respect of the communit}' where he
has so long resided.
C. C. McClure, Jr.,
Son of C. C. McClure, was born in the village of Springville,
Feb. 12, 1845. Soon after gaining his majority he engaged
with a mercantile house in Buffalo as salesman and afterwards
as traveling salesman and several years he passed upon the
road. A short time since he entered into co-partnership with
another young man, and they are at present engaged in the
manufacture of boots and shoes in the cit}' of Buffalo.
Some time in the year 1872, he was married to Miss Lora
Albro, of his native village.
536 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Gencalogry of tlie Godard Family.
Edward Godard, farmer, was born about the year 1595, in
Norfolk county, England, where he continued to reside; was
once very wealthy but afterwards much reduced by oppression
during the civil war.
Being on the Parliament side his house was beset and demol-
ished by a company of cavaliers, who also plundered his sub-
stance. He escaped through the midst of them in disguise, but
died soon after.
EDWARD GODDARD'S WRITINGS.
Second Generation. William Goddard, seventh son of Edward
a citizen and grocer of London, was born in 1625. Traded
largely at wholesale, met with great losses at sea ; came to New
England in 1665, and settled at VVatertown, Mass.
Third Generation. Edward Goddard, twelfth son of William,
was born at Watertown, Mass., March 24, 1675 ; became teacher
in a Boston school. He was many years in commission for the
peace ; nine years chosen and served as Representative of the
town in the General Court, and also chosen and served three
years in his Majesty's Council for the Province.
Fourth Generation. Edward Goddard, eldest son of Ed.vard,
2d, was born at Watertown, May 4, 1698; was one of the first
proprietors and owned five rights in the town of Shrewsbury,
Mass.
Fifth Generation. Nathan Goddard, eldest son of Edward
3d, a farmer. Orange, Mass., born Jan. 18, 1725; was for several
years a prominent of^cer in the Congregational Society of
Orange; died Feb. 12, 1806. aged eighty-eight years.
Sixth Generation. Nathan Goddard, son of Nathan ist, was
born about 1760, and resided in Orange, Mass.
Seventh Generation. Nathan Goddard. son of Nathan 2d,
was born in Orange, Mass., Aug. 31, 1786; married Ruth
Briggs, of Orange. Children born in Massachusetts :
Nathan A., Emeline B., Seth W., and Lemuel.
Nathan with his family, moved from Massachusetts to Erie
county. N. Y., in 1816 ; purchased and settled on what is known
as tile Steele farm, at East Concord. Five or six years after
BKXiRAl'HICAI, SKKTCHICS. 537
bought the Hcnjamiii Whjjlcr fariii at the foot of Townsend
Hill, south-east slope, to which he removed, where the family
lived many years. Children born after coming to New York :
Calista, Edward. Silenus A., Elmina R., Emily R. and Lem-
uel. Ruth, the m )ther, died Nov. 19, 1846. In 1848, Nathan,
the father, moved to Springville ; lived with his son Edward,
and died July 27, 1854.
Nathan A. Goddard, eldest son of Nathan 3d, was born in
Orange, Mass., in 181 1 ; was in his 5 th year when his father came
to the HolKmd Purchase. At an early age hired out, and as the
country was then a comparative wilderness, chopping trees and
clearing Ian 1 formed a very important branch of farming and with
most sc:tlers it was the first business; of course young Nathan
shared with other farmer boys in the then common, hard and
laborious work. Being young and ambitious, he over-worked,
which resulted in impaired health, from which he never fully
recovered. He afterwards learned the trade of boot and shoe
maker, which avocation was pursued a number of years, or
until a further decline in health, when he quit the shoe-bench,
and went into the grocery trade, which was carried on for
several years either alone or in partnership. He was for several
terms Town Collector, discharging all business put into his
care, whether public or private, with fidelity. His wife's
maiden name was Betsy Wheeler, fourth daughter of Benjamin
Wheeler. Tiiey had two children : Nathan A. jr.. and Benja-
min S. Betsy, the mother, died Nov. 17, 1845, aged thirty-
two years. Nathan A., the father, died Sept. 23, 1878, aged
sixty-seven years.
Ninth Generation — Nathan A. Goddard, jr., son of Nathan
A. 4th, born in Concord, N. Y., followed teaching in the Win-
ter season for several terms ; lived in Vermont and Massachu-
setts ; graduated at the Boston Normal and Training School of
Physical Culture, in 1868; returned to Springville in 1872-
went to Philadelphia in 1874; making it his home till 1879;
returned the same year and is now living at Springville.
Benjamin S. Goddard, second son of Nathan A. 4th, also
born in Concord, N. Y., married Ellen Jewett, of Springville.
Their children are : Jessie and Edna, born in Concord, N.
Y., and Mamie, born in Philadelphia, Pa.
538 ■ BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Benjamin S. Goddard, enlisted in the Union army, Aug. 12,
1862, and served three years. He now resides in Philadelphia.
Edward Goddard, one of the first business men of Spring-
ville, in his day, and a brother to Seth W.. was born in Con-
cord, N. Y., April 25, 1820. His services were required at
home when very young. The older brothers having left the
parental roof to cut their own way through the world, his
father in poor health, and work that must be performed, Ed-
ward could not be spared; had little time for school; in fact
such an institution was no place for him. affording no adequate
field for the exercise of his ambitious and stirring nature ; with
him it was work, action, and business practically ; this passion
was then, and ever after, uncontrolable. He began when a
mere boy to assume the care and duties of the farm at home,
and a few years later, he would hire, or take a neighbor's farm
on shares, working them both. When twenty-one years of
age, his health failed, was compelled to abandon actual farm
labor. At the age of twenty-eight, he came to the village with
the small capital of five hundred dollars, and became partner
in a grocery store, in which business he continued with but one
or two short interruptions for six or eight years; meanwhile he
commenced buying cattle in a small way, from one to five or
six heads at a time ; soon after these had been disposed of, he
would replace them with others, continuing the traffic till at
length he was able to purchase a farm, on which he could keep
a dairy of twenty or thirty cows. Thus his business and its
profits gradually increased, until thirty years later (1879) ^^^
possessed farming lands amounting to about fifteen hundred
acres. For many years he was one of the Town Assessors,
and his judgment of the value of real estate was highly re-
garded. He died Dec. 12, 1879.
Calista Goddard, the third daughter of Nathan 3d, and at
this time the only surviving member of her father's famil}', was
born in Concord, N. Y. When quite young she commenced
teaching in the district school, teaching Summers and working
at the tailoress trade during the Fall and Winter season ; this
double avocation was followed a number of years. In addition
to her own means, which she had acquired by diligence and
economy, she inherited a portion of her brother Seth W.'s
bi()c;kai'1iicai. sketches. 539
property, and at his decease she came in possession of her
brother Eldward's estate. She immediately assumed the man-
agement of the business and its attendant responsibiUties,
which was conducted the same as before for two years, at which
time she decided to distribute among her heirs a portion of her
landed property; this she accordingly did, giving to them six
or seven farms, amounting in the aggregate to some eleven
hundred acres. This act on her part was deemed wise by those
disinterested, as she was relieved of a burden of care, affording
a period for rest, an opportunity which she is improving by
living in comparative ease and quiet. Within the last forty
years she has faithfully watched over, cared for and ministered
to the wants of father, mother and several brothers and sisters
during their last sickness.
SPRINC.VILLE INCORPORATED. 54I
SPRINGVILLE.
This village was incorporated by an act of the legislature
passed April 11, 1834.
As early as 181 8 Rufus Eaton, one of its principal founders^
caused a map or survey of the village to be made by one
George VV. Robinson, a surveyor, in which a portion of his
lands were divided up into lots, numbering as high as thirty-
nine (see map published). For many years lots were sold and
conveyed by him by a reference to said map.
Mr. Eaton may be said to have given the name "Spring-
ville " to the village, though undoubtedly it was suggested,
very appropriately, from the numerous large springs in its imme-
diate neighborhood, which made the creek known as Spring
brook, on which at an early day were erected mills and manu-
factories.
The village, as incorporated, included lots two, three, eight
and nine of township six, range six, of the Holland Land com-
pany's surveys. The improvements as early as 181 8 were
mainly confined to lot three, as appears on Mr. Eaton's map.
We have spoken elsewhere of its once popular name, " Fid-
dler's Green," and of its origin.
The first election of village officers under its charter was held
May 6, 1834, and the officers elected were:
Trustees — Carlos Emmons, Ebenezer Dibble, Jacob Rush-
more, Joseph McMillen, Samuel Cochran.
Assessors — Johnson Bensley, Richard Wadsworth, Theodore
Smith.
Clerk — Peter V. S, Wendover. Collector — Mortimer L. Arnold.
Treasurer — Pliny Smith. Constable — Freeman Baily.
Pound Master — Abial Gardner.
The Hon. Carlos Emmons was duly appointed President of
the Board of Trustees.
Mr. Emmons was a member of the State Legislature in 1834
and was the author of the act of incorporation.
One of the first acts of the Board of Trustees of the village
was to cause a resurvey of the several streets within its limits
and naming them.
The following are the names given to the several streets
within the limits of the village at the time of its incorporation .
;42
NEW CHAKTEK.
Main, Buffalo, Franklin, Cattaraii<jus, Mill, Water, W'averly,
West, Church, White and Smith streets.
In 1836 two new streets were laid out — Elk and Academ)-.
In 1843 Chapel street was laid out on the north and east side
of the old park. Both streets and park were donated to the vil-
lage by Rufus Eaton. The park had been donated as early in i S 1 8
In 185 1 was laid out Eaton street, and Smith street was
continued north to Eaton street,
Amendments were made to the charter of the village frcMii
time to time up to 1876, when an entire new charter was made
under the supervision of Hon. B. Chafee, who was Member of
the Assembly that year, and sundry amendments have since
been made.
In 1864 the Springville Rural Cemetery association was or-
ganized and the remains within the old burial ground in said
village, on the corner of Franklin street and Central avenue,
(formerly West street), have recently been removed and re-in-
terred in the new cemetery, pursuant to an Act of the Legisla-
ture, passed in 1883, and the village has decided to take and
hold the old burial ground for village purposes.
The recent Rail Roads, Springville & Sardinia Narrow
Guage and the Buffalo Extension of the Rochester & Pitts-
burgh Rail Road, has given to the village an impetus to growth
and prosperity which will soon place the village second to none
of the villages in Western New York.
CHRISTOPHER STONE'S LOG-HOUSE— The lirst house buili in Spnnfe\illi- in ito?.
HISTORY OV THE TOWN OF COLLINS. 543
CHAPTER XVII.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF COLLINS.
General History— Names of the Settlers of each Lot— Names of persons
who took Land of the Holland Company— Copy of the Assessment Roll
for 1S23— Act Creating the Town and Extracts from the Records— Local
Names — "Zoar"— Deeds given by the Holland Company, etc.
COLLINS.
Nearly eighty years ago The Friends Yearly Meeting sent a
mission to Cattaraugus Reserve, for the very laudable purpose
of instructing the untutored red-man in the arts of civilization.
That mission was composed of Jacob Taylor, Stephen Twin-
ing and Hannah Jackson. The exact date of their advent
there is not definiteh' known. They came as members of one
family, under the management of Jacob Taylor. He located
on lot seventy, adjoining the Reserve; this was in 1806 or
1807, '^rid consequent!}' the wild state of this rich and prosper-
ous town must far exceed all our pre-conceived ideas. It is true
that the Indians had a trail that led the indomitable Taylor
and his two co-workers to their new home that for years must
necessarily be shut off from civilization by the vast forests that
environed it on all sides. Many a stouter heart would have
quailed and turned back, but Jacob Taylor was a God-fearing
man, who fully believed in the good old Quaker doctrine of
universal brotherhood, and even to this day, the influences im-
parted by him are felt and followed. For years he was sole
arbiter of all contentions that arose in the settlement, and
his decisions, though some of them were novel, hardly ever
failed to satisfy.
He built the first saw and grist-mill south of the Eighteen-
mile creek, and at one time he owned a great deal of land which
upon his death was divided among his nephews and nieces.
Of those who were next to follow, we find the names of Tur-
ner Aldrich, Stephen Lapham, Joshua Parmeston, Stephen
544 EARLY SETTLERS OF COLLINS.
Peters. Arad Howard and Aaron Lindsley. All of these entered
land in 1809, but did not actually settle there until 18 10. In
181 1 the new settlement received the following acquisition:
Stephen Wilber, Sylvenus Bates, Luke Crandall, Benjamin
Albee, Allen King, Arnold King, John King, Nathan King,
(the father), and Warren Tanner. In the meantime a begin-
ning had been made in " Zoar," in the south-east part of the
town, which will appear hereafter.
LIST OF NAMES OF ONE OR MORE OF THE FIRST SETTLERS
ON EACH LOT IN THE TOWN OF COLLINS:
TOWNSHIP SIX, RANGE SEVEN.
LOT. LOT.
30. Jesse Frye. 64. Erastus Colburn.
31 and 32. Peter Pratt. 65. William Clark.
33. Isaac Belote. 75. John Millis.
34. Tristam Codin. 76. William Hazard.
2S- Stephen Peters. 84. Jonathan Irish.
36. Com. Boutwell. 85. Henry Palmerton.
27. Com. Boutwell. 92. Joshua Pike.
38. Samuel Hill. 93. Enoch Albee,
52. David Beverly. 94. Erastus Mack.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, RANOE SEVEN.
LOT. LOT.
.49. Levi Canfield and W. H. 57. Jehial Albee.
Loveland. 65. Isaac Hunt.
TOWNSHIP SIX, RAN(;E EIGHT.
lOT LOT.
9. Jehial Hill. 29. David Beverly.
14. Daniel Prindle. 30. Job Irish.
15. Ahaz Allen. 3i- James Nichols and Mr.
18. Adam Ballard. Silver.
ig. Nathaniel Ballard. 32. Arad Howard and Aaron
20. Luther Pratt. Lindsley.
21. Luther Town. 33. Ira Lapham.
22. Isaac Allen. 34. Hadwin Arnold.
23. Arunah Eaton. 37. Turner Aldrich.
24. Jonathan Eaton. 39. Sylvenus Parkinson.
25. David Brand. 40. Reuben Parkinson.
EARLY SKTTLKRS OF COLLINS,
545
TOWNSHIP SIX. RANGE EIGHT— Con/inm;/.
LOT.
41.
42.
43-
44.
45-
46.
47-
.48.
49.
50.
5'-
.52.
53-
54-
55-
56.
S7-
Amasa Bates.
Arnold King.
Truman B. Payne.
Eli Laphani.
Stephen Lapham.
Sylvenus Cook.
Warren Tanner.
Stephen Peters.
Stephen Wilber.
Joshua Pahnerton.
Angustus Smith.
Benijah Hallock.
David Pond.
Cary Clemens.
John Gibbons.
John and Allen King.
Philetus Crandall.
LOT.
58. Smith Bartlett.
59. John Smith.
60. William Sisson.
61. Abel Hallock.
62. Obadiah Brown.
63. William Crandall, Benjamin
Albee, Jr. and Adolphus
Albee.
64. Benjamin Albee and Luke
Crandall.
65. Eli Heath.
66. Lyman Steele.
67. Benjamin Godfrey.
68. George Morris and Mr.
Cleveland.
69. Mr. Gleason.
70. Jacob Taylor.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, RANGE EICillT.
LOT,
I. Robert Riley.
9. Jamt's Goodell and Ken
dall Johnson.
17. Sidney Smith.
25. David Healy and George 57. Smith Bartlett
Southwick.
33. Joseph Woodward.
41. John Lawton.
49. Nathaniel Sisson and .Moses
Tucker.
LIST OF THE PERSONS WHO BOUGHT LAND OF THE HOLLAND
COMPANY IN THE TOWN OF COLLINS, NUMBER OF LOT,
NUMBER OF ACRES, AND THE AMOUNT PAID AND DATE
THEREOF.
TOWNSHIP SIX, RANGE EIGHT,
Na.mk.
Datk.
Land.
Acres.
Price
Turner Aldrich
Abram Lapham
1809, Aug. 12.
1809, Oct. 12. .
1 27, 28, 36,
37 & 38...
I45&n^l34
&s^l44.
702
747
1930
1306
546 NAMES OF PERSONS BUYING LAND
TOWNSHIP SIX, RANGE EIGHT— Con/muec/.
Joshua Palmerton . . .
Stephen Peters
*Thomas Stewardson
Arad Howard
Stephen Wilber
Ethan Howard
Joshua Pahnerton. . .
Peter Boss
Ira Lapham
Arnold King
Arnold King
Arnold King
Arnold King
■'•Jacob Taylor
Luke Crandall
Luke Crandall
Seth Blossom
Silas Howard
Ahaz Allen
Arad Lindsley
George Morris
Stephen Peters
Turner Aldrich
Warren Tanner
Benjamin Albee
'"^ Jacob Taylor
Smith Bartlett
Turner Aldrich
Cary demons
Obadiah Brown
Henry Palmerton . . .
Arnold King
Jonathan Eaton
Daniel Hull
Joseph Button
John Lapham
Benijah Hallock
Wheeler B. Smith . . .
Joseph Nobles
Philogus L. Pratt.. . .
Date. , Land. Price
809
809
809
809
O
8
8
8
Oct. 12. .
Oct. 12. .
Oct. 4. . .
Sept. 29.
June 19,.
July 3...
May I.. .
Sept. 19.
Aug. 10.
Feb. 27..
June 8. .
P^b. 27..
Sept. 3..
May 22..
March 2 1
Aug. 15.
Oct. 18..
Oct. 17..
Feb. 7. . .
June II..
March 10
Mav 12..
July 28..
March 9.
April 25 .
Jan. 26. .
Sept. 28.
Sept. 18.
P'eb. 26.
April 10.
Oct. 7. . .
Nov. 18.
March 9.
Nov. 28.
Sept. 7. .
June 28.
July 17..
Oct. 25. .
Nov. 22.
Nov. 29. j
w pt 1 48.
e pt 1 48 .
I/O
1 32
w pt 1 49.
w pt 1 53.
e pt 1 50.
w pt 1 64.
1 53
m pt I 49.
e pt 1 56 &
ptl5-.-
m pt 1 49.
s-w pt 1 42
n pt 1 69.
pt 1 64. . .
ptl 56...
n-e pt 1 31
s-e pt 1 31
1 15
w pt 1 3 1 .
n pt 1 68 .
pt I 50. . .
n-w pt 1 44
w pt 1 47 .
e pt 1 64.
n pt 1 62 .
s pt 1 58.
n-w pt 1 42
s pt 1 54..
s pt 1 62 &
pt 1 54.
m pt 1 48.
w pt 1 35.
w pt 1 23 .
n pt 1 60.
s pt 1 46.
n-e pt 1 52
w pt 1 52.
m pt 1 54
n-e part 1 44
pt 1 20
125
100
364
362
120
200
120
120
354
100
2CO
100
100
140
140
80
130
100
169
100
50
100
100
lOI
206
176
96
140
108
100
170
322
200
60
198
134
94
140
FROM llll'; HOLLAND CO.MI'AW.
TOWNSHIP SIX. RANGE EIGHT— Co„/,nuet/.
547
N' AMI..
Nathaniel Ballard.
Daniel Sis.son
Jacob Taj'lor
Abraham Gifford . .
Date.
1815,
1816,
1816,
I 8 16,
June 27.
Nov. 2. .
June 6. .
April 2/ .
Land. Acres. Price
e pt 1 19. .
e pt 1 53..
pt 1 68 . . . .
\v pts 1 67 &
Nathaniel Hanson. . . .
1816,
Sept. 27.
Timotlu- Clark
1816,
March 26
Alexander Brown ....
1 8 16,
Dec. 6...
Phineas Orr
1 8 16,
May I.. .
Jonathan Eaton
1 8 1 6.
May 25..
Fred A. Redfield
1816.
Jan. 12. .
Peter Pratt
1815,
June 24.
Pet^r Pratt
181S,
Nov. 18.
Job Irish
18 1 5.
June 27.
David Brand
1815,
1 8 1 5 ,
July 8...
March 10
Jonathan Eaton
Isaac Allen
1815,
181 s.
July 11..
Aut,^. 3 . .
Phineas Orr
Luther Town
1815,
June 7. .
Luther Town
1815,
Nov. 2. .
John Albro
181 5.
1817,
Nov. 9. .
April 24.
Jonathan Eaton
William Crandall
1817.
Julv 18..
Adolphus Albee
1817,
July 17..
Abel Hallock
1817,
Jan. 8. . .
John Thurston
1817,
Jan. 26. .
John J. Harrington . . .
18 1 7,
Nov. 27.
Timothy Clark
1817,
July 16..
William Boyce
1817
April 21 .
Truman B. Payne. . . .
1817
March 14
John White
1817
Oct. 4...
Hadvvin Arnold
1817
June 26.
Ben Albee, Jr
1 8 1 8
Oct. 20..
James Cook
1S18
Nov. 7. .
John Thornton
1820
July 29..
Jahial Hill
1821
Aug. 2 . .
Charles M. Bardcn . . .
1822
, April 17.
William Sisson
1823
, Nov. 20.
pt 1 67
m & e i^t 47
e pt 1 49. . .
e pt 1 20. . .
e pt 1 23 &
w pt 1 19.
w pt 1 13...
W pt 1 ^0. . .
e & w pt 1 2 1
pt 1 30
1 25
1 24
w & m pts 1
250
160
254
250
209
210
•23
63
309
100
261
100
135
237
e pt 1 22 . . .
pt 1 14
W pt 1 2 1...
w pt 1 20. . .
ept 1 35...
s-\v pt 1 63 .
s-e pt 1 63. .
s pt 1 6 1 . . .
w pt 1 59. . .
pl 55
.s-e pt 1 55 &
1 39
pt I50
pt 1 43
e pt 1 43 • • •
s pt 1 34.. . .
n-e pt 1 63..
n pt 1 46 . . .
n-w pt 1 44.
ept 1 9 ... .
n-w pt 1 63 .
s-w pt 1 60 &
s-e pt I60.
220
1 22
237
100
180
217
60
60
120
100
50
661
100
ICO
130
184
50
139
60
84
157
161
875
720
1016
1000
940
393
555
252
1236
352
350
978
350
506
808
770
427
888
375
675
1085
315
315
54>
500
262
2420
500
450
650
920
262
695
255
315
745
573
548 NAMES OF PERSONS BUYING LAND
TOWNSHIP SIX, RANGE EIGHT— Coniinufd.
Name.
Samuel D. Green
Joshua Palmerton . . . .
William L. Mosher. . .
Amasa Bates
William C. Cross
Abel Colburn
Sam. Gunnand James
Sampson
Reuben Parkinson . . . .
Martin Potter
Sylvenus Cook
Adam Ballard
David White
David Wilber
Amherst Hopkins. . . .
Abel Hallack
*Arnold King
John Thornton
*Smith Bartlett
Smith Bartlett
Worcester Holcomb. .
Michael Bader
*Ezra Southwick
John Colburn
Elisha Roberts
Martin Perrin
Thomas B. Sowle . . . .
Hosea White
^Stephen Southwick. .
Zoeth Allen
David Grannis, Jr. . . .
Allen King. . .
George ¥. King
John Griffith
Charles Peters
John Conklin
John M. Potter
David Strang
Daniel Potter
Joseph Waldren
Dorous Pain
Stephen Sowle
823
823
824
823
823
823
823
823
823
824
824
824
824
825
825
835
828
829
830
826
826
826
826
827
828
828
829
828
828
828
828
828
829
829
829
829
829
829
829
829
829
April 24
Aug. 14
Aug. 30
Oct. 20.
Sept. 22
Sept. 22
July 22.
April 2 1
Feb. 15
Mar. 24
May II
Nov. 13
Feb. 13
June 14
June 14
Feb. 20.
Dec. 5 .
Jan. 3. .
Nov. 8.
June 15
Sept. I .
Nov. 10
Nov. 22
April 27
Mar. 14
Mar. 14
Oct. 15.
April 24
June 18
Dec. 5 .
Dec. 24.
Dec. 24
Jan. 9..
Jan. 9..
Jan. 15.
Feb. 16
July 17.
Oct. 13.
Oct. 19.
Nov. 16
Nov. 30
pt 1 61 j 120
w pt 1 50 . . . 66
Ptl48 1 58
e pt 1 41 . .
w pt 1 40 . .
pt 1 40 . . . .
pt 1 40. . . .
pt 1 40 . . . .
e pt 1 40 . . .
n-e pt 1 31.
pt I41....
pt 1 46
n-w pt 1 42.
ptl 52....
s-w pt 1 52
s-e pt 1 43 .
n-e pt 1 46.
ptl58....
n pt 1 58. .
n-e pt 1 18.
pt 1 29.. . .
e pt 1 51..
n-e pt 1 29 .
ptl 51....
pt I23....
n-w pt 1 23
s pt 1 34 . .
pt I23....
n-w pt 1 22
pt 1 46
ptl 33
pt I33
pt I35
ptl 35
ptl 59
pt 1 29
s-w pt 1 43 . .
Ptl56
s-w pt 1 61 . .
wpt 1 56. . .
n-e pt 1 23. .
190
87
50
50
50
80
65
100
200
96
50
50
73
60
50
44
50
50
100
100
55
91
50
184
55
59
79
28
42
139
28
50
50
50
50
60
63
89
FROM rilK HOLLAND COMPANY.
TOWNSHIP SIX, RANGE EIGHT— Con/inueJ.
549
Name.
Warren Foster
* A very Knight
Ezra Bull
Horace Palmer
Ira Waterman
Nathaniel Sisson
Joel Phillips
Sylvester Pierce
Harriet Lindsley
Ralph Plumb
Ralph Plumb
Ralph Plumb
Andrew Hopkins
Elisha Hopkins
Joel Smith
David Wilber
Daniel Lee
Peter Cook
Timothy Smith
Charles S. Straw
Curtis F. Camp
Hiram Hazard
Samuel E. Day
Joseph Plumb
John S. Dean
Elisha B. Page
Howard Albee
Benjamin P. Wells. . .
William Palmerton . . .
Garritt Polhamus
Henry D. Barnhart .. .
William S. Herrick. . .
*William S. Herrick. .
*Abner Taft
William Potter
Philander H. Crandall
Hiram Hunt
Eli Heath
Christian Parkinson.. .
Philip Guile
Stephen Wilber
Date
829
829
829
829
829
829
830
830
830
828
829
829
830
830
830
830
830
83
83
83
83
83
83
83
83
83
83
83
832
832
834
829
834
834
834
834
834
831
836
823
817
Dec. 3 . .
Dec. 3 . .
Dec. 21 .
Dec. 25.
Julyi;..
Dec. 31 .
Jan. 4. ..
Jan. 6. . .
May 7.. .
Mar. 29..
Nov. 18.
Dec. 30 .
Aug. 28.
Aug. 28.
Sept. 15 .
Sept. 22,
Nov. 30.
Jan. 17. .
Feb. 16 ,
Mar. 31 ,
April 18,
May 16.
June 21 .
May 30. ,
Sept. 26
Oct. 29.
Dec. 6 .
Dec. 15
Mar. 9 .
Oct. ly.
Feb. 19.,
June II
June 6.
Aug. 7.
Sept. 18
Sept. 20
Dec. 5 .
Jan. 28.
Aug. 24
Dec. 31.
Feb. 7..
Land.
Acres. Price
pt 152....
pt I53....
s-e pt I 43 .
s-w pt I 67
n-w pt 1 43
pt 1 68 . . .
pt I30. ..
n-e pt 1 54
w pt I41 &
pt I 42 .
s-e pt 1 46.
I25
n-e pt 1 13
w pt 1 66.
ptl58...
ept 1 57.
pt I57...
pt 1 30. . .
n-e pt 1 55
n-e pt 1 1 1
s ptli3.
pt 1 29. .
ept 1 65 .
pt 166..
pt 1 1 1 & 1
pt 166..
pt 1 66 . .
pt 1 63 . .
pt 1 21 . .
pt 166, .
pt 1 20. .
pt 1 10. .
e pt 1 64
pt 1 65 . .
e pt 1 10
ptl65..
pt 1 57..
pt I9...
pt I 64 . .
n-w pt 1
n pt 1 61
w p 1 43
20
50
97
73
50
90
65
50
50
252
147
135
123
50
50
50
50
50
62
20
105
61
75
50
920
50
100
57
80
50
10
200
lOI
100
75
100
50
120
60
50
82
140
212
407
312
212
382
276
212
212
[1008
I 594
; 573
! 369
! 200
200
I 200
] 200
200
248
80
420
244
300
200
i 253
I 200
I 400
I 268
379
200
396
800
i 429
! 300
225
400
200
480
210
212
348
630
550 NAMES OF I'KRSONS HUVINC LAND
TOWNSHIP SIX. RANGE EIGHT— Coniinuecf.
Name.
Aui^Listus Smith . . . .
John R. Smith
John Wilber
Michael Bader
Wilham S. Hcrrick.
Truman Paine
John R. Smith
Job Irish
John J. Harrington.
George F. King.. . .
Timothy Clark
Sylvenus Cook
Adam Ballard
Harvey Hunt
Datk.
Sept. 25
May 28.
Feb. 22.
May 5..
Nov. 16
Dec. 12.
Apr. 28.
June 23.
May 19.
May 24.
Apr. 29.
Jan. 30..
Nov. 30.
Nov. 22.
Land.
ptlsi.
s-e pt 1 59
pt I42. .
pt I56..
pt 1 57- •
ptl 57..
e pt 1 59.
pt 1 59. .
w pt 1 65
e pt 1 66.
pt 1 40 . .
pt I30..
w pt 1 18
pt 1 1 8 . .
Ac kes.IPrice
30
50
148
162
212
50
200
75
300
37
148
SO
200
70
280
84
336
49
196
75 218
50 : 277
5u I 212
60 ! 255
TOWNSHIP SEVEN. [-lANGE EIGHT.
David Woodward
David Woodward
David Woodward
Warren Foster.
David Lawton .
Jacob Taylor. .
Henry Tucker.
Abram Tucker.
Stephen Twining
Thomas Stewardson
& Co
John Goodell
John Arnold
Robert Riley
James Goodell
James Goodell
Daniel Healy
John Goodell
Sidney Smith
George Lomax
814, June 18
815, May 23
815, May 23
815, Sept. 19
813, Dec. 15
6 16, June 6.
5 1 6, Nov. 29
810, Nov. I .
811. May 22
809, Oct. 4..
815, Nov. 7.
816, Mar. 5.
816, Oct. 25.
811, April 2.
811, May 7..
819, Mar. 19
815, Nov. 7.
833. Aug. 21
832, April 30
n-e pt 1 37,
s-e pt 1 33.
n-w pt 1 33
w pt 1 41..
s-e pt 1 41 .
n-e pt 1 41.
n pt 1 49. .
s-e pt 1 49 .
( s-w pt 1 I
( &sptl58 '
w pt 1 I .
e pt 1 1 . .
pt' 1 1 . . . .
w pt lot 9
e pt 1 9 . .
w pt 1 17.
e pt 1 17.
pt 1 1 7 . . .
pt 1 17...
359 1077
100 350
80
181
100
130
129
100
150
120
72
200
177
60
150
91
50
280
678
300
520
580
209 459
336 524
562
450
3^4
550
486
300
562
364
200
FROM TIM-; HOLLAND COMl'AXV.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, RANGE SEVEN.
551
Namk.
William H. Loveland
Levi Canfield
John Arnold
Rut us Col burn
Isaac Hunt
Dennison C. Pierce. .
Charles Pierce
Date.
1831, Mar. 2.
1831, Mar. 2.
1 8^1 6, Mar. 5.
1S37, June 7.
1838, Dec. 10
1 84 1, Nov. I .
1 841, Nov, I .
Land.
s-w pt 1 49
s-e pt 1 49
w pt 1 57.
pt l49- ••
w pt 1 65,
pt 1 65 . . .
pt 1 65 . . .
AcRKS. Price
50
50
120
100
80
50
65
200
200
450
400
240
250
325
TOWNSHIP SIX, RANGE SEVEN.
Samuel Nichols. . . .
John Hinman
Peter Pratt
Stephen Peters
Samuel Hill
Isaac Belote
John Polle)^
Joseph Bartlett . . . .
David Beverh'
John Millis .'
Timothy Clark
Henry Kimball . . . .
Jonathan Irish, Jr. .
Wilbur Irish
Wilbur Irish
Joshua Pickens
Austin Graham . . . .
William Clark
David Wilbur
Peter Pratt
James B. Parkinson
Aver)' Knight
Truman Colburn . . .
Nathaniel Knight. .
Nathaniel Knight . .
Avery Knight
Abel Colburn
Erastus Colburn . . .
Nehemiah Heath . .
John C. Adams. . . .
809
810
811
814
815
815
814
816
817
816
817
815
817
817
823
819
820
821
822
815
824
823
823
823
823
823
823
823
823
824
May 2
July3-
Sept. 6
Dec. 8
Apri
Mar.
Oct.
Jan.
Dec.
June 4.
July 16
Nov. 21
Sept. 13
Sept. 25
April 19
Sept. 28
Mar. 24
Nov. 9.
April 25
June 24
Feb. 12
May 14.
Aug. I 4
Feb. 15.
Mar. 3..
April 19
Sept. 2 .
Sept. 23
Oct. 29.
July 12.
21
13
10
23
5
1 32
I31
^37
I35
w pt 1 38.
I 33 & 34-
s pt 1 30 .
ept 1 38.
w pt 1 52
e pt 1 75 .
pt 1 85 . . .
w pt 1 76
pt 1 76. . .
pt 1 76. . .
n-\v pt 1 75
s pt 1 85 .
w pt 1 74.
n-e pt 1 6;
pt 1 65 . . ."^
\v pt 1 65.
pt I52...
s-e pt 1 84
s-w pt 1 84
s-w pt 1 75
s-e pt 1 84
pt I75...
w pt 1 64.
pt 1 64 . . .
pt 1 65 . . .
s-e pt 1 65
140 i
182 I
193 I
143 :
100 i
278
125
104 I
100
175
120 !
150
100
65 I
39 I
100
120
100
50
100
50 '
49
60
no
50
40
50
50
50
90
420
546
627
536
375
1042
437
416
500
700
600
525
500
341
156
500
600
350
200
350
200
196
240
440
200
160
200
200
200
360-
552
NAMES OF PERSONS BUYING LAND
TOWNSHIP SIX. RANGE S^WE^i— Continued.
Name.
Date.
Morgan Leak 1 826,
1826,
1826,
1827,
1828,
1828,
1829,
David Heath
George C. Tripp. .
Job Howland
Daniel Pratt
Jehial Hill
Wells Ji. Atwood .
William Beebe j 1829,
Jasper Tabor I 1829,
John J. Borst | 1829,
Enos Woodward 1831,
1831,
1832,
1832,
William Crandall .
Samuel Merrill ....
Titus Roberts
Joshua Pike | 1835,
Austin Fuller 1835,
Joshua Pike 1835,
Isaac Brown 1837,
Gilbert Salnave j 1837,
Na haniel Knight . . . . | 1837,
Francis Knight j 1838,
Jason Hopkins i 1839,
Aug. 14
Feb. 3..,
Dec. 21 ,
Jan. 13..
June 18.
Aug. 22.
Feb. 20.
Aug. 21 .
Nov, 10.
Dec. 3. .
May 31.
Aug. 23.
Jan. 26 . .
Nov. 19.
Aug. 4..
Sept. 1 1 .
Oct. 27. .
April 5. .
June 30.
July 5--
Mar. 2 . .
F"eb. 20.
Land.
Acres. Price
pt I64
pt I52....
n-e pt 1 64 .
e pt lot 76.
pt I 32
n-w pt 1 38
n-e pt 1 30. ,
s-w pt 1 94
e pt 1 52. .
Ptl85
\Y pt 1 63. . ,
n pt 1 85. . .
e pt 1 74. ..
n-w pt 1 94.
pt 1 92
Pti 74
s-e pt 1 92 . .
s-w pt 1 93 .
n pt 1 b'4 . . .
pt 1 63
pt 1 14
pt I93
100
160
90
70
42
50
50
50
76
75
50
57
100
50
25
100
50
50
50
50
84
50
400
640
270
297
90
200
200
200
306
200
228
400
200
100
400
150
187
200
200
200
TOWNSHIP SEVEN. RANGE SIX.
William Ballou
Charles Boutwell
Peter Pratt
Phineas Orr
Sylvenus Bates, Jr. . .
Huram Wickham . . . .
John D. Beverley. . . .
Jonas Howe
Stukely Hudson
Nehemiah Reynolds..
Abram Hodges
William Stephenson. .
John T. Johnson
Daniel Newel
Norman Reynolds. . .
William Stephenson. .
Henry W. Palmerton.
1828, Sept. 22.
1819, Sept. 7. .
1 8 19, May 3 . .
1827, Feb. 21 . .
1842, Jan. 15 . .
1839, Mar. 13.;
1830, Jan. 6. . .
1836, Dec. 30.1
1830, Dec. 30.!
1842, Jan. 15. .j
1842, Jan. 15.. i
1829, Jan. 4. . . !
1830, Jan. 6. . . t
1842, Jan. 15 . .j
1842, Jan. 15. .!
1836, Dec. 8. .1
1829, Jan. 7. . . t
w pt 1 34. . .
1 ?>7
e pt 1 32. . .
1 30
s-e pt 1 65 . .
pt 1 14
w pt 1 52. . .
w pt 1 65 . . .
pt 1 65
w pt 1 64 . . .
Ptl76
pt I75
s-w pt 1 74.
pt 1 76
s-w pt 1 75 .
t pt 1 75...
s-w pt 1 15.
100
193
100
I 12
90
55
100
100
50
50
90
60
60
75
50
40
50
400
916
350
519
495
21 1
425
727
293
275
500
228
255
412
275
233
212
FROM TllK HOI. LAND COMPANY.
TOWNSHIP SnVEN. RANGE Sl"^— Continued.
553
Name.
Date.
William Skeggs ' 1828, Sept. 4.
Orton J. Knight 1837, April 28
Jason Hopkins ! 1839, Feb. 20
Edward Vail , 1837, Dec. 12
Francis Matthews. . . . 1842, Jan. 15 .
William Warner 183.S. Oct. 18.
Moses Blakeley 1842, Nov. 3.
Joseph Jenkins 1842, Jan. 25 .
Edward Brown 1838, Oct. 22.
Land.
Acres Price
s-e pt 1 I 5 . . 50 183
Pt 1 15 135 77^
pt 1 93 50 200
pt 1 52 1 10 674
pt 1 64 50 280
s-w pt 1 94. 50 317
pt I92 : 25 128
pt 1 74 60 219
n-w pt 1 93. 45 182
Copy ov the Assessment Roll of the Town of Col
llns for the year 1 823,
township seven, rancie eight.
Name.
Land.
Da\\d Conger w pt 1 33
Josj^jh Woodward
William Sisson. . . .
William Sisson. . . ,
David Healy
George Southwick
Gilbert Bardon. . .
John Sherman . . . ,
James Goodal.
n-e pt 1 33
n-e pt 1 49
n-e pt 1 29, in N. C .
w pt 1 1 7
I25
s-e ptl 33
e pt 1 33
n pt 1 9
Kendall Johnson s pt 1 9
Jacob Taylor .s-eptsls49&4i & 1 70'
VVillink & Co i ptl 17
IAckes.
179
Val.
$ 627
98
254
54
233 l|
97
2461'
59
147 ,
347
II35 i
40
100
3«
95
'74
7^7
196
597
141
352 1
Tax.
I 95
3 67
I 13
8 73
77
73
5 88
4 63
2 71
TOWNSHIP SIX. RANGE EIGHT.
John Mack ! s pt 1 68 1 123
Philander Hanford . . . | m pt 1 68 1 24
Mo.ses Kimball | n-w pt 1 60 ■ 59
Benjamin Godfrey . . . . ! w pt 1 67 99
n pts ls62, 68&69,^■
Jacob Taylor 1 70T. &V. together 785
J ulius Perry m pt 1 69 99
356
328
127
207
2 74
2 52
99
I 60
7589 58 43
260 2 00
554
copy OF EARLY ASSESSMENT ROLL.
TOWNSHIP SIX. RANGE EIGHT— Continued.
Name.
Jonathan Sowle n-e pt 1 60.
Hopkins m pt 1 52
Land.
lACRES.
95
48
58
95
80
97
Smith Bartlett ! .s-w pt 1 58 116
Asa Lapham ; n-e pt 1 52 .
Augustus Smith w pt 1 5 i . .
Augustus Smith s-w pt 1 6l
Joel Matison j s-e pt 1 52
Smith Bartlett
Luke Crandall
Luke Crandall ....
Christian Parkerson
John Blancher. . . . ,
Jonah H. Smith . . . ,
David Pound
Benajah Hallock . .
Powell Hallock . . . ,
William Sisson . . . .
Lemuel Sisson ....
Peter Gile
Sylvanus Strang. . .
Elisha Roberts. . . .
Philip Gile
John R. Smith ....
John Blancher. ...
Asa Smith
David Wilber
John Wilber
Oliver Reese
Allen Kins
Daniel I^rindle
Joseph Kibbe
Joseph Lapham ....
Joel Phillips
Job Irish
Nathaniel Ballard.. .
Harry Dairy
Adolphus Albee. . . .
Benjamin Albee, Jr.
James B. Parkinson.
Sylvanus Parkinson
Robert McNeal m pt 1 40
m pt 1 67 1 50
m pt 1 64 ! 137
m pt 1 56 ! 15
s-e pt 1 58 60
n pt 1 54 i 97
m pt 1 54 j 63
w pt I53 195
m pt 1 5 2 46
n-w pt 1 52 ' 47
s-w pt 1 60 j 81
s-e pt 1 60 48
n-w pt 1 59 j 6S
s-w pt 1 59 I 29
s-e pt 1 61 I 39
n pt 1 61 200
s pt 1 69 1 119
m ptl 53 j 42
n-w pt 1 1 113
n-w pt 1 1 93
m pt 1 42 [ 46
e pt 1 43 128
.s-w pt 1 43, n-e pt 1.
34, w pt 1 35
e pt 1 I4&s-e pt 1 23.
m pt 1 43
m pt 1 33& w pt 1 22.
w pt 1 30
m pt 1 30
e pt 1 19
mpt 1 55
s-e pt 1 63
n-e pt 1 62
e pt 1 39
126
184
48
464
96
96
142
48
56
46
60
m pt 1 39 j 140
73
Val. Tax.
$259
120
167
362
200
242
379
125 ,
450
37
120
264
202
891
137
130
100
120
170
72
97
513
297
105
367
232
115
320
368
420
120
1265
242
267
395
128
160
124
150
550
182
> 95
93
I 29
4 32
1 87
5 41
3 86
93
2 03
I 55
6 85
I 65
I 00
I 77
92
I 31
D3
74
3 94
2 28
80
2 82
1 78
89
2 40
83
23
92
72
86
06
04
98
23
95
15
24
40
COrV OK KAKI.V ASSESSMKNT ROM-
TOWNSHIP SIX, RANGE EIGHT— Con/inue^/.
55S
Namk.
Land.
Reuben Parkinson .
Arnold King
Arnold King
Joseph Peters
William Mosier. . . .
Joseph Wood
Daniel Burbank. . .
Nathan King
Stephen Wilber . . .
Ezra Nichols
William O'Brien . .
Joshua Palmerton .
Aaron Lindsley. ...
James Nichols
Amasa Bates
Sylvanus Bates. . . .
Samuel Hill
William O'Brien . .
Piathaway . . .
Darius Crandall . . . .
John J. Harrington. .
Luke Crandall
Benjamin Albee
Charles Barden
Timothy Clark
John Gibbons
Isaac Wickam
\\ arren Tanner
Martin Potter
John C. Adams
John Griffith
Hadwin Arnold
Eli Lapham
John Horton
Gabriel .Strang
William Parmerton..
Stephen Lapham . . . .
Stephen Lapham . . . .
W^illiam Lapham . . .
Archelaus Harwood.,
Sylvanus Cook
Hosea Stewart
m pt I 40
s-w pt 1 42
n-wpt 1 35
e pt 1 48
m pt 1 48
w pt 1 48
e pt 1 49
m pt 1 49
w pt 1 49
m pt 1 50
n-e pt 1 50
m pt I 50
e pt I32
\^- pt 1 3 1
n-e pt 1 8 1
s-e pt 1 3 1
e pt 1 9
s-e pt 1 62
m pt 1 48
m pt 1 56
s-e pt 1 56
m pt 1 56
e pt 1 64
n-\v pt 1 63
^' pt 1 47
^-^ pt\ 55
m pt 1 47
v\- pt 1 47
e pt 1 40
m pt 1 4^
n-w pt 1 24
s pt 1 34 & n c pt 1 23
m pt 1 44
n-\v pt 1 44
^-^' pt 1 53 '■
e pt 1 44
s pt 1 44
n pt 1 45
M^t 1 45 ■... .
n pt I 46
s pt 1 54
n pt 1 37
ACKES
Val.
120
4S
95
259
64
160
97
320
56
158
62
164
124
314
97
505
117
576
122
339
19
75
115
524
235
1334
145
39«
126
552
96
340
77
192
69
2CO
47
94
44
130
92
260
20
50
96
340
155
410
100
280
108
288
103
275
97
260
75
187
57
155
258
685
254
720
49
144
49
135
69
150
43
107
182
546
143
740
217
I 130
128
320
114
294
7'
240
Tax.
93
2 00
1 23
2 46
I 21
1 26
2 44
3 89
4 44
2 61
59
4 03
10 28
3 06
1 94
2 62
I 48
I 54
72
I 00
1 9Q
38
2 61
3 16
2 16
2 22
2 1 2
2 00
I 45
I 18
5 27
5 53
I 1 1
I 04
1 16
82
4 36
5 70
8 68
2 46
12 26
556 COPV OF EARLY ASSESSMENT ROLL.
TOWNSHIP SIX, RANGE EIGHT— Continued.
Name.
Land.
John Strang
Sabina Adams
Isaac Aldrich
Chancey Mammord..
Parker Dailey
Joseph McMillon. . . .
Ralph Plumb
Ralph Plumb
Turner Aldrich
Turner Aldrich
David Brand
Enos Southwick
Tibbet Sowle
Tibbet Sowle
Daniel Hunt
Isaac Allen
Oliver Harris
Erastus Harris
Solomon Dunham . . .
Eseck Harris
P. L. Pratt
Luman H. Pitcher . . .
Noah Scovell
Eron Thatcher
Enoch Palmer
Alvin Bugbee
Archelanus Harwood.
Amasa L. Chafee
Chafee & Bugbee.. . .
Ralph Plumb
Ralph Plumb
Ralph Plumb
Sarbat & Bugbee. . .
Jonathan O. Irish . . . .
Willink & Co
Willink & Co
Willink & Co
Willink & Co
Willink &Co
Wiilink & Co
Willink & Co
Willink & Co
m pt 1 37
! m ptl37
|s-w pt 1 37
m pt 1 36
m pt 1 36
s-w pt 1 36
mptl37
w pt 1 38
s-e pt 1 36 ,
■ npt I35
I25
w pt 1 24
e pt 1 24
n-vv pt 1 23
s-vv pt 23
m pt.l 22
w pt 1 20
m pt 1 20
m pt 1 20
e pt 1 10
m pt 1 10
1 38 — village lot.
1 22^village lot .
1 37 — village lot .
1 16 — village lot.
1 4 — village lot. . .
\ 1 5 — village lot . .
I 1 49, village lots. .
Acres i Val.
Tax.
1 3, village lot
1 48, village lot . . . .
1 60, village lot ... .
1 59, village lot . . . .
m pt Its 76 & 55
w pt 1 9
e pt 1 42
w pt 1 50
e pt 1 51
n-c pt 1 65
w pt 1 56
1S7
n pt 1 58
63
66
69
H
54
i
40
10
57
100
130
121
9'
49
59
106
48
49
78
60
120
100
220
141
66
244
61
163
342
130
288
295
633
115
55
200
220
80
807
250
334
300
280
120
147
300
100
100
195
130
333
30
15
10
15
15
15
20
59
40
150
25
15
246
550
352
165
610
152
407
855
^20
14
27
87
89
43
54
69
62
21
92
2 57
2 31
2 15
92
1 13
2 31
77
77
I 51
I 00
I 56
12
15
12
12
12
15
39
31
16
19
12
90
23
72
27
70
18
3 13
6 60
2 46
Cf^PY OF EARl.V ASSKSSMKNT ROLL.
TOWNSHIP SIX, RANGE EIGHT— ConiinueJ.
557
Namf.
Willink& Co
Willink & Co
Willink & Co
Willink & Co
Land.
e pt I 59.
n pt 1 61
I65
1 66
Acres.
Val.
220
$540
202
515
359
897
349
872
Tax.
k 24
3 88
6 91
6 72
TOWNSHIP SIX, RANGE SEVEN.
J. T. Johnson
Austin Graham
John Millis
Nathaniel Knight . . . .
Avery Knight
Wilber Irish
Wilber Irish
Truman Colburn
William Skeggs
Jonathan O. Irish . . . .
Henry Kimball
Henry W. Palmertcn.
William Beckwith . . . .
William Clark
Samuel Hill
John Boutwell, Jr. . . .
Charles Boutwell
Charles Boutwell
Silas Cook
William Cook
William Ballou
Daniel Pratt
Daniel Pratt
Daniel & Peter Pratt .
Daniel & Peter Pratt .
Peter Pratt
Peter Pratt
Elijah Campbell
Elias Bowen
Phineas Orr
David Beverly
James B. Perkinson . .
Willink & Co
Willink & Co
s-w pt 1 74
n-w pt 1 74
e pt 1 75
m & .s-w pt 1 75 . .
m pt 1 75
n-w pt 1 75
m pt 1 76
s-w pt 1 84
.s-e pt 1 85
m pt 1 76
w pt 1 76
s-w pt 1 85
e pt 1 65
n-e pt 1 65
w pt 1 38
w pt 1 37
e pt 1 38
t-'Pt 1 37
wptl35
e pt 1 35
pt 1 34
e pt 1 32
e pt 30
w pt 1 33
e pt 1 2 1
e pt 1 35
w pt 1 32
^^■ pt 1 3 1
n-e pt 1 3 1
s-e pt 1 3 1 & n pt 1 30
w pt 1 5 2
w pt 1 65
n pt 1 30
1 -.6
60
154
59
150 '
49
190
165
565 i
55
137 i
35
87 ;
20
68
56
140
47
126 '•
97
240
144
400
48
124 ;
48
120
96
224
98
330 1
53
175 ;
102
268
135
365
18
45
117
373
146
460
96
380
60
150 1
59
150
96
240
5«
327
39
97
80
276
60
150 •
75
424
96
270
98
259 1
1 10
275
118
315
19
16
47
35
05
67
52
I 08
97
I 85
3 08
95
92
54
36
06
2 81
35
2 87
3 54
92
15
15
84
51
74
13
16
27
08
98
12
43
558
COPY OF EARLY ASSESSMENT ROLL.
TOWNSHIP SIX. RANGE SEVEN— Coniinm-d.
Name.
Land,
Willink & Co 1 50
Willink &Co 1 51
Willink & Co e pt 1 52
Willink & Co
Willink & Co.... .,
Willink & Co
Willink & Co
Willink & Co,
Willink & Co,
Willink & Co,
Willink & Co.
Willink & Co.
Willink & Co
Willink & Co.
63
1 64
.s-e pt 1 65
e pt 1 74 .
e pt 1 76.
1 83
pt I 84. ..
n pt 1 85.
1 92
•93
1 94
Acres.
Val.
232
$ 580
220
550
186
465
4C9
1022
37»
927
133
332
285
712
70
175
392
980
281
700
132
330
i 3«7
967
, 336
840
361
902
Tax.
47
24
58
86
14
2 55
5 49
1 35
7 55
5 39
2 53
7 44
6 47
6 94
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, RANGE SEVEN.
Willink & Co i I65
Willink & Co 1 49
Willink & Co i 1 57
367
917
358
892
380
950
7 06
6 90
7 32
The Assessors for the year that the above tax was levied
were Nathaniel Knight, John Stancliff, Jr., and John Arnold.
Luke Crandall was Collector. The total valuation of the town
as shown by the assessment roll was $74,019; the valuation of
the real estate was $71,451 ; personal property, $2,568; tax.
$705 ; Collectors' fees were $20.69. The above figures refer to
the present Town of Collins. North Collins and Collins were
then one town.
The following are the names of the Supervisors who signed
the assessment roll:
James Green.
Morton Crosby.
Stephen White.
Ebenezer Holmes.
James W. Grififin.
Oziel Smith.
Edmund Badger.
Lemuel Wasson,
James Aldrich.
Simeon Fillmore.
John Twining.
Thomas M. Barret.
John Boyer.
TOWN OF CON'CORI) ])I\ II )i:i-). 559
•COPY OF THE ACT CRKATING THE TOWNS OF COLLINS ANlJ
SARDINIA.
An Act to di\ idc the Town of Concord, in the County of
Niagara.
Passed March i6, 1821.
Section i. Be it enacted by the People of the State of
New York represented in Senate and Assembly, That from and
after the Jhirty-first day of March, instant, all that part of the
Town of Concord, in the County of Niagara, comprehending
township No. 7, in the eighth range, and all that part of town-
ship No. 6 in the eighth range lying within the County of
Niagara together with three tiers of lots on the west side of
township number sexen in the seventh range, and three tiers of
lots on the west side of township number six, in the seventh
range, within the County of Niagara, of the Holland company,
shall be and is hereby erected into a separate town by the name
of Collins, and that the first town meeting shall be held at the
dwelling house of George Southwick in said town.
Section 2. And be it further enacted that from and after the
Thirt}'-first day of March, instant, all that part of the said Town
of Concord comprehending township number seven in the fifth
range and three tiers of lots on the east side of township num-
ber seven in the sixth range, and all those parts of township
number six in the sixth range of the Holland company's lands
h-ing within the County of Niagara, shall be and is hereby
erected into a separate town by the name of Sardinia, and the
first town meeting shall be held at the dwelling house of Giles
Briggs, in said town, and that all the remaining part of the
Town of Concord shall be and remain a separate town by the
name of Concord, and that the next town meeting shall be held
at the dwelling house of Harry Sears in said town.
Section 3. And be it further enacted that as soon as maybe
after the Thirt)'-first day of March, instant, the Supervisors and
Overseers of the aforesaid towns shall by notice to be given by
the Supervisor and Overseers of the Poor of the Town of Con-
cord, meet together at the dwelling house of Harry Sears, in
said town and apportion the poor maintained b)' the said Town
of Concord and the poor mone\' belonging to the same previous
560 TOWN MEETING RESOLUTIONS.
to the division thereof agreeably to the last tax list, and that
each of the said towns shall forever respectively support their
own poor.
SUBSEQUENT ACT DEFINING THE BOUNDARIES OF THE TOWN
OF COLLINS — REVISED STATUTES, VOLUME 3, TITLE 4,
PAGE 114.
The Town of Collins shall contain all that part of said county
comprising township number seven, in the eighth range of
townships in the Holland company's purchase, together with
all that part of township number six in the same range included
within the bounds of the county, and also three tiers of lots off
from the west side of township number seven in the seventh
range, and off from the west side of that part of township num-
ber six in the last range included within the bounds of the
county, and also that part of the Cattaraugus Indian Reserva-
tion which is included within the bounds of the county.
EXTRACTS FROM THE RESOLUTIONS PASSED AT COLLINS
TOWN MEETINGS DURING THE FIR.ST YEARS OF THE TOWN.
The first year, 1820, it was
Reso/ved, That the Collector have but three per cent for col-
lecting taxes.
Rcso/vcd, That hogs and sheep shall not run as free com-
moners.
Risoh'cd, That all rams running at large from the loth of
September to the loth of November be forfeited to the captor.
Resolved, That horses shall not be free commoners.
Resolved, That oivncrs of stud horses shall pay a fine of one
dollar if found at liberty for more than twenty-four hours at one
time.
Resolved, That the names of Nathaniel Knight and John
Grififith be sent to the Council of Appointment to be commis-
sioned as Magistrates.
Resolved, That the next annual town meeting be held at the
house of John Lawton on the first Tuesday of April next.
In 1822 it was
Resolved, That the Collector have but three per. cent, for col-
lecting taxes the ensuing year.
TOWN MKK'IIXC, KKSOl.riloNS. 561
Ri'soh'id, That John Lawton shall serve as a Commissioner
to meet the committee from Concord and Sardinia to settle
with Harry Sears, Collector.
Risohid, That this meetini^ be adj(nirned to meet the first
Tuesday of April next at the house of John Lawton.
In 1823 it was
Kcso/vcd, That a fine of ten dollars be imposed upon any per-
son that shall suffer what is called a Canada thistle to go to seed
on his improved lands after notice from any person.
Rcsflhtd, That Inspectors of common school shall have no
fees for their services.
Rcsohi'd, That all the money collected or to be collected
from Frederick Richmond, late Supervisor of the original Town
of Concord, shall be added to the poor fund of the Town of
Collins.
In 1824 it was
Rcso/vcd, That this meeting be adjourned until the first
Tuesday of March next, at the dwelling house of Smith Bart-
lett.
NOTK. — The time of holding the annual town meeting of
Collins changed to the first Tuesday in March by an act of the
Legislature of the state, passed Feb. 6, 1824.
In 1824 it was
Resolved, That double the amount of money be raised from
the town that we receive from the state for the use of schools.
Resolved, That a bounty of ten dollars be given on full-grown
wolves and five dollars for whelps killed within the Town of
Collins.
Resolved, That the Collector's fees shall be three per cent.
In 1826 it was
Resolved, That the next annual town meeting be held at the
house of William Sisson.
In 1827 it was
Resolved, That orderly, neat cattle have free use of the com-
mons from the 1st of March to the 1st of November.
Resolved, That a bounty of twent>'-five dollars be gi\en for
each full grown wolf and twehe dollars and fifty cents for each
whelp caught in the Town of Collins.
562 TOWN MEETING RESOLUTIONS.
In 1828 it was
R('so/i'e(/, That the Collector shall have five per cent, for col-
lecting taxes in this town.
Resok'cd, That the authorities of this town be authorized to
petition the Legislature to pass an act to authorize the town to
raise a bounty not exceeding fifty dollars on wolves caught and
killed in this town.
In 1829 it was
Rcsoh'cd, That the next annual town meeting be held at the
house of John C. Adams.
In 1830 it was
Risohid, That a fence made of boards, logs or rails five feet
high shall be considered a lawful fence.
LOCAL NAMES IN THE TOWN OF COLLINS.
"Zoar" is of scriptural origin, and is said to have been given
by Ahaz Allen, one of the first settlers there.
" Poverty Hill," another name, given by Jesse Frye, was
conceived from the fact that in an early day he was the owner
of a lot on which grew the huckleberry. This berry is of spon-
taneous growth, and only found upon rocky, .sterile soil. When
Frye was working upon his claim his attention was called to
the huckleberry by one of his sons, who said, " Father I have
always heard it said that huckleberries grew on very poor land."
''Yes," said the pioneer, ''this is 'Poverty hill,' and I shall sell
this claim the first chance," and he never worked there another
day, although the soil proved the very best for grazing and the
growing of wheat.
Gowanda first took the name of Aldrich's Mills ; then the
name of Lodi, after one of Napoleon's famous battles in Italy.
It is said to have been given by Ahaz Allen.
" Bagdad " was named b}- Bcnard Cook, after an ancient
city of Asia.
A tub factor}^ gave the name of " Tub Town."
" Taylor Hollow " took its name from Jacob Taylor.
" Lawton Hollow " from John Lawton, who built mills there,
and "Scrabble Hill" from the fact that the early settlers had
to scrabble pretty hard to get a living.
The name of the Town of Collins was said to be given in
honor of Mrs. Turner Aldrich, whose maiden name was Collins.
IIIK FIRST SKITLKR IN /OAK. 563
ZOAR.
Zoar lies in the southeast corner of Collins, and the north-
east corner of Otto, the valley being divided by the waters of
the Cattaraugus. In its primeval state, this valley was beauti-
ful, and when looked upon by the early pioneers from the sur-
rounding hills, it caused in thein a feeling of wonder and sur-
prise, as it appeared to them a new Canaan, and the)- entered
into the valley as did the Israelites of old. with thoughts of
rest and thanksgiving.
In the Spring of 18 10, Joseph Adams, with a family con-
sisting of a wife and three children, came b\' way of Boston,
over Townsend Hill, down the transit with an ox sled, to near
the Scob}' mills ; embarked his family and chattels in a large
canoe, pushed out into the waters, turned the prow down
stream, and landed his family in Zoar. He built a log house
on the Otto side of the creek, covered it with elm bark, and
this was the first house in Zoar, and he was \-irtually the first
settler in Zoar, though a man by the name of Yaw, from Bos-
ton, had slashed four acres, but remained only a short time.
Peter Pratt and family, who were pioneers of Clarence, having
come from Taunton, Mass., in 1806, to that town, were the
next settlers, and I cheerfully allow m)- venerable friend,
John Pratt, of Bagdad, to tell his story: " In the F'all of 1810,
my father and brother, Luther, came out from Clarence and
built a log house on the Derby lot (this is now part of the
Emer\' Bond farm in Concord), and the next PY'bruary follow-
ing, he moved his family out by way of Boston and over
Townsend Hill, through by Uea. Russell's, to near the Chaffee
school-house, thence across the Beech Plains and clown Will-
iam's Hill, and followed blazed trees very near where the road
is located to-day, until we reached father's cabin. The only
settler we found on our way from Russell's, was William Smith,
since known as the " Governor." We onh" remained here two
months, when father sold his claim to brother Luther. Father
bought of " Squire " I-'" rye, his articled claim of lot thirty-one,
but the query was how to get his family into Zoar. He had
built a double log house there and had departed from the
accustomed mode of shingling, which was usuall\- done by
564 " JOHNNIE CAKES."
peeling bark, but had rived out "shakes" of pine (shingles
three feet long and not shaved), and nailed poles to the rafters,
and those long shingles were nailed to them. We had a pun-
cheon floor, and, upon the whole, our house was considered
quite aristocratic for those days. As I said before, the query
was how to get into Zoar. There was no road or trail across
Frye Hill; but the Adam's boys, Bina and Wilson, by lashing
two large canoes together, helped him out ; they floated his
goods to our new home, while we picked our way over Frye
Hill.
That Summer, brother Peter was born. This was the second
event of this kind in the Town of Collins. Then my father's
house in Zoar, and brother Luther's house on the " Derby "
lot, were the only houses on this side of the creek from Turner
Aldrich's, near where Dr. Shugart's house now stands in
Gowanda, until you reach "Governor" Smith's, on the old
William's farm (now the Tefft tarm), some twelve miles distant'
On the other side was Joseph Adams and Thadeus Austen,
who canoed in the same way that we arrived. Father got a
good burn on the Yaw slashing that Spring, and as we had a
yoke of oxen we logged it off, planted it to corn and potatoes.
It proved a good crop, and we had an abundance for the next
Winter, such as it was.
I am an old man now, of four score years, and I A\"ant to say
something to m\' )'oung friends, A\ho think the\- are living
very hard because they cannot have " new process " flour
bread and pound cake every day. You never saw a "Johnny
Cake" board and don't know what it is? Well I have, and
must explain. Now the larger the family the greater the
board. Our board was about two feet long and eight inches
wide; this was split out of clean white ash, the surface was
polished smooth, and it was read}- for use.
It came into use every day, and I presume my dear old
mother baked " Johnnie Cakes " enough on one of these during
her lifetime, to cover a good-sized farm. The meal was mixed
into stiff dough and firmly pressed upon the board, then set
before the fire to bake until done. Sometimes we had baked
l)otatoes, but they had no stoves to bake them in ; the}- used
a low, flat-bottomed kettle with an iron lid, w hich thc\' placed
A SCHOOL ORGANIZED. 565
in one corner of the Dutch fire place, and then Hterally buried
it in coals. This kettle was also used to bake beans and bread.
Potatoes were sometimes roasted in the coals, and sometimes
boiled in the kettle hung over the log fire by a chain attached
to the " lug pole." The first Summer w^e lived in Zoar, our
milling was done at Taylor Hollow, and I was the mill-boy.
Father went with nic the first time to show me the way, as
it was an unbroken forest. We followed an Indian trail down
the creek, and still kept the Indian path up over Poverty Hill
to Aldrich's in Lodi, thence up Clay Hill and on to Taylor's
mill. The way we then went it was nearly eleven miles, and I
had to make it every week on horseback, with a grist of corn
behind me, for there were twelve hungry mouths in my father's
family to feed. Wild cats, bears and deer, were not an uncom-
mon thing to be seen on my way, and, though never molested,
still at times it was hard work for me to keep my hat on my
head when I saw these creatures creeping through the under-
brush."
To show our modern belles and beaux the styles of those
days, I must tell you that the first year of the war, I wore
■"nettle cloth " for shirts, and my pants were made of buck-
skin. On the " Jockey lot " nettles grew abundant and thrifty;
we mowed them down and let them la}% as you would flax,
until the stalks become thoroughl)- rotten, then they were
taken to the brake and then spun and woven as }'ou would
flax ; most all the thread mother used the first year of the war
was of this material.
The next year others began to settle ; Jesse Frye came from
Buffalo, bringing two young men with him. Samuel Cronch
and Samuel Rose, whom he hired to assist him in building a
log house on his lot. He returned to Buffalo and on the 20th
of July he came back with his famih'. Soon after came Wood-
ward Stevens, Ira Watterman, Simeon Watterman, Phineas
Orr, Joseph Bartlet and Otis Wheelock. As there were several
children now in the new settlement in need of education, a
school was organized and Simeon Watterman was hired to
teach it. The school was held in the west end of Peter Pratt's
house ; from the Fr}'e famiK' there were four scholars, namely :
Enoch, James, Mack and Bcts}' ; from the Pratt famih- five,
566 WAR \KSSKLS IN BUFFALO HARBOR,
Daniel, John, Hopy, l^hilip and Susy; from the Adams family,
two, Wilson and Electa; this was seventy-two years ago, and
but four of these scholars are alive to-day ; little " Phil " is a
gray-haired )'outh of eight)' ; Enoch and John are sober boys
at eighty-tliree, while red-haired and fun-loving Mack is the
same old six-pence in his eightieth year.
The next year many events took place in the little settlements
the war bugle had been sounded and all but two were subject
to draft, " President " Adams and " Captain " Pratt, by reason
of their age, were exempt from military duty. The " Captain "
went back to Clarance, by the way of Buffalo, after an invalid
daughter and his family, and was in Buffalo the day that the
British war vessels, the Royal George and Queen Charlotte
sailed up in front of Buffalo harbor and lay there all day. Not
a pound of powder was there in the town to load a gun, and,
had there been any disposition on the part of the Red Coats
to have taken the place they could have done so without meet-
ing with any resistance.
The people were so filled with fear, that they betook them-
selves to their cellars and remained there until these vessels
had hoisted sail and passed out of sight up the lake. The bat-
tle of the Raisen had been fought, and Mr. Pratt, in detailing
some of the incidents that took place, spoke of three orphan
children whom he found in Clarance, whose mother was dead
and their father had been killed in that battle. Those children
had in some way got back to Clarance from the west, and were
homeless and without friends ; as soon as Adams heard this,
tears came to his eyes, and he persuaded the Captain to return
to Clarance immediately and bring those children back with
him, which he did, and they ever afterwards found a kind home
in the Adams family. The names of those children were Tan-
ner. Polly, Hannah and James; Mr. Pratt would have willingly
cared for these children, but he had already taken charge of
three orphans, the children of Mrs. Cox, who died that Sum-
mer— this was the daughter he moved from Clarance, and this
was the first death in Zoar. She lies buried back on the rise
of land under the hill, on the old Peter Pratt farm.
As the season advanced, the war clouds grew darker and
RKrRp:A'r of i?ina adams. 567
more threatening. Levies were made for new troops to pro-
tect the borders. The men that were drafted in Zoar, were
Bina Adams, Jesse Frye, Simeon Watterman, Luther Pratt and
Ehsha Cox. These soldiers with their wives, sweet-hearts and
friends, met at the liouse of Peter Pratt on the morning of
their departure, and the final leave-taken was quite affecting,
one incident in particular will show that humor will out, let
the heart he ever so sad — Mrs. Frye hallooed after the " squire,"
as his fat form lessened in the distance, "that if wounded, she
ne\'er \\anted to hear that he was hit in the back."
(^ur school continued through the Winter, w^ith Otis
Wheelock as teacher, with the addition of four new scholars,
the three Tanner children, Polly, Hannah and James, and Eli
Cox. The school was kept in a shanty, built by Mr. Pratt for
his married daughter, Mrs. Cox, and then made vacant by her
death. Nothing tran.spired that Winter worthy of note, until
the news came of the burning of Buffalo, Bina Adams, when
•ordered to retreat had done so, not making a halt until he
reached Zoar. He came out by way of Williamsville. and then
through to Yorkshire ; from there he followed the creek down
to Zoar.
Mr. Pratt tells of l^ina coming into school on his retreat, and
the first words spoken by him were " Buffalo's burnt." School
was out, and \\e did not wait to say "by your leave " to the
teacher, but hurried home as fast as our legs would carr)^ us
with the news, but Bina had been there before us and he not
only told of the burning, but he told a great deal more besides
that was interesting, he said " all that saved my scalp was that
my legs did their duty," and that the " British had hired all
the Senecas to scalp all the Americans ; and that they were on
their way then with barbarous intent, and that we might expect
a li\'ely time when the}' did come." The next day the settlers
held a council at my father's, says Mr. Pratt, and it was decided
that our safety lay beyond the " Genesee," and the settlers
went so far as to dig pits to store their goods in ; Mr. Pratt
tells that his father was the possessor of a horse, and that he
prevailed upon the settlers, not to flee until he rode to some
place and received something more definite. He set out to-
\wards Buffalo, b\- wa\- of l\)unsend Hill. ;nul through by
568 HKiriSIl INVADERS liURX BUFFALO.
Boston and Hamburg, when he arrived at the latter place he
learned that the Seneca Indians, if anything, were more fright-
ened than the whites, and that was needless : that they had
hurriedly left the reservation and gone, bag and baggage, be-
yond the " Genesee."
The British invaders, with their hair-raising allies, after burn-
ing Buffalo and killing several persons, had returned to their
own country. * "- "•^' * '^ ■^"
No longer does the tri weekly stage swing to and fro through
this valley from the " Green " to " Lodi," as it used to, and
Bill, the driver, is Old Bill now, if alive, but I suspect he has
gone to the higher sphere and drives a golden chariot. He
was as regular as vibrates the pendulum of a clock, and we used
to know just when to look for his coming ; sometimes his
coach would be loaded down, and then again it lumbered along
empty, but it made no difference to him, he carried the mail
and that was enough. Sometimes he brought us a letter
directed to Zoar, one of those old-fashioned letters done up in
itself and fastened with a blotch of red sealing wax. Flnvelopes
had not been born, yet these were good letters, though the
writers knew nothing of the spencerian system, or had never
studied composition or the art of letter writing, but were full of
loving kindness and told of an absent brother or sister, or friend
in the far East or West, and they had been so long in coming-
and the postage cost so much that they seemed riper and bet-
ter than letters do now-a-days. ■'^" '■ '''^' -^
And no longer does the pomp of mimic war awake the echoes
that dwell among these sleepy hills ; for the last " general
training " was held years ago, and those were glorious days for
old and young ; I never hear the drum beat but what they
come back to me like the dim recollection of a bright and
fading dream. "Hills "was the rendezvous, and we small fry
looked weeks ahead for the coming of the peddler's cart and
the plumed troop with eager expectation, for it was a season
of sweet cider, pumkin pies and hard ginger-bread. With
miserly care had our pennies been hoarded for these occasions-
DKKDS (;i\i:.\ 15V llIK llol.l.AM) I < ).\1 1'A.W
569
COLLINS.
TOWNSHIP SIX, RANGE EIGHT.
Lot.
Acres.
Subdivision
m pt
Date ok Dk.kd.
July 18. 1839..
Name.
9
Pardon C. Sherman.
9
84
^ pt
Oct. 20, 1843. .
Jacob LeR.oy.
9
140
\v pt
Oct. 13, 1855..
Abel Taft.
18
39
s-c i)t
July 18, 1839. •
Pardon C. Sherman.
18
119
C 111 & 111 .
Oct. 20. 1843. .
Jacob LeRov.
18
25
n-c pt . . . .
Oct. 7, 1854. . .
D. Beverly. '
18
90
w pt
April 4, 1839. •
D. H. Chandler.
29
60
•^ pt
July 18, 1839..
Pardon C. Sherman.
29
30
s-e pt
Oct. 21, 1851 . .
John D. Beverly.
26
15
s-w pt . . . .
Oct. 21, 1851 . .
Svlvanus Cook.
29
50
m pt
July II, 1842. .
F. L. &. T. Co.
29
50
e 111 pt . . . .
April 2, 1855. .
D. Beverly.
29
50
n-e pt . . . .
Feb. 1 1, 1842 .
J. D. Beverly.
29
50
n-\v pt. . . .
Jan. 15, 1849. •
C. B. Parkinson.
39
187
e pt
Jan. 2, 1822. . .
Sylvanus Parkinson.
39
50
e m pt . . .
Feb. 15, 1828 .
Sylvanus Parkinson.
39
H7
w m pt . . .
Ncv. 6, 1830. .
C. B. Parkinson.
39
50
w pt
Feb. 15. 1828 .
C. B. Parkinson.
47
103
^^ pt
Nov. 15. 1823-
Tinioth}- Clark.
47
105
m pt
Feb. 25, 1823 .
Isaac Wickham.
47
100
w pt
Mar. 5, 1819. .
Warren Tanner.
55
100
s-e pt
Feb. 5, 1829.. .
John Gibbons.
55
31
e m pt . . .
Nov. 9, 1831 . .
H. Dailey,
55
30
n-c {)t ....
April 4, 1839. .
D. H. Chandler.
55
50
11 111 pt . . .
Nov. 24. 1838.
Isaac White.
55
100
w pt
Mar. 19, 1819.
John J. Harrington.
63
30
.s-e pt
May 20, 1837.
Adolphus Albee.
63
30
s-e 111 pt . .
Jan. 7, 1829 . .
Adol])hus Albee.
63
55
S 111 pt. . . .
Jan. 4. 1839.. .
Enoch Randall.
63
55
s-w pt . . . .
Oct. I, 1835 .. .
Stephen White.
63
50
n-e pt . . . .
Feb. 1 1, 1842. .
Charles D. Pierce.
63
57
n-e 111 pt . .
Nov. 13, 1837.
Howard Albee.
63
50
n-\v pt. . . .
Nov. 19, 1838 .
Morgan L. Bailey.
10
75
^- pt
Aug. 7, 1834..
Abner Taft.
10
105
e 111 pt. . . .
Mar. 24, 1855 .
Abraham Taft.
10
50
S 111 pt.. . .
Nov. 3, 1845 . .
John B. Peasley.
10
45
S-w pt . . . .
Nov. 8, 1851. .
William Barnhart.
10
45
n-w pt. . . .
Nov. 8, 1851 . .
Henry Button.
19
125
e pt
Mar. 13, 1852..
Sylvanus Cook.
19
125
Ill pt
Oct. 21, 1854..
Daniel Irish.
5/0 DEEDS GIVEN BV THE HOLLAND C()^^'A^V.
TOWNSHIP SIX, RANGE EIGHT— Con/himui.
Lot.
Acres.
IQ
61
19
61
30
50
30
74
30
50
30
100 1
30
50
30
50
40
80
40
sO
40
75
40
50
40
50
40
43
40
43
48
100
48
58
48
50
48
125
56
165
56
35
56
30
S6
50
56
63
64
lOI
64
140
64
60
64
60
20
63
20
80
20
60
20
80 ,
20
50 '
20
50
SI
100 i
31
6S
31
65
31
150
41
130
41
50
41
100
41
114
Subdivision. Date of Deed,
Name.
s-w pt.
n-w pt
s-e pt. .
n-e pt .
e m pt.
m pt . .
w ] m pt
w pt . .
e pt . . .
e m pt.
m pt . .
s-w pt .
n-w m .
s-w pt .
n-w pt.
e pt. . .
s m pt .
n m pt
w pt . .
e pt . . .
s m pt .
n m pt.
w m pt
w pt. .
e pt . . .
m pt. .
w m pt
w pt . .
e pt . . .
s-e m pt
n-e m pt
m pt . . .
w m pt.
w pt . . .
s-e pt . .
em pt .
n-e pt . .
w pt . . . .
s-e pt. . .
n-e pt . .
m pt . . .
w pt . . . .
Aug. 16, 1836
May 3, 1837..
Dec. 10, 1845.
May 28, 1839
Jan. 30, 1839.,
April 4, 1839.
July 17, 1835..
Dec. 4, 1844 . ,
May 28, 1839 ■
May 26, 1847.,
Oct. 13, 1846. .
Oct. 13, 1846. ,
May 10, 1854.,
Oct. 13, 1846. .
Nov. 17, 1836.
Jan. 1 1, 1819. .
Aug. 19, 1 83 1.
Nov. 17, 1836.
Sept. I, 1819. .
Jan. 18, 1838. .
Jan. 17, 1838. .
Jan. 9, 1835 . . .
Oct. 28, 1835. .
Dec, 9, 1836 . .
Mar. 27, 1833.
Mar. 16, 1819..
Jan. 28. 1834. .
Jan. 17, 1838. .
Aug. 16, 1836.
Mar. 18, 1840.
Nov. 18, 1854..
Feb. 1 1, 1836..
Jan. 1 1, 1839. .
Feb. 1 1, 1836..
Oct. 18, 1819. .
July 7, 1830...
June 2, 1835 . .
Feb. 26, 1818..
Dec. 8, 1855.. •
Dec. 29, 1837..
Feb. 1 1, 1842..
Sept. 13, 1845.
Eli Page.
Daniel Irish.
S. Cook.
Timothy Clark.
Sylvanus Cook, Jr.
D. A. Chandler.
Joel Phillips.
Erastus Harris.
Martin Potter.
T. J. Kerr.
Betsey Robbins.
Smith Phillips.
J. A. Griffin.
Sylvanus Cook.
John C. Adams,
Stephen Peter.
W. L. Mosher.
John C. Adams.
Joseph Wood.
John J. Harrington-
John J. Harrington.
Isaac White.
John J. Harrington.
Stephen White.
W. S. Herrick.
Luke Crandall.
Eli Heath.
John J. Harrington.
Timothy Smith, Jr.
Gideon Barnhart.
S. Bates, Jr.
William W. Holcomb.
Joseph Plumb.
Michael Barnhart.
Sylvanus Bates.
Sylvanus Cook.
Oliver Harris, Jr.
James Nichols, Jr.
Albert Becker.
Ralph Plumb.
Jonathan Sowle.
Jacob LeRoy.
DKKDs (;i\i:\ i{\' riiK hoi.i.and c;().mi'.\.\v
TOWNSHIP SIX. RANGE EIGHT— ConOnitei/.
571
Lot Acres., Subdivision. Datf. of Dekd.
Mame.
49
123
49
100
49
120
57
60
57
roo
57
50
D/
-'5
57
50
57
:^7
57
30
65
75
^5
100
6=;
100
65
84
y 1
11 i
940
21
100
21
80
21
80
21
100
32
362
42
100
42
40
42
50
42
1 10
42
96
50
120
50
50
50
100
50
32
50
3^
5«
176
5«
50
5«
94
66
49
66
so
66
SO
66
50
13
123
13
143
13
50
22
122
e ])t
m ])t . . . .
\v pt . . . .
e pt . . . .
c m pt. . .
S 111 pt.. .
s-w pt . . .
n 111 pt . .
n-\v m pt
ii-w pt . . .
e pt
e m pt . .
w m pt . .
\v pt . . . .
both . . .
c pt
e m pt . .
w m pt . .
w pt . . . .
N\- 1
e pt
n-e pt . . .
m pt . . . .
s-vv pt . . .
n-w pt . .
e pt
cm pt . .
m pt . . . .
s-w pt . . .
n-w pt . . .
•M^t
m pt . . . .
n pt. . . .
e pt
cm pt . .
w m pt . .
w pt . . . .
e pt
m pt. . . .
w pt . . . .
e pt
July 5, 1826. . .
Feb. 5. 1819 . .
Feb. 7, 1817. . .
May 24, 1842..
Dec. 30. 1836..
Nov. 5, 1855...
Dec. 14, 1837.
Feb. 19, 1842 .
Sept. 17, 1853.
Dec. 1 1, 1852..
Dec. 5, 1837,..
June 6, 1834 . .
Sept. 21, 1835.
D ecus, 1839..
July 14. 1837.
Sept. 21, 1853.
Dec. 14, 1837.
Dec. 14, 1837.
Dec. 29, 1837.
May 25, 1 818.
Dec. 26, 1839.
Dec. 26, 1838.
Feb. I. 1836..
July 15, 1819..
Nov. 15, 1830.
Jan. 5, 1818.
Oct. 18, 1 8 19
Mar. 9. 1825
July 1, 1839
Feb. 5, 1829
April 14, 1821
Jan. 3, 1829. .
May 12, 1855.
May 27, 1853.
Oct. 20, 1853. .
Dec. 28, 1838..
Oct. 3, 1850. . .
Jan. 17, 1834. .
Oct. 10, 1835. .
Feb. 17, 1846..
Oct. 24, 1835..
Stephen Wilbur.
Nathan Kint^.
Stephen Wilbur.
Stephen White.
David Wilbur.
G. F. Kin^.
Stephen Wilbur.
Joseph Potter.
T. B. Payn.
V. Heath.
Jared C. King.
William S. Herrick,
William Potter.
John J. Harrington.
Joseph Plumb.
Benjamin P. Wells.
Benjamin P. Wells.
Samuel Wells.
Ralph Plumb.
Aaron Lindsley.
Benjamin Boyce.
Samuel Warner.
Benjamin Boyce.
Arnold King.
Benjamin Boyce.
Joshua Palmerton.
Joshua Palmerton.
Ezra Nichols.
Joshua Palmerton.
S. Bartlett.
Smith Bartlett.
Smith Bartlett.
S. and S. Harrington.
Isaac Brown.
Jacob LeRo)-.
Smith Sherman.
T. R. Stafford.
Ralph Plumb.
Ralph Plumb.
Phineas Taft.
Isaac Allen.
572
DEEDS GIVEN HV THE HOLLAND COMPANY.
TOWNSHIP SIX, RANGE EIGHT— Coniim/ed.
Lot.
Acres.
Subdivision.
Date of Deed
Name.
22
IIO
m pt
Nov. 7, 1834..
Isaac Allen.
22
no
w pt
Nov. 6, 1834. .
Zoeth Allen.
33
354
July 3, 1820. ..
Joseph Lapham.
43
73
s-e pt . . . .
Feb. 20, 1835.
Arnold King.
43
46
n-e pt . . . .
Dec. 29, 1838.
Gilbert P. Smith.
43
60
s m pt . . .
Oct. 21, 1838. .
Ralph Plumb.
43
50
n m pt . . .
Dec. 29, 1839.
Royal Strang.
43
50
s-w pt . . . .
Dec. 31, 1836.
Allen King.
43
90
n-w pt . . . .
April 4, 1839. •
D. C. Chandler.
51
100
e pt
Nov. 10, 1826.
Ezra Southwick.
51
30
em pt . . .
Jan. 9, 1836. .
Ezra Southwick,
51
50
em pt . . .
May I, 1841 . .
Caleb Tarbox.
51
30
w m pt . . .
Sept. 25, 1832.
John Randall.
51
30
w m pt . . .
Dec. 31, 1836.
Augustus Smith.
51
100
w pt
Mar. II, 1818.
Augustus Smith.
59
50
s-e pt . . . .
May 28, 1827..
J. R. Smith.
59
50
n-e pt . . . .
June 8, 1855. .
Nancy Brace.
59
50
n-e m pt . .
Dec. 27, 1833.
Thomas J. Kerr.
59
70
n m pt . . .
Nov. 10, 1846.
Eli Rice.
59
100
w pt
May 28, 1827.
John Rice.
67
105
e pt
Nov. 30, 1838.
Charles E. Potter.
67
76
s m jjt . . . .
Jan. 2, 1856. . .
S. C. Schoonover.
67
30
n m pt . . .
Nov. 9, 1850. .
0. Allen.
67
50
s-w pt . . . .
May 27, 1839.
Smith Bartlett.
67
100
n-H' pt . . . .
Dec. 9, 1835..
Smith Sherman.
14
100
e pt
Oct. 21, 1836. .
Ralph Plumb.
14
^37
\v pt
Dec. 29, 1837.
Jacob Becker.
23
67
s-e pt ....
Dec. 9, 1845 . .
Abraham Patch.
23
91
s-w pt . . . .
June 13, 1835.
Martin Perrin.
23
^7
n-c pt . . . .
Nov. 30, 1835.
Ralph Plumb.
23
55
A\" m pt . . .
April 24, 1828.
Stephen Southwick.
34
184
s pt
Oct. 6, 1835. . .
Hosea White.
34
184
n pt
Sept. 19, 1819.
Abram Lapham.
44
190
s pt
Sept. 7, 1 819..
Abram Lapham.
44
48
em pt . . .
Jan. 9, 1837. . .
Hunnewell Hathaway.
44
46
n-e pt . . . .
Dec. 25, 1834.
Warren Foster.
44
50
w m pt . . .
July 29, 1820.
E. Lapham.
44
50
n-A\- pt . . .
Sept. 19, 1836.
H. Hathaway.
52
50
-S-e pt . . . .
Sept. 13, 1834.
Elijah Pratt.
52
49
s m pt . . .
Dec. 25, 1834.
Warren Foster.
52
60
n-e pt . . . .
June 6, 1822. .
Asa Lapham.
52
50
s-w pt . . . .
Dec. 13, 1830.
Betsey Kinne.
DEEDS (;IVE.\ I!V THE HOLLAND COMPANY. 573
TOWNSHIP SL\, RANGE EIGHT— Continue,/.
Lot. Acres. Subdivision. I Date of Deed.
52
52
52
60
60
60
68
68
68
68
15
24
25
35
35
35
35
35
35
35
45
53
53
53
53
61
61
61
61
61
69
69
69
69
36)
37'
38J
46
54
54
54
Name.
50
47
50
50
I I I
161
124
65
65
100
169
223
135
50
50
28
42
28
29
397
65
42
29
200
60
40
60
60
82
100
60
60
140
423
389
100
134
50
Feb. 15, 1839.
Aug. 22, 1831 .
Feb. 12, 1829.
May 28, 1827.
Sept. 26, 1828.
npt I Jan. 9, 1836. . .
s pt { Nov. 10. 1835 •
m pt I Dec. 10, 1836.
n m pt . . J Sept. 28, 1836.
npt j Nov. 27, 18 17.
I Nov. I, 1832
Oct. 15, 1822
: Jan. 17, 1834
Jan. 6, 1837.
Jan. I, 1840.
June 7, 1838
n m pt .
w m pt .
n-w pt .
s-e pt . .
s-w pt
s-e pt .
n-e pt .
89 I s m pt
n m pt. . . April 2, 1838
m pt \ Oct. 29, 1834
w m pt
w pt . .
s-e pt . .
em pt .
n pt . . .
vv pt . . .
s-e pt . .
s-w pt . .
e m pt.
w m pt .
n pt . . . .
s pt . . . .
s m pt .
n m pt.
n pt . . . .
s pt . . .
m pt . .
n-\v pt ,
July 5, 1838
Feb. 20, 1835
Oct. 13, 1819
Nov. 16, 1835.
Dec. 3, 1829
Oct. 6, 1835.
June 6, 1 8 18
Oct. 6, 1835.
Dec. 8, 1836
Aug. 7, 183s
Dec. 20, 1838.
Nov. 1 1, 1836.
June 13, 1831.
Sept. 6, 1834. .
Nov. 1 1, 1836.
May 22, 181 1..
Thomas J. Kerr.
B. Halleck.
John W'ilber.
John Rice.
William Sisson.
Orton J. Knight.
Smith Barton.
Jolin Lawton.
John Lawton.
Jacob Taylor.
Ahaz Allen.
Enos Southwick.
Ralph Plumb.
Amos Pearson.
David Goldshwait.
\ Chester Howe and
( Amasa A. Chaffee.
H. Hathaway.
George F. King.
James Lock.
Arnold King.
Stephen Lapham. -
Orton J. Knight.
Avery Knight.
Avery Knight.
David Pound.
John W'ilbor.
John W'ilbor.
Thomas G. Kerr.
Thomas Kerr.
Smith Bartlett.
Asa Lapham.
Smith Bartlett.
Smith Bartlett.
Jacob Taylor.
Aug. 2r. 1819. Turner Aldrich,
Jan. 17. 1834.. Ralph Plumb.
Jan. 18,1834.. Ralph Plumb.
Feb. 20, 1837. Nathan Cass.
Jan. 5, 1836. . . Hart Rice.
574 DKKDS (ilVKN l',\ IIIK HOLLAND (OMl'AW
TOWNSHIP SLX, RANGE EIGHT— ro;iii>nm/.
Lot
Acres.
75
206
Subdivision.
Date ok Deicd.
Name.
62
62
s-c pt . . . .
n pt
Dec. 8, 1836..
Jan. 26, 1813. .
John Vosburt^h.
Jacob Ta\'lor.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, RAN(iE EIGHT.
I
50
I
72
•
150
9
177
9
200
17
150
17
120
17
60
25
120
25
200
33
85
34
40
35
100
35
45
35
90
41
130
41
45
41
84
41
100
49
209
49
56
49
50
57
57
e pt
m pt . . . .
w pt . . . .
e pt
w pt . . . .
e pt
m pt . . . .
w pt
s-w pt . . .
\v pt . . . .
-s-e m pt .
e m pt . . .
n-e pt . . .
s-w pt . . .
n-w pt . . .
s-e pt. . . .
n-e pt . . .
n m pt . .
w pt . . . .
s-e pt. . . .
n-e pt . . .
w pt . . . .
lot
Sept,
June
Feb.
Feb.
Mar.
Jan.
July
Dec.
Dec.
Dec.
Jan.
Jan.
Dec.
Dec.
Feb.
Sept
Nov,
Oct.
Sept
May
Aug,
Oct.
Oct.
, 26, 1836.
28, 1836.
19, 1 8 16..
23, 1S15..
20, 181 8 .
23, 1821 . .
28, 1855..
24, 1836 .
26, 1838..
31. 1836 .
13, 1840. .
22, 1831 . .
7. 1835 ■■
12, 1838 .
22, 1836..
. 5, 1821 . .
13, 1827,
21, 1836. ,
. 13, 1820
22, 1811
, 15, 1 82 1
24, 1809.
24, 1809.
Oiiver Pcrr\-.
Elisha Washburn.
John Goodell.
James Goodell.
Kendall Johnson.
S.M. Goodell and others.
George Lenox.
Daniel Healy.
George Southvvick.
Hudson Ansley.
Hiram Pratt.
Stephen Sisson .
Elijah Pratt.
George Sisson .
Charles C. Sherman.
Jacob Ta\'lor.
R. C. Sherman .
Nathaniel Sisson, Jr.
John Lawton.
Stephen Twining.
William Sisson .
Thomas Stewardson.
Thomas Stewardson.
TOWXSIHl' SIX, KAXCiK SEVEN.
63
50
63
250
63
50 '
64
80
64
90
64
50 :
64
100 1
64
50
e pt Oct. 20, 1843.
m pt July 18, 1839.
w i)t April 20, 1839
s-e pt j July 18, 1839
n-e i)t . . . . i Dec. 21, 1826
m in j Jan. 15. 1842
w m pt . . . j Jan. i 5, 1842
w pt I Jan. I 5, 1842
Jacob Le Roy.
P C. Sherman .
William \\ Powers.
P. C. Sherman.
George C. Tripp.
Erastus Colburn.
Erastus Colburn.
Nehemiah Reynold.s.
DEKDS (;IVKN DV 11 IK HOLLAND COMrANN'. 575
TOWNSHIP SIX, RANGE SEVEN— CouiinueJ.
Lot.
ACRKS.
90
Subdivision.
Date ok Dked.
Name.
65
s-e pt 1
Jan. 15, 1842. .
Sylvanus liites, Jr.
65
50
s-e m pt . . j
May 11, 1837.
David Tay.
65
50
e m pt . . . :
Dec. 30, 1836. .
Stukeley Hudson.
65
100
n-e pt . . . .
Jan. 26, 1835. .
William Clark.
65
100
w pt
Nov. 4, 1836. .
Jonas Howe.
50
232
w 1
Nov. 8, 1852. .
Jesse Frye.
51
218
wl
July 18, 1839. •
P. C. Sherman.
52
76
ept
Jan. 28, 1854..
Peter Beverly.
52
I 10
s m pt . . . .
Dec. 12, 1837 .
Edward Vail.
52
50
n m pt . . .
Jan. 15, 1842. .
Seba Nichols.
52
50
w m pt . . .
Jan. 6, 1832. . .
John D. Beverly.
52
100
w pt
Oct. 6, 1836...
John D. Beverly.
30
125
ept
Jan. 7, 1839.. .
H. U. Soper.
30
60
w pt
July 18, 1839..
P. C. Sherman.
31
156
w 1
Nov. II, J841 .
Phineas Orr.
32
118
w 1
June 2, 1S30. .
Peter Pratt.
33
64
c pt
Aug. 29, 1822.
Peter Pratt.
33
70
w pt
Oct. 29, 1853. .
Michael C. Hufstater.
34
40
e pt
Oct. 29, 1853..
Michael C. Hufstater.
34
100
w pt
Jan. 15, 1836..
William Ballou.
35
143
^v\
July I, 1838...
Abram Van Tuyl.
37
93
ept
July 18, 1839. •
P. C. Sherman.
37
100
w pt
April 20, 1839.
William P. Powers.
3«
50
n-c pt . . . .
May 12, 1855 .
Joseph Bailey.
3H
50
n-w pt . ...
Oct. 20, 1843..
Jacob Le Roy.
3«
50
s-w pt . . . .
Dec. 6, 1837 . .
Jehial Hill,
83
391
w 1
July 18, 1839. •
P. C. Sherman.
84
53
s-e pt . . . .
Sept. 24, 1834.
Nathaniel Knight.
84
60
s-w pt . . . .
Dec. I, 1836..
Tracy Burnap.
84
84
e m pt... .
Mar. 10, 1 841 .
Francis L. Knight.
84
40
^\• m pt . . .
Feb. 14, 1843..
Tracy Burnap.
84
54
n-w m pt .
May 6, 1854 . .
H. Wickham.
84
50
n pt
Dec. 10, 1853. •
Huram Wickham.
85
50
s-e pt
July 4, 1835...
William Skeggs.
85
50
s-w pt . . . .
Feb. 8, 1833...
H. W. Palmerston.
85
60
s m pt . . . .
Jan. 6, 1842.. .
H. W. Palmerston.
85
135
m pt
April 28, 1837.
Orton J. Knight.
85
57
n pt
April 20, 1839.
William P. Powers.
74
109
e pt
April 20, 1839.
W. P. Powers.
74
40
e m pt . . .
May 20, 1842 .
Nehemiah Reynolds.
74
60
e m pt. . .
Jan. 25, 1842. .
Joseph Jenkins.
74
87
m pt
Nov. I, 1841 . .
Hiram B. Clark.
5/6 DEEDS (ilVEN HV THE HOELAM) COMl'AXV
TOWNSHIP SIX, RANGE S¥NY.^— Continued.
Lot.
Acres.
74
60
74
50
75
75
175
60
75
50
75
40
75
7^
76
76
39
70
165
150
92
50
92
25
92
50
92
75
92
100 i
93
93
50 I
84 '
93
70
93
21
93
50
93
15 I
94
74
94
1 10
94
30
94
30
94
50
94
40
94
30
Subdivision.
s-w pt . .
n-w pt . .
e pt . . .
s m pt . .
s-v\' pt . .
w m pt .
n-w pt . .
e pt . . . .
m pt . . .
w pt . . .
s-e pt. . .
s-e m pt
e m pt .
n-e pt . .
\w m pt .
s-c pt. . .
s-c pt . .
m pt . . .
n-e ni pt
s-w pt . .
e in pt .
s-c pt. . .
n-w pt . .
s-w m pt
s m pt . .
s-w pt . .
n-e pt . .
n ni pt .
Date of Deed.
Dec. 26, 1836 .
July I, 1836. . .
July 2, 1822 . .
Jan. 4, 1829. . .
Jan. 15, 1842 ..
Dec. cS, 1836 . .
Dec. 7, 1836 . .
Feb. 26, 1839..
Jan. 15, 1842 ..
Nov. 6, 1816. .
Oct. 27,1835..
Nov. 3, 1842. .
Nov. I, 1 841 . .
May 25, 1839..
Nov. I, 1840. .
Sept. 9, 1853. .
Feb. 20, 1856..
Aug. 12, 1854.
Jan. 20, 1855 . .
Apr.5 or6, 1837
May 12, 1855 ■
Mar. 10, 1841 .
Feb. 6. 1857 . .
Oct. 27, 1835. .
Oct. 23, 1848. .
Oct. 1 8, 1838 .
Jan. 15, 1855..
Mar. 15, 1853 ■
Name.
John F. Johnson.
Abraham V'an Tuyl.
Nathaniel Knight.
William Stevenson.
Norman Reynolds.
William Stevenson.
Wilber Irish.
William Skeggs.
Daniel Newel.
Henry Kimball.
Joshua Pike.
Moses Blakeley.
Orin Randall.
Jeremiah Richardson.
Hiram Hazard.
Jacob Burnap.
J. A. Randall.
David Roberts.
E. Randall.
Isaac Brown.
S. and S. Harrington.
William Crandall.
G. T. and A. Potter.
Lyman Steele.
Norman Reynolds.
William Warner.
Joseph Baile)'.
William A. Sibley.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, R.\NGE SEVEN.
49
160
s pt
1
1 April 1, i.''39. .
D. H. Chandler.
49
150
e pt
Mar. 31, 1842 .
Alpheus Aldrich.
49
50
w m pt . .
June 7, 1842. .
Allurus Harris.
49
57
n-w pt . . .
Sept. 13, 1845.
Jacob Le Roy.
^7
64
n-e pt . . .
Jan. 5, 1856. . .
Lewis R. Giles.
57
53
s m pt . .
June 16, 1848.
Philander Pierce.
S7
62
n m pt . .
Jan. 6, 1855 .. .
Oliver Briggs.
57
50
s-w pt . . .
June 16, 1848 .
N. K. Albee.
57
44
n-w pt . . .
Mar. 31, 1855 .
John Staff in.
I'KRsoNs i:i.!;c ii;i) lo town of kicks.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN. RANGE SEVES—CoMiinuc,/.
577
Lot.
Aires.
Subdivision.
Date of Deed.
Name.
65
65
65
65
65
65
80
70
■0
25
30
w pt
n-w m pt .
S 111 pt . . . .
n-c IT) pt . .
n m pt . . .
n ni pt . . .
July 28. 1855..
Oct. 7. 1854.. .
Sept. 25, 1854.
Mar. I, 1855. .
Oct. II, 1851..
Nov. I, 1841 . .
Isaac Hunt.
D. C. Pierce.
Vernam Godfrey.
John Staffin.
William Briggs.
A. D. Conger.
NAMES OK I'KKSOXS WHO IIA\K KILKKD lOWN OKKICKS
from the formation of the town ( 1821 ) up to the present date:
1821.
Supervisor — John Law ton.
Town Clerk — Stephen White.
Assessors — Lemuel M. White. John Griffith, Luke Cr .n-
dall. Jr.
Commissioners of Hi^^hways — Levi Woodward, John Law-
ton, Arnold Kino-
Collector — Luke Crandall, Jr.
1S22.
Supervisor — Henry Joslin.
Town Clerk — Stephen White.
Assessors — Levi Woodward, Stephen Hussey, John (jriffith.
Commissioners of Hio;]iw.iys — John Lawton, Nathaniel King,
Abram Gifford.
Collector — Luke Crandall. Jr.
1823.
Super\isor — Ste;)heii White.
Town Clerk — Jo'.in Lawton.
Assessors — Nathaniel White, John Arnold, John Stancliff, Jr.
Commissioners of Highways — Jonathan O. Irish. Horace Lan-
don, Phineas Orr.
Collector — Luke Crandall, Jr.
578 PERS(^NS ELFXTED TO TOWN OFFICES.
1824.
Supervisor— Nathaniel Knight.
Town Clerk — Stephen White.
Assessors — John Arnold, Soloman Dunham, Lemuel M.
White.
Commissioners of Highways — John Lawton, Horace Lan-
don, Enos Southwick.
Collector — Luke Crandall, Jr.
1825.
Supervisor — Nathaniel Knight.
Town Clerk — Stephen White.
Assessors — John Arnold, Enos Southwick, Lemuel M. White".
Commissioners of Highways — John Lawton, Soloman Dun-
ham, Horace Landon.
Collector — Luke Crandall, Jr.
1826.
Supervisor — Nathaniel Knight.
Town Clerk — Stephen White.
Assessors — John Lawton, Horace Landon, Enos Southwick.
Commissioners of Highways — John Lawton, Horace Lan-
don, Soloman Dunham.
Collector — Asher Avery.
1827.
Supervisor — Nathaniel Knight.
Town Clerk — Stephen White.
Assessors — John Arnold, Enos Southwick, John Stancliff, Jr.
Commissioners of Highways — John Lawton, Horace Lan-
don, James Parkinson.
Collector — Asher Avery.
1828.
Supervisor — -Nathaniel Knight.
Town Clerk — Stephen White.
Assessors — John Arnold, John Stancliff, Jr., Enos Southwick.
Commissioners of Highways — James Parkinson, Benjamin
Hussey, Enos Southwick.
Collector — Asher Avery.
TERSOXS KI.KCIKI) \n loWN ol' KICKS. 579
1829.
Supervisor — Nathaniel Kni<jht.
Town Clerk — Stephen White.
Assessors — ^Enos Southwick, John Arnokl. John .Stancliff.
Commissioners of Highways — Jolm Lawton, Warren Tan-
ner. Lemuel M. White.
Collector — Asher Avery.
1830.
Supervisor — Nathaniel Kniijht.
Town Clerk — Stephen W^hite.
Assessors — John Arnold, Richard Rodgers, John Ciriffith.
Commissioners of Highways — W^arren Tanner, John Lawton,
Lemuel M. White.
Collector — Asher Aver\'.
1831.
The people failed to elect town officers in that \'ear, and
they were appointed by three Justices of the Peace :
Supervisor — Nathaniel Knight.
Town Clerk — Stephen White.
Assessors- — Benjamin W. Pratt, Lsaac Allen, John Stan-
cliff, Jr.
Commissioners of Highways — Samuel Rodgers, Lemuel M.
White, Warren Tanner.
Collector — Asher Avery.
1832.
Supervisor — Nathaniel Knight.
Town Clerk — Zemri Howx*.
Assessors — ^Richard Rodgers, John C. Adams, Isaac Allen.
Commissioners of Highways — -Jehial Hill, Samuel Rodgers,
Warren Tanner.
Collector — Asher Avery.
Justices of the Peace — Lemuel M. White, John Stancliff, Jr.
1833-
Supervisor — Ralph Plumb.
Town Clerk — Zemri Howe.
Assessors — Stephen White, Nathaniel King, Lsaac Allen.
58o PERSONS ELECTED TO TOWN OFFICES.
Commissioners of Highways — Jehial Hill, Elisah Ward, John
Lawton.
Collector — Asher Avery.
Justice of the Peace — Horace Landon.
1834.
Supervisor — Ralph Plumb.
Town Clerk — Zemri Howe.
Assessors — Stephen White, Nathaniel King, Isaac Allen.
Commissioners of Highways — Jehial Hill, Kendall Johnson,.
Elisah Ward.
Collector— Asher Avery.
1S35, '36, '?,7' '38. '39. 40, '41, '42, 43' 49' '50.
SUPERVISORS.
Ralph Plumb. John L. Henry, 1844-45. Thomas Russell,
1846, '47, '48, '51. Samuel C. Adams, 1832, '53. James H.
McMillen, 1854, '55. Benjamin W. Sherman, 1856. James H.
Plumb, 1857, '58, '63, '64, '65, '66, '67. Anson G. Conger, 1859,
'60, '77. E.W. Henry, 1861. Marcus Bartlett, 1862. Stephen
T. White, 1868, '69, '70. Stephen A. Sisson, 1871, '72, '73-
John H. White, 1874, '75- William A. Johnson, 1876, '7'?>. C.
C. Torrence, 1879, '^O' '^^- William H. Parkinson, 1882. John
T. Johnson, 1883.
TOWN CLERKS.
Zemri Howe, 1835, 37. Stephen White, 1836. Leman H.
Pitcher, 1838, '39, '40, '41, '42, '43, '44. Thomas Russell, 1845.
Benjamin W. Sherman, 1846, '47. E. W. Godfrey, 1848, '49,
'50. George H. Hodges, 185 1, '53, "54, '55, '58. Paul H.
White, 1852. William W. Russell, 1856, '57. Henry S. Steb-
bins, 1859. S. C. Warner, i860, '61. Z. A. Bartlett, 1862, '64.
'71, '73, '74. P. H. Perry, 1863. Joseph Mugridge, 1865, '66.
Curtis I. Bates, 1867. L. H. De Wolf, 1868, '69. S. T. Knight,
1875, '76, '77. Plyn Holton, 1878, '79. A. W. Fish, 1880. M.
B. Sherman, 1881, '82. David H. Davis, 1883.
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.
Zimri Howe, 1835, '43, '55. John Sherman, 1836, '40.
Humphry Smith, 1837. James Parkinson, 1838. Warren Tan-
ner, 1 841. Nathaniel Frank, 1842, '46. Isaac Potter, 1844.
I'KRSOXS EI.ECTKD TO lOWX OFl'ICES. 581
Harvey Hicks, 1845. Lcman H. Pitcher, 1845, '47> '5'- J^"-
nin<;s B(nvcn. 1846. '48. Chas. C. Kirby, 1849. Benj. VV.
Sherman, 1850, '54. L}'nian Clark, 1852. W'ilham Dickenson,
1850. Philip II. Perr)', 1853, '62, '64. '65, '69, '74, 'yj. Anson,
Tanner, 1853, '57. John Wilber, 1853. Marcus Kartlett, 1856.
E. W. Henry, 1857, '60, '64. Hiram Gibbons, 1858. S. W.
Soule. 1859. J^^li" ^'- Allen, 1859. ^- B. Parkinson, 1862, '67.
Samuel C. Warner, 1863. Arnold Chase, 18C6. \V. W. Rus-
sell, 1866, '67, '71. William Peacock, 1868, '72, '80. Edward
Vail, 1873. Erastus Harris, 1874. L. Van Ostrand, 1875,79-
H. J. Brown. 187 .-. J . Knight, 1878. M. P. Kellogg 1881.
H. A. Rej'nolds, 1878, '82.
COI.LKCTORS.
Asher Avery, 1835, '36, '^7, '38. '39. 40, '4i> 4^. 43. 44- 45,
'46, '47. Piatt Rogers, 1848, '49. David Roberts, 1850. Nor-
man Re}-nolds, 185 1, '52, '60. Ezra Bull, 1853, "54, '55, '56.
Enoch Randall, 1857. George McMillan, 1858. Nathan F.
King, 1859, '61. Arus Hall, 1862, '63. Rufus Washburn, 1864,
'65. Benjamin Smith, 1866. Ransom G. King, 1867. Joseph
A. Smith, 1868, '69. A. B. Pierce, 1870. Henry Statts, 1871.
Adam Clark, 1872. James Matthews, 1873. J. G. Van Ostrand,.
1874. Milton B. Sherman, 1875, '76, '79, '80. Otis Wheeler,
1877. Edward E. White, 1878. Charles C. Clark, 1881.
Eewis Soule, 1882.
ASSESSORS.
Stephen White, Nathaniel Knight, Lsaac Allen, 1835. John
Arnold, Isaac Allen, Eemuel M. White, 1836. Nathaniel Rich-
mond, Enos Southwick, Nathaniel Knight, 1837. Nathaniel
Richmond, Enos Southwick, W'arren Tanner, 1838. Enos
Southwick, William Herrick, John Stancliff, Nathaniel Rich-
mond, 1839. Enos Southwick, Warren Tanner, Benjamin W.
Sherman, Martial Judson, 1840. Enos Southwick, Martial
Judson. B. W. Sherman, Warren Tanner, 1841. Enos South-
wick, B. W. Sherman, Warren Tanner, Martial Judson, 1842.
Constant Southwick, Enos Southwick, Warren Tanner, John
Stancliff, 1843. Martial Judson, Constant Southwick, Warren
Tanner, S. T. Munger, 1844. Enos Southwick, V. L. Knight
Jennings Bowen, Horace Landon, 1845. Horace Landon,
582 PERSONS ELECTKI) TO TOWN OFFICES.
Humphry Smith, Timothy Bigelow, 1846. Gideon Webster,
1847. Edwin P. Pahner, Giles Gifford, 1848. Giles Gifford,
1849. Samuel T. Munger, 1850. Francis L. Knight, 1851.
Wilson Rodgers, 1852. Samuel T. Munger, Anson G. Conger,
1853. Norman Reynolds, Almon D. Conger, 1854. Almon
D. Conger, 1855. Samuel T. Munger, 1856. Marcus Bartlett,
1857. Joseph Gifford, 1858. Samuel T. Munger, 1859. John
E. Moss, i860. Almon D. Conger, 1861, Joshua Allen,
George Sisson, 1862, '63, Almon D. Conger, 1864. Joshua
Allen, 1865. Stephen A. Sisson, 1866. Almon D. Conger,
1867. John H. White, 1868. E. R. Harris, 1869. Almon D.
Conger, 1870. J. H. White, 1871. E, R. Harris, 1872. John
H. Johnson, 1873. Joshua Allen, 1874. George Sission, 1875.
John H. Johnson, 1876. John H. White, 1877. S. B. Wash-
burn, 1878. J. H. Johnson, 1879. J- H. White, 1880. S. B.
Washburn, 1881. Joshua Allen, PVancis Brown, 1882.
COMMISSIONERS OF HICHWAVS.
Jehial Hill, Darius Crandall, George Davold, 1835. Jehiai
Hill, George Davold, Darius Crandall, 1836. George Davold,
Samuel Rodgers, Darius Crandall, 1837. Samuel Rodgers^
Jehial Hill, George Southwick, 1838. Jehial Hill, Samuel
Rodgers, Darius Crandall, 1839 Jehial Hill, C. B. Parkinson
George Davold, 1840. C. B. Parkinson, George Davold, Gid-
eon Webster, 1841. C. B. Parkinson, George Davold, Gideon
Webster, 1842. Daniel P. Wing, John Jennings, Gideon Web-
ster, 1843. Joseph Sisson, Smith Bartlett, Gideon Webster.
1844. J. H. McMillen, Enoch Randall, Joseph Sisson, 1845.
Humphry White, Enoch Randall, John Vosburg, 1846. John
Vosburg, 1847. Elisha W\ashburn, 1848. Aaron Parker, 1849.
J. H. McMillen, 1850. Stukely Hudson, 185 1. Rufus W.
Stickney, 1 852. Barnard Cook, David Roberts, 1853. (None
elected in 1854.) Elisha Washburn, 1855. '56. Jeremy Bart-
lett, 1857, '58. Stukely Hudson,'! 859. James Mathews, i860,
•61. R. N. Mo.ss, 1862. W. T. Popple, 1863. E.R.Harris,
1864, 65. R. W. Moss, 1866. C. B. Colburn, 1867. John E.
Moss, 1868, '69. Seth F. Bartlett, 1870. J. E. Moss, 1871.
Joseph H. Parmerton, 1872, 'yX).' J. B. Andrews, 1874, '75.
TKRSONS Kl-KCTHK I' > 'lOWN OKKK KS 583
Charles Trunk, 1876. Daniel Wilber, 1877, '78. John Mathews,
1879. Jesse Frye, 1 880, '81. Joseph H. Parmerton, 1882, '83.
LIST OF TOWN SU I'ERINTKNDKN TS OF SCHOOLS L\ COLLLNS,.
DATING FROM 1 844.
1844 — John V. AWcn.
1845 — ^^ illson Rof^ers.
1846 — John F. Allen.
1847 — Samuel C Adams.
o r Samuel C. Adams.
1S49 \
1850 (
185 I \
Samuel C. Adams.
^^52 ' William A.Sibley.
1853 * ^
\m I William A. Sibley.
1856— William A. Sibley.
SCHOOLS.
Our young people of the present time can but faintly pic-
ture to themselves the contrast between our first district
schools and those of the present day. Rude log buildings with
bark roofs and puncheon floors, heated in Winter by a fire-
place that occupied the entire end of the building, often con-
stituted the" temple of knowledge" in pioneer times. Instead
of our modern patent seats, benches rived from the trunk of
some free-splitting ash or basswood were often used ; school
books were scarce, the course of instruction very limited, and
the methods of the pedagogue who presided meager and arbi-
trar\'.
Among the earh^ teachers in Collins were the following :
TIIOSK WHO TAU(;HT fifty to SIXTY-FIVE YEARS AOO..
Simon Waterman, Leman H. Pitcher,
Otis W'heelock, Jonathan O. Irish,
John Adams, John C. Adams,
Joseph Woodward, Stephen Parsells,
Benjamin Waterman, Betsey Knight,
Ruth Knight, Avery Knight,
584 EARLY TKACHKRS.
Marie Luthers, Patience Parkinson,
Almond Lindsley, Isaac Allen.
Elsler Pratt, John Pratt.
Frank Bsmont, Diadama Vosburg,
Polly Russell, Philander Havens.
Eliza Palmerton, E. N. F'rye.
THOSE WHO TAUfiHr TinRrV-FI\'E TO FIFTV YEARS AGO.
Caroline Beckwith. Lydia McMillain,
Aurora Waterman, Augustus Hanchett.
Eli Heath, Edward Vail,
Sophronia Brewster. Mrs. Barnum,
Isaac White. Alanson Clark,
Elias Van Court, Henry Reynolds,
Laura Rice, Alonzo Pierce,
Lydia A. Sloan, Wilder Plsher,
Aaron Fenton, Matilda Fritz,
Philena Annis, James Mathews.
S. W. Soule, Jonathan Briggs,
Diadama Vosburg. Charles Woodward,
Chester Howe, Thibbet Soule.
Martha Nichols, William S. Herrick.
Henry Reynolds,
Fn<ST REEIOIOUS MEETINGS AND CHURCH ORC;ANIZATIONS.
The first religious meetings in Collins, aside from the mis-
sionary work of Father Taylor, were held at the house of Wil-
liam King. Talcott Patchin. Richard and Sylvester Cary of
Boston, Elder Bartlett of Zoar, preaching.
The Methodist Episcopal Church at Collins Center, was
organized about 1823, by the Rev. John Copeland forming a
class in the school-house, on lot sixty-five. John Adams was
leader. Among the members of the class were Mrs. John
Adams, Nehemiah Heath and wife, Mr. Tabor and wife and a
few others.
The present church edifice was built in 1834. Rev. William
R. Babcock first preached in it.
KARLV HISTOKV OF " KAST DISIKICT." 585
EAKI.V IIIST()R^■()FTIIK " KAST DIS'IRKT" OF (( )I,rJNS CEXTHK.
For the following \\c arc indebted to Isaac VV. Tanner, Esq.,
always a resident of the district and a pupil of the first schools -
In the Winter of 1823 and 1824 a school was kept in a log
building standing near where the F'ree Methodist Church now
stands. The teacher was Caroline Beckwith. The school the
next Summer was taught hy Diadama Vosburg in a log-shop
belonging to Stephen Wilber. The Winter school of 1825 and
1826 was taught by Almond Lindsley, in a log school-house
situated at the corner of the road east of the Timothy Clark
homestead. The school was kept here until the Winter of
1830 and 1 83 1. After Lindsley the teachers were:
Mrs. Barnum, Elias Van Court, Sophrona Br-ewster, Avery
Knight, Ruth Knight, Avery Knight, Statira Cross and Will-
iam S. Herrick. The above names are in the order of their
teaching.
In the Summer of 1830 a school-house was built where the
present one now stands." The first school taught in it was by
Chester Howe, afterwards Judge of Cattaraugus county. The
next Winter term was taught by Henry Reynolds. The next
two Winter terms were taught by Arnold Mann. He was fol-
lowed by Benjamin Stearns, Augustus Hanchet, Charles Wood-
ward, Wilder Fisher and Tibbit Soule, uncle of Ex-Com. Soule.
COLLINS CKNTKR SCHOOL.
The first school was in the vicinity of Cc^llins Center, was in
a log-house built in iSi 1, by Nathan King or his sons. This
house was located on lot forty-nine, near the Center and the
school was taught by John King. The scholars from Stephen
Wilber's were David. John, Paulina and Alma; from Nathan
King's, Isaac, (ieorge, Angeline and Phila ; from Benjamin
Albee's there was Benjamin, Hannah and Enoch, and Isaac
Aldrich from Lodi. The first school-house built at Collins
Center expressly for school purposes was located somewhere
about thirty rods north-east of Hodges' Corner. This was
about 1817. It was made of logs and covered with boards and
*NoTE After the new school-house was built the names of only the Winter
teachers are given.
■586 COLLINS CENTER SCHOOL.
slabs; a dutch fire-place, topped out with a stick chimney. The
door was of rough boards with wooden hinges and wooden latch
and a latch-string hanging outside. The benches were made of
slabs with holes bored in for legs as you would construct a milk-
ing-stool. Our desks were a little better, being boards planed
and for their support pins were driven into the sides of the
house at a suitable height, and when we wished to write we
faced around to the wall where the light was shed from one
small window on each side.
The next school was kept in a work-shop of Nathan King's.
The next school after that was taught in a building built by
my father for a blacksmith shop and occupied as such and
afterwards changed to a work-shop. The next school was
taught in a small framed building that stood by the four cor-
ners, near Ezra Nichols', and was built by Stephen Wilber,
Joshua Parmenter, Smith Bartlett and Augustus Smith. This
house was moved up to the Center and is now occupied as a
dwelling. The next school-house is the one that now stands
in the corner between the two roads.
PHYSICIANS.
Dr. McDaniels was the first regular physician to practice
medicine in Collins. He remained there but a short time and
w^as succeeded by Dr. Harwood ; he to be followed by Dr.
Congden, who died there in 1846. Dr. Alexander Bruce prac-
ticed medicine there until a short time previous to his death
and Dr. W. A. Sibley was located there for many years.
Then Dr. Robinson and Dr. Henry. Dr. Letson and Dr. Harley
Atwood are practicing medicine there at the present. Dr.
Moses Blakeley (botanical), practiced there for sex-eral years at
quite an early day. Dr. M. M. ' Sperry (alopathyj, practiced
medicine there in 1878 and 1879.
COLLINS CENTER.
MERCHANTS.
The first merchant who sold good'^ at Collins Center was
Samuel Lake. He built a store here about 1830 ; he did not
attend to the business himself, but he emplo)'ed a man b\' the
I-IKSr .MF.kCllAN rs OK COLLINS CIINIKK. S^7
name of Harry Matthcwson to conduct it for him. The front
part of Bates & White's store is the building that he put up.
He was also engaged in the ashery business here. He was suc-
ceeded by Chancey Bigelow and his son Frank. They were
succeeded by Cornelius Smith who afterwards sold out to
Thomas Russell who was succeeded by his son William, who
sold out to Bates & White. Benjamin Sherman was also in
trade here at one time. A man by the name of Johnson once
si^ld goods here also.
TANNERIES.
Smith Bartlctt came from Danby, Vt., in 1815, and settled
on lot fifty-eight and commenced tanning. He dug out large
troughs such as were used for storing sap, and used them for
tan vats. He finished off his leather in a log barn. He ground
his bark in the following manner: He constructed a circular
platform about twenty feet in diameter, with a rim around the
outer edge, like an inverted cheese-box cover. He procured a
large circular stone in the form of a grindstone, which was over
six feet in diameter, and put a horizontal shaft through the
center, and hitched a horse to a swivel on the outer end, while
the other end was attached to an upright revolving shaft in
the center of the platform ; when the horse went around the
stone rolled over the bark and crushed it by its weight. About
1828, after he got able, he' built quite a good tannery on his
place. In 1835, he moved to lot sixty-nine, and built a tan-
nery there. His son, Allen Bartlett, run the tannery on lot
sixt\--nine for a while, and then he built a tannery of his own
at Collins Center. He afterwards sold out to a Mr. DeWolf,
and he sold to Popple & Harris.
MILLS IN COLLINS.
Jacob Taylor built mills at Taylor Hollow in 1812; Joseph
Adams built a mill in Zoar, 1814; Stephen Lapham built a
saw mill at Bagdad, in 1814; John Lawton built a mill in
Lawton Hollow, in 1816; Turner Aldrich built a mill in
Gowanda, in 181 7 or '18 ; David Pound built a mill at what is
called Tub Town, 1820; Job Sherman built a mill just below
Pound's soon after; Dax'id and John Wilbcr built a mill on
588 THE SOCIETV OF FRIENDS.
the Harris site, in 1824; James Parkinson built a saw mill at
Collins Center, in 1835. This mill is a part and parcel of the
present mill owned by' the Balander Brothers, and has seen
many transformations. It was once used as a carding machine
and tannery, then again employed as a shingle and cider mill.
C B. Parkinson built a mill about one-half mile east of Collins
Center, in or about 1840; S.C.Adams and Francis Knight
built a mill on the Yaw brook, about 1837 ; Jesse P^ye built a
mill on the same stream about 1852 ; Jacob Rush built another
mill on this brook about 1858 ; Joseph Doty built a steam saw
mill west of Morton's Corners, about 1864 or '65 ; Ralph Plumb
built a saw mill on the south branch of Clear Creek about
1840. A steam saw mill has been built this year ( 1883) b\' A.
J. Setter, on the Yaw brook.
SOCIETY OF FRIEX1).>.
The Friends had a church organization in Collins and North
Collins, at an early day, probably in 181 3 or '14. They had a
log meeting house just o\'er the line in North Cc^llins, on Na-
thaniel Sisson's land, and then another about half a mile south-
east of Bagdad. The meeting house on Augustus Smith's land
was built about 1840.
The following list contains most of the names of the men
and women, who were members of that church, to wit: Jona-
than Southwick and wife, George Southwick, Abram Gifford
and Lucy his wife, Rufus Gifford, Ezra Southwick and wife,
Hugh McMillen and Lyda his wife, Benjamin Stowell and
Hannah his wife, Stephen Sisson and wife, Perr}' Sisson and
wife, Nathaniel Sisson and \\ife, Samuel Tucker and wife,
Abram Tucker and Phebe his wife, John Strang and Elizabeth
his wife, David Pound aiitl famih', Elisha Russell, Augustus
Smith and Elizabeth his wife, William Sisson and Lydia his
wife, Peter Potter and Rachel his wife. Lsaac .\llen and wife,
Levi Tafft and wife, Jonathan Soule and Temperance his
wife, Asa Lapman. Barnabus Robinson, Eli Lapham and
Rachel his wife, Joshua Palmerton and Hannah his wife,
Ezra Nichols and Sally his wife, Warren Tanner and Hannah
his wife, Barak Smith and Mar\' his wife, Nathan Smith and
Rachel his wife, Gilbert Smith and Lxxlia his wife, Addison
COLLINS S()L|)li:U KLC'ORI). 589
Smith and Mary Jane his wife, Asa Smith and Lydia his wife,
Joseph Lapham and .Ann liis wife, Haduin Arnold and wife,
Turner Aldrich and wife, Isaac Wilber and wife, Ohver Keys
and wife, Jacob Taj'lor, Mordica Sherman and wife, Henry
Tucker and wife. Nehemiah Hull and wife, Powell Hallock,
Benijah Hallock, Benjamin l^t)ice and wife, Lewis Varney and
wife, Lorenzo Mabbitt, Daniel Sisson and wife, George Sisson
and wife, Royal Strang, Edwin Mabbitt and wife and mother
Hannah, William Palmer, Stephen White and wife, William
O'Brian and Ann his wife, Daniel Healy and wife, David Lap-
ham, Abram Lapham, Nathan Cass, Ambrose Haight (Judge
Haight's grandfather), David Corbin, Amherst Hopkins, Eliza-
beth Foster, Rhoda Tarbox.
SOLDIER REC(3RD OF COLLINS.
Collins has just reason to be proud of the part her sons
performed in the War of the Rebellion. One hundred and fif-
teen enrolled their names for the service, twent}'-six of whom
were either killed in battle or died from other causes while in
the service. Collins was represented in twelve different regi-
ments. More than half of her soldiers were in the Sixty-fourth
regiment New York State volunteers, Compan)' A., and the
Tenth New York cavalry. The Sixty-fourth rjgimcnt was
under command of Col. Thomas J. Parker, of Gowanda, and
Avas in all of the principal battles in which the Army of the
Potomac participated. The Tenth New York cavalry also did
gallant service in the field. The Excelsior Brigade saw
constant ser\Mce from ^'orkt()wn to Petersburg. The People's
Ellsworth acted a prominent part in Vincent's brigade in occu-
pying a position on Wolf hill at Gettysburg, and were in the
other hard-fought battles of the army of the Potomac. Those
who were members of the Second Mounted Rifles, the One
Hundred and Sixteenth and One Hundred and Eight}'-seventh
regiments, as well as those who were nearly or quite the sole
representatives of their town in their regiments, acted no holi*
.da)' part in the great rebellion.
590
COLLINS SDLDTER RECORD.
The following is a list of those who entered the service :
SLXTV-FOURTH RECIMENT NEW YORK VOLUNTEER INFANTRY,
COMPANY A.
Note. — A star indicates death in the service, and the person's name will be found at the
close in a list of the dead.
Capt. Rufus Washburn, Jr.,
Lieut. William W. Rus.sell,
*Harrison Clark,
*Foster B. Ross,
Read F. Clark,
Brev.-Maj. Arnold R. Chase,
*Alexander Oglevie,
James M. Wilco.x,
Bethel W. Camp,
Albert Cowdrey,
John C. Hupfield,
John Board way,
Maj. D. W. Hurdley,
John Hurdley,
*Jacob Saunders,
Lewis W. Henry.
Theodore Tyrer,
Ira B. Stewart,
Hudson Ainsley,
Noah Twoguns ( Indian i.
Henr\- L. W'ilber,
*Henry S. Young,
*John G. Young,
Benjamin H. Smith,
Ezra Colburn,
*George Palmer,
Capt. Peter Boardwax',
Lieut. John Tocpp.
*\Villiam Burns,
Daniel Allen,
Michael Boardway,
*Andrew Reagles,
*Lawrence Reagles,
James Walker,
Lieut. William W. Roller,
Orson Mclntire,
Charles L. Mair,
James M. Clark,
Hiram Henry,
George Howard.
TENTH RECilMENT NEW YORK CAVALRY
Joseph J. Mabbitt,
Erastus Colburn,
Joseph Matthews,
George Rudd,
Fred Tillintrhast,
William Briggs,
John Matthews,
Daniel Warner,
Charles Briggs,
Lieut. William Potter,
Ledr)- Sherman.
Company A.
"■^William H. Hathaway, Ransom G. King,
John T. King. Edwin M. Page,
Seret. Lewis A. Colburn.
COLLINS SOLDI KK KKCORD. 591
Company />'•
Corp. Frank W. Taylor, Lieut. Marion Smith,
*Sergt. John W. \'ail.
Company O.
Lieut. James Matthews, *George B. Pratt,
*Sergt. WilHam S. Lenox, Caleb J. Randall.
Cotfipany H.
Daniel Auwater.
Company L.
Eugene A. Colburn, Corp. David S. Morrell,
Daniel Brown, *Kimball Persons,
Lieut. Nelson Washburn.
SECOND REOIMLNT MOUNTED RIFLES, COMI'AXV D.
Eugene Haliday, Robert Wilber,
Sergt. Edward M. P'arnsworth, George ¥. Vail,
Orrin W. Sayles, *Wilber C. Perry,
Tibbits Soule, Thomas Morrill,
Luzerne Clark, Sidney Barnhart,
Gilbert S. South wick, Morenca J. Bl.akely,
Hiram Stage.
SEVENTY-SECOND REGIMENT INFANTRY (Excelsior Brigade),
COMPANY E.
George \V. Baily, Richard Lindsley,
George V. Smith, *James Wilber,
Charles J. Wilber. Corp. Jesse Walker,
"■p'rank Matthews, Ensign Skinner.
FORTY-FOURTH RFCIMENT (People's Ellsworth) Co. A.
Lieut. Erastus L. Harris, John C. Robbins,
*01iver K. Irish, Frank Decker,
George Persons.
ONE HUNDRED AND EICHTY-SEVENTH RECIMENl" LXFANTRY,
NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS.
Capt. Geo. H. Hodges, Co. B, Corp. Millard F. Randall. Co. G,
Franklin G. Hawkins, Co. G, George Pierce.
592
COLLINS SOLDIKR RECORD.
ONE HUNDRKI) AND SIXTEENTH REGIMENT INEANTY NEW
YORK VOLUNTEERS, COMPANY F.
*Marshall Bickford,
*Oscar Ralph,
*Franklin B. Stewart,
*WilHam Ferris,
Cassius Grannis,
George Auvvater,
Joseph Doty,
*Lieut. Charles Bowsk}'
PROMISCUOUS.
Franklin Foster, 9th N. Y. Cav , Co. G.
Sergt. Edward J. Daggett, 21st Reg. Inf., Co. G.
*Casper Levack, 49th Reg. Inf., Co. B.
Noah Doty, Jr., 145th Reg. Inf., Co. A.
Corp. John J. Brown, 13th N. Y. Cav., Co. C.
Sergt. Jacob Levack, 49th Reg. Inf., Co. B.
Sergt. John Levack, 49th Reg. Inf., Co. B.
*John A. Wiesmantle, 49th Reg. Inf.
LIST OF THOSE WHO WERE KILLED OR DIED IN THE SERVICE,
Harrison Clark, killed in the battle of Fair Oaks June I, 1862,
Foster B. Ross, contracted disease in the service ; died at
home Jan. 24, 1863.
Alexander Oglevie, killed in the battle of Fair Oaks June 5,
1862.
Jacob Saunders, killed at Cold Harbor.
Henry S. Young, died in the hospital Oct. 6, 1862.
John G. Young, died in the hospital at David's Island.
George Palmer, killed in the battle of Fair Oaks June 5,
1862.
William Burns, killed in the battle of Auburn Hill.
Andrew Reagles, killed at Coffee Hill.
William H. Hathaway, died at Baltimore Aug. 5, 1862.
Sergt. John \V. Vail, killed in the battle of Hanox'ertown,
Va., May 28, 1864.
George B. Pratt, died in Anderson\'ille prison.
Sergt. William S. Lenox, killed at Bristow Station, Va., Oct,
14, 1863.
Capt. Kimball Persons, killed at Travillion Station June 1 1,
1864.
Wilber C. Perry, died in Andersonx'ille prison Sept. I, 1864,
I
COLLINS SOLDIER RECORD. 593
James W'ilbcr, died of wounds received June 4, 1862.
Oliver K. Irish, killed at battle of Hanover Court House.
Marshall Bickford, died in the hospital at Baton Rous^e in
August, 1863.
Oscar Ralph, died in the hospital at l^aton Rouge in May,
1863.
Franklin B. Stewart, died in the hospital at Baton Rouge
May 10, 1883.
William Ferris, died at Cairo, 111., Oct. 2, 1863.
Lieut. Charles Boursk)-, died of wounds in June 1863.
Casper Levack, died in the hospital at Alexandria, Va., in
the Fall of 1862.
John A. W'iesmantle, killed in the Battle of the Wilderness.
Frank Matthews, died at Camp Wool in April, 1862.
Lawrence Reagles, killed at Auburn Hill, Oct. 13, 1863.
LIST OF PERSONS NOW LIVIN(; WHO WERE RESIDENTS OF
COLLINS SIXTY OR MORE YEARS AGO.
David Wilber, John Wilber and wife, John Beverly, Elisha
Washburn, Augustus Smith, Benjamin Albee, Isaac Hunt and
wife, Mrs. Rachel Palmerton, Mr. Burnap, Huram Wickham,
Aaron Lindsle}- and wife, Sylvanus Cook, Joseph H. Plumb,
Mrs. Maria Stewart, Joshua Wilber, Lewis Hopkins, Samuel
Lumbard, John Pratt, Philip Pratt, Mr. Hokum, Abram South-
wick and wife, George Southwick, Mrs. Sylvenus Bates.
TOWN ACCOUNT oF THE TOWN OF COLLINS FOR 183O.
No. I, John Lawton $1725
No. 2. John Arnold 17 88
No. 3. R. Rogers 1 1 25
No. 4. E. Southwick 8 50
No. 5. Thos. Stancliff 62
N6. 6. A. Knight 10 00
No. 7. O. Hathaway 8 50
No. 8. Warren Tanner 24 25
No. 9. J. C. Adams 13 50
No. 10. John Stancliff 10 00
No. II. John Griffith 22 63
No. 12. Isaac Palmer 3 00
25
594 TOWN ACCOUNTS FOR 183O.
N°-^3- (^ r TT- u ] Gabriel String $3000
XT ] Lorn. 01 Highways, ' t- t i
No. 14. • ^ ^ .- E. Lapham 12 00
TVT - / Damages, \ ,,7 t^ , , _
No. 15. ' ^ ' \\ m. Parmcrton 5 50
No. 16. Stephen White 22 00
No. 17. Byron W. Pratt i 50
No. 18. Horace Langdon and John Griffith 4 00
No. 19. John Stancliff i 00
No. 20. Thomas B Soule 17 00
No. 21. L. M. White 18 00
No ■■7'y { ] Jurors' fee for 6 Jurors /
- Com. ot Highways, - sworn m 3 cases, \
No. 23. ( \ Jurors fees not sworn.. 7 50
No. 24. Nathaniel Knight 1 3 45
Due the Treasury 8 63
Rejected Fees 3 97
Interest on Received Fees , 27
Roads and Bridges 250 00
Commissioners of Schools 100 65
Contingent 31 80
Collectors' Fees, 3 per cent 46 09
County Tax 852 00
Amount raised $1 584 24
COLLINS SOCIETIES.
Collins Center has four secret societies or beneficiary orders,
as follo\\'s :
ODD FELLOWS.
Friendship Lodge, reinstated in February, 1882. It has a
membership of about seventy. The officers are as follows:
Humphre)- Russell, N. G.; James Mathews, V. G.; Milton
B. Sherman, Secretary ; Philander Pierce, Treasurer; Joseph
Mugridge, Acting P. G.
A. o. u. w.
Lodge organized in February, 1877. Membership about
fifty. Officers are as follows :
A. S. Warner, M. W.; E. A. Bartlett. Recorder ; M. W. Bai-
ley, Treasurer.
COLLINS SOCIKTIKS. 595
R. T. OK r.
Harvest Council No. 62. Number of charter members twenty ;
present membership about fifty. The following is a list of
the original ofificers :
Edwin R. Harris, S. C; Butler Potter, V. C; Krastus B.
Letson, P. C; David Empson, Chaplain ; Seth T. Bartlett,
Secretary; Philander Pierce, Treasurer ; William Wilbur, Her-
ald ; Joseph Kiefer. Guard ; Nathan Pierce, Sentinel.
E. A. U.
Eureka Union No. 76 ; instituted April 14, 1880. Charter
members, twent^^ Present membership, thirty. The original
officers were :
George H. Hodges, Chancelor ; Joseph Mugridge, Advocate ;
James Matthews. President ; Mrs. George Hodges, Vice-Presi-
dent; B. M. Briggs, Secretary; Edwin Mugridge, Acc't ; Ed-
gar Shaw, Treasurer; Mrs. William Popple, Aux.; Mrs. James
Matthews, Warden ; John Schneider, Watchman.
JOHN MILLIS AND HIS CRIST OF WHKAT.
Active out-door life and constant contact with nature in her
rougher forms, often developed, in our pioneers, powers of
endurance and herculean strength that would be hardly credited
at the present time. John Millis was a good example of this
fact. It was about the }'ear 1820 and Millis had been logging
and chopping a few days for Samuel Tucker ; finishing his
work on Saturday night he was paid with two bushels of wheat.
His family being out of provisions when he left home he real-
ized the necessity of transforming his bag of wheat into material
for replenishing his pantry as soon as possible. Notwithstand-
ing the next morning was the sabbath, he started with the
wheat on his back, on foot, through the woods, to Tax'lor's
mill, three miles distant. On reaching the mill the miller
refused to grind on Sunday. Undaunted, he shouldered his
grist and directed his steps towards Lawton's mill, farther on.
At this mill the water was so low that grinding could not be
done. The ne.xt mill to whicii he might appl)- was Townsend's
mill, in Concord, k)cated in what is now known as Wheeler
596 WILD AXIMAI.S.
Hollow. To reach this mill he would have to retrace his steps
back home and then proceed five miles farther on.
Millis was determined that his wheat should be flour before
the dews of evening fell and to Townsend's mill he went, get-
ting his grist ground and returning, making a distance of twenty-
two miles traveled, carrying the two bushels of wheat the entire
distance.
WILD ANIMALS
When the first settlers came to Collins, wild animals were
quite numerous. Deer were very plenty, wolves made sad
havoc with the sheep and a panther occasionally made his
appearance. One of the latter-named animals came to the
house of Joshua Palmerton one night and attacked his dog.
The panther soon left and Mr. Palmerton going out found his
dog alive, though bitten through by the savage teeth of the
panther.
Black bears abounded and annoyed the settlers by commit-
ting depredations on their fields of corn. In the F'all of 1822
Nathaniel and Avery Knight and John T. Johnson, after hav-
ing their corn fields badly mutilated by what appeared to be a
company of three bears, set a dead-fall and caught two of them
alive; the third one, escaping, was shot at and wounded, not
captured. Two years after a bear was caught in a wolf-trap,
but escaped by leaving one of his feet in the trap as an evi-
dence of his capture. Fourteen years after, when it was sup-
posed that the last bear had disappeared from town, a lonely
Bruin was found snugly ensconced among the ledges on the
banks of the Cattaraugus creek. After he was killed it was
found that he was minus a foot, and a scar appeared on his
shoulder ; evidently the same bear that evaded capture in the
dead-fall sixteen years before, and amputated his foot in the
wolf-trap.
BUSINESS DIRECTORY OF COLLINS CENTER FOR THE YEAR I 882
H. L. Atwood, physician.
Bates & White, general store,
Joseph Mugridge, general store.
James Matthews, groceries and provisions.
Milton H. Sherman, groceries and provisions.
HUSINKSS DlkKCTORIKS. 597
H. A. Reynolds, groceries and provisions.
N. Bolander, Jr., & Hro., custom mills.
W. H. Parkinson, saw mill.
E. L. Harris, saw mill.
W. W. Baily, cider mill.
M. J. King, pumps and planing mill.
H. B. Wood, cooper and joiner.
Albert A. King, furniture.
John Haas, wagon maker.
John Au water, wagon maker.
Frank Gornikiswies, blacksmithing.
Peter Schaus, blacksmithing.
George Frink, blacksmithing.
D. H. Davis, harness maker.
Peter Bies, shoemaker.
Adolphus Rothfus, shoemaker.
Merrit A. Palmerton, meat market.
J. C. Hupfeld, tailor.
J. V. Cole, dentist.
Smith Bartlett, hotel.
GOWANDA BUSINESS DIRECTORY FOR THE YEAR I 882, OF THAT
PORTION OF THE YILLAtlE LOCATED IN ERIE COUNTY.
C. C. Torrance, law office.
J. S. Shugert, physician.
T. M. Kingsley, drugs and medicines.
R. P. McMillian, groceries and provisions.
A. R. Sellew & Co., Gowanda Agricultural Works.
Romer Bros., axe factory.
Torrence & White, flour and custom mill.
L. P. Dean, lumber and planing mill.
L. P. Bestrup. furniture.
Joseph Straub, carriage manufactor}-.
Chauncey M. Grannis, carriage manufactory.
J. W. Dauber, carriage manufactory.
E. V. Slait, hardware.
D. E. Jacobs, jewelry.
Peter Rink, boots and shoes.
Peter Erback, shoemaker.
598 TI-IE PETERS FAMILY.
G. E. Rooker, groceries and provisions.
Michael Molls, meat market.
Christian Stetzer, meat market.
G. H. Henry, harness maker.
Frank Taylor, Marble.
Mrs. Delsell, millinery.
Frank Briminsthol, billiards.
A. F. Conger, Grand Central hotel.
Aman Fischer, hotel and brewery.
Henry Eagle, Farmers' hotel.
In response to a request to give some information concerning
the family of Stephen Peters, his eldest daughter wrote as fol-
lows ,
Kennedy. Jan. 21, 1881.
E. Brkics, Es(^).:
Dear Sir: — Stephen Peters was the }'oungest of three boys ;
his brothers' names were Joseph and John ; his sisters' names
were Naomi, Lydia and Anna. When Stephen was eighteen
years of age he left his home in Farmington, Ontario county,
N. Y., for what was called the " Far West." I think it was in
the Winter of 1810; took with him a sled loaded with pro-
visions, clothing, and everything which was essential for such a
journey ; hitched a yoke of oxen and left one bright morning
in December, mother and sisters all in tears, thinking he would
be killed by Indians. I think he found Joshua Palmerton some-
where on the road ; have heard my father sa}- he and Joshua
went together to buy their land ; they also kept bachelor's hall
together; he used to say it was the worst hall he was ever in.
The following winter he went back to Farmington, after his
sister to keep house for him. Joshua also went to Bennington,
Vt., after his sister Sarah to keep his house. After a while
Stephen took Sarah awa\- from Joshua ; they were the first
couple married in town ; it was then called Concord. Then
Joshua went to V^ermont after a wife; her name was Hannah
Nichols.
I don't know when Stephen Wilbur did come ; think it was
soon after Joshua and Stephen came. I understand they made
the first brush heap near Collins Center.
Some time after, Stephen's father, Benjamin Peters, was
IHK I'KTKKS lAMIIA. 599
taken sick at the East and sent for father to come back and
take the homei-tead by paying the heirs something. He let
his brother Joseph have his farm in CoUins for his share ; took
care of his father and mother the remainder of their days.
In regard to my father's family : he raised three children by
his first wife, \'iz.:
Henry, born Oct, 14, 1813.
Charles, born Aug. 12, 18 1 5.
Cliarlotte, born Aug. 28. 18 17.
My mother died with consumption, July 15, 1822. The next
father married Tryphenia Ridwell ; she lived only one year
four months. Then, after living a widower one year, father
married Huldah Springer. By her he had six children, viz.:
Sarah, born Oct. 29, 1828.
Myron, born Jul)- 16, 1830.
Eliza, born Aug. 6, 1832.
Stephen, born Aug. 15, 1834.
Julia, born Aug. 9, 1836.
Silas, born Feb. 12, 1842.
In 1843, father went to Iowa; took a span of horses and
wagon ; his son Myron wentwdth him. He bought him a farm,
put up a house, and got things ready for the rest of the family.
They went down the Ohio river on a raft as far as Louisville ;
took boat there to the Mississippi river, up that river as far as
Bloomfield, Iowa; there father met them with team, and took
them to his place in Yalton, Iowa.
He died in 1847; two of the children died years before.
The rest are living in the Western country— Colorado, Oregon,
and Washington territory.
I forgot to mention that after father crossed the Genesee river,
in coming to Collins he had to make his own road part of the
way. camp out nights, make his bed of hemlock boughs, start
a fire with flint and steel, and chop down trees to browse his
oxen on, which was their supper.
Henry was married to Sarah Dearman, in 1841 ; died Oct. 16,
1845.
Charles married Mar\' Ann Rice, in 1841 ; he lives m Cali-
fornia.
Charlotte married S. H. Sevmour.
6oO THE PETERS FAMILY.
I remember the first term of school just east of Collins Cen-
ter ; I went ; school was kept in a small log school-house on
father's farm ; the teacher used to get asleep Monday morn-
ings ; during one of her naps, I and another girl got into trou-
ble ; result, the other girl got her hand bit and I took a whip-
ping. At another time, she let the boys out ; they all went down
to father's spring after water and forgot to come back ; after a
long time I was sent after them ; when they came, she made
them all stand half bent with their heads under the writing
desk awhile ; they looked comical.
Yours &c.,
Charlotte Seymour.
At the earnest solicitation of the author of this work, I pen
the following lines of recollections of the by-gone times of Col-
lins and its inhabitants ;
To think or write of times fifty or sixty years ago is like
visiting dreamland, so indistinct and vapory do all things seem.
Yet memory recalls some events very distinct and real, some of
which may possibly be of some interest to the reader.
Sixty years ago, Collins was a wilderness, with here and
there a clearing. Log houses were universal ; wagons were few;
roads primitive and almost impassable, crooking round hills and
knolls, roots and through the mud. Little do the young of
to-day know of the labor toil and hardships of the early settlers
of this now flourishing Town of Collins.
A few lines in regard to society as it then existed.
The Quakers or Friends composed almost the entire popula-
tion of the town ; no other meeting, no other society and no
other associates : all was " thee and thou," and "yea and nay."
But a more friendly society I belive never existed in this part
of the world : no rich, no poor, no jarrings and contentions,
strife or discord ; but one law ruled, and that law was the law
of universal brotherh(K:)d.
Thus society appears to me at that early date. To attend
meeting seemed a pleasure as well as duty, for all went, and
the log meeting-house was every day filled full of sober and
dignified Quakers. Quiet reigned ; no noise to disturb the
deep thoughts of the pious worshipers, but all were giving heed
KECOLI.F.CriONS OF COLLINS. 6oi
to the influence of the spirit, and anon some dijjjnitary arose,
took off his hat (the hat was always worn in church), and the
words came : first slow and measured, then more rapid, till the
whole house resountled with the echoes of the speaker's thun-
dering- tones, and then all was ai^ain still, silent and solemn,
till perhaps a \-oice in the other part of the house arose, a few
words said, and again silence reigned. After one hour's wor-
ship, they began to shake hands and a universal shaking took
place. Then all retired to their several homes, generally on
foot.
Such was a meeting in early times.
Tibbitts Soule came to Collins I think in 1823, and located
on lot twenty-four, township six, range eight, one mile east
of Gowanda, amid a forest of as noble pines as could be
found in Western New York, and died there in KS37, aged
seventy-three years. His family consisted of five sons and two
daughters, all of whom have passed away. Jonathan, the eldest,
died in 1849. Stephen Soule died in 1880, at the ripe old age
of eighty-one. Luther, the third son, settled at Pontiac, in the
State of Michigan, in 1822, took up a large tract of land on
which the city now stands ; built mills on the same, cleared up
a farm, and soon after was taken sick with that fatal scourg-e
of the new west, the fever, and died. Mrs. Lydia Ann Palmer-
ton, of Collins Center, is the only one remaining of the family.
Thomas B. Soule, the surveyor and teacher, settled on lot
twenty-three, township six, range eight, and removed from there:
in 1838, to the Town of Aurora, this county, and died there
soon after, Charles E. Soule, now of Kansas, is his only son.
Abram H. Soule, settled in Hamburg one and one-half miles
north of the village, raised a large family. Hon. Oscar H,
Soule, his eldest, now resides near the old homestead. Jona-
than, the eldest son, came to this town some three or four years
prior to his father's coming, and settled on lot sixty, township
six, range eight, now known as the Peter Potter farm. Tib-
bits, the father, was an exemplary and consistent Christian
and before that fatal division among friends ; was at the head
of society and truly did he merit the exalted position. Equal
and exact justice seemed his ruling trait of character, and his
6o2 RECOI.LECTIONS (~»F COLLINS.
counsel and advice was seldom gainsayed or laid aside ; Jona-
than was an exception in the family, religion seemed to him
his all in all. He began preaching young, first in sleep and
afterwards in public, and continued to preach until his death
in 1849. Not a flowery speaker, but a plain, straight-forward
honest man ; he gained the confidence of all ; especially sought
for in the trials of sickness and death, whose talk b}' the sick
bed and to mourners, always seemed to heal the wounds of
sorrow and cheer the drooping spirits. Such I believe to be
an imperfect but true sketch of the prevailing traits of charac-
ter of Jonathan Soule
In 1828, came the division among friends, and from that date
the society graduall}' lost its moral standing, till now but little
remains save its name, and that too will soon be lost (I speak
only of Collins). Riches came, pride of position took a strong
hold of the many, and Quakerism was swallowed up in the
vanities of this world. Now and then may be seen one of the
old t}'pes with his low hat and straight coat, his kindly ways
and simple habits, but he walks the street as one lost in
thought ; he lives long ago ; the world knows him not, and he
is only waiting for the summons that calls him to a more con-
genial clime. A stranger amid his own ; a traveler in a strange
land, for all things are to him new. The mighty engine goes
howling through his own quiet fields. Religion once sacred,
now a thing of traffic, a nonentity; no vitalit\', no heart, no
life, nothing but a cold form, that kills the good (if there be
anv) and builds a fabric rotten to the core, whose fate is cer-
tain and destruction sure. This much of the ancient Quaker,
once glorious, now gone, such (to me) appears the mind of the
ancient Quaker. His ideas and ways of thought are not ours,
and I leave him with the thoughtful reader to judge whether
the old man's views are right or wrong. Permit me to give
an illustration (^f the state of society, as it existed sixty years
ago among the Quakers in Collins. It was customar)- in early
times to cut and fit a few acres of the sturdy forest for a crop
of wheat. Well, Jonathan .Soule had his fallow (some five acres)
all read)- to log up, having had what was called a good burn,
being <Hit of health he could not clear it off, and, of course,
unable to hire. So the "iM-iends" went to him, ad\-ised him
J
RECOLLECTIONS OF COI^LIXS. 603
to ^o to Hambur<; and make a week's visit, it would, they
thon<rht, do him good. He went, staid one week, came home,
found his fallow cleared all off, not a brand left and sowed
with wheat and harrowed nicely in and fenced. This illus-
trates full)' and directly the claim I give to that era of
good and friend]}' times, in glaring contrast to the selfish
and greedy rapacity of the present world. Give us sim-
plicity, give us plain religion, give us plain talk and plain faces,
and we ask no more. Though at meeting the whole congre-
gation wore a solemn and staid countenance, yet at home and
hi converse with their neighbors, they had their jokes, told their
stories, and, if some were well grown, were well received, and
amid roars of laughter the social cup was filled, and good will
and a friendly spirit prevailed. Life to them, they believed,
"is what we^nake it"" and well did they act up to that
true and often slighted maxim; visiting with them was a busi-
ness; 12 o'clock was an early hour to break up; often 2 or 3
w^as the hour to retire ; my young mind received and stored
away their quaint and mirthful stories; witchcraft and the
mysterious were set forth in glowing light; hobgoblins and
ghosts were to me a living reality. A yoke of oxen and a sled
with a high box would start out at sunset and stop at the first
house, load in its occupants, go to the next and do the same
till the sled was loaded with women, the men on foot, and then
go for some friends' house, pile in and a glorious time was in
store.
Jacob Taylor occupied a kind of elevated position. Rich in
this world's goods, and a man of good judgment and sense,
was often appealed to in matters of difference between Friends
and decisions were never appealed from. The Friends had
their black sheep, as all societies do. Of course I do not wish
to claim them exenii)t from human frailties. A case to illus.
trate :
A Friend took from another Friend a bushel of corn. Now
that was a glaring offense against their laws ; the meeting took
the matter up; a committee of investigation was appointed-
The committee finally proposed to the parties to refer the
whole case to " Friend " Taylor for settlement. Well on the
first day after the meeting, the parties and a large portion of
6o4 RECOr.LECTIONS OF CCM.I.IXS.
the meetiiii^" repaired to Taylor's to hear the suit, for they
knew that Jacob would make an interesting^ case of it. The
trial began. Plaintiff called.
Jacob says: Friend , did thee lose a bushel of thy
corn ? Ans. I did.
Where did thee keep the corn? Ans. In my crib.
Jacob says : Thee may sit down.
Defendant called.
Did thee take a bushel of corn from Friend ? Ans.
I did.
Jacob says : Thee may be seated.
Now what would Jacob do was the exciting theme of whis-
pering ; but Jacob was ecjual to the emergency; he recalled
plaintiff ; says he :
Friend , did thee have thy crib locked ? Ans. I
•did not.
" Well," says the arbitrator. " the case is proven ; my decision
is this : The crib being unlocked, the temptation too strong
and an erring brother too v.eak ; therefore I must give a ver-
dict of no cause of action — and friend, thee must keep thy crib
locked." And amid roars of laughter in which both parties
joined, the meeting adjourned and quietly went to their several
homes, commenting on Jacob's novel decision and wondering
if there ever was another such man as Friend Jacob in the
world.
The postoffice was at Taylor's Hollow, named Angola. A
letter came from Vermont to Elijah Pratt, directed thus:
To N. Y. state I am bound,
Erie county, Collins town,
To Elijah Pratt, among the hemlocks,
A little above young Caleb Tarbox's.
I ask pardon of the reader and will leave the subject for
abler pens than mine. There is enough of early life that I
have only touched to fill a volume ; I hope to see it filled and
well filled too.
E. R. S. W. S.
In 1815, while the tide of emigration was setting towards the
Holland Purchase, Isaac Allen, leaving his newly-married bride
RECOI.I.l-X rioxs OK COLLINS. 605
in Daub}-, \'t., where they had both been brought up, started
to seek a liome in the West.
He hired a man to accompany and work for him, and the two
performed the journey on foot, carrying their knapsacks and
axes.
Passin<^ through Buffalo they " found the land dear, it being
ten or twelve dollars an acre, and that in the vicinity of the
creek and lake, swampy, covered with alders and black birds."
They went on to tlie south part of the county, and there within
one range of the Cattaraugus creek my father located land, and
while his hired man was felling trees he walked to Batavia to
make his purchase.
That Summer the two men cleared off the timber from sev-
eral acres and built a log house.
To that house early the next spring he brought his wife and
there., in the wilderness, the young couple commenced their
humble house-keeping. He was twenty-two and she was
twenty.
Besides seeds for a vegetable garden a little corn was brought
for planting, nor were the flower seeds forgotten.
The house was unfinished, still wanting the chimney and
door. A blanket was hung up to supply the place of the latter.
My mother would sometimes be startled by a " ugh !" and,
looking round, would see an Indian peering in where he had
raised the corner of the blanket. Indians and squaws were the
most frequent callers.
Aaron Lindsley was the nearest neighbor — more than a mile
away.
The first year no corn ripened, it being "the cold year,"
remembered so well by all the old settlers. At that time live
stock was very scarce, and it was with the greatest difficulty
and by paj-ing the high price of seven dollars, that a small, raw-
boned shoat was procured, which soon met with an untimely
end.
I have heard my mother relate that one day her husband
was chopping down trees she heard one fall and listened, as
was her custom, for the renewed sound ot the ax, by which
token she knew that no accident had befallen the chopper, as
sometimes happened to people in such work. But not hearing
6o6 RECOLLECTIONS OF COLLINS.
any sound she ran out and called, " Isaac, is anything the mat-
ter?" "Yes," came the answer: "matter enough, the tree
has fallen on the pig and killed it."
The loss of one small pig seems so small a matter now as to
be hardly worth mentioning, but it was more of a calamit}- to
them than the loss of ten cows would have been in after years.
My father bought his first cow of Peter Pratt. His son John,
now an old man, thus tells of it :
" Isaac Allen came and looked at my father's cows, seven or
eight in number, and offered thirty-five dollars to be allowed
his choice. The offer was accepted and Isaac walked up and
laid his hand on the very best cow. I had never seen a cow
sold for so high a price."
The first year, the one hen hatched seventeen chickens, but
several were destroyed by a weasel, which in turn, met his fate
in a dead-fall set for him.
For the first year or two much of the meat set upon the table
was game from the woods. Pigeons and turkeys abounded ;
one of the latter frequented the vicinity of the house and
became so tame she would fly down and pick up corn thrown to
her, but unfortunately she perished in the burning of a " fallow."
One piece of game I have heard my father say, was a rac-
coon, caught two or three years after he came to the country.
The fowls, which were roosted in the log-barn were being taken,
one by one,^until to save the rest he made a small fowl-house
near his own, constructed of bass-wood logs, notched at the
ends and^fitted so closely together that no animal larger than
a cricket could get between. One night he was awakened by
a great commotion among the poultry and running out was
just in time^^to lay hold of the hind legs of a raccoon as he was
escaping through a hole he had made in the thatched roof.
Calling the^hired-man to assist the creature was soon killed and
when dressed proved to be so plump and nice he was cooked
and eaten^with a relish, as a substitute for the chickens he had
fattened on. But^ father added to the story: "When I got
better acquainted^with the animal I never wanted to eat another
coon."
One of the first labors, after getting the ground prepared,,
was to set out an orchard. The watch was traded for a gua
RKCol.l.KCTloNS OF COl.I.INS.
607
and one hnndrcd apple trees. They were a 1 small. '- /•' ^^^
not hiuher than a man's head, bi,t the see,.nd .,r thnd year thc>
bore the first apples my mother tasted in the country.
M;- father wai always very successftd in his tree.plantn,,.and
fruit cnlturc, and until he was more than three score and ten
vears of age, I think ver>- few seasons passed that he chd o
■.„, ,„ „,,,,,,,, a single tree, or . bush of some so t that
Luld bear fruit. Writing to me when he was fi ft>-e„h ye s
old. he said -I have planted some two or three hnnd,e<l funt
trees during" the last two years."
The first" orchard was seedlings, but grafts of many excellent
varieties were soon set, and bore before my remembrance. One
varie.v was a curios.ty I never saw elsewhere-an apple part
Greening and part Tolman Sweeting.
He ba'd many varieties of peaches, plun,s, cl---.P-- -<^
all the fruits which before the country was denuded of ,ts forests
grew and bore so abundantly. I have seen as A"-' 1'-'^-=^
From his trees as I ever saw offered in the Buffalo nrarke.s from
the Delaware orchards .since. I might add t.-t h.s -a,, was
raised for home consumption ; there was no market to whrch
"could have taken it had he desired, but .t was g.ven away
o^t freely, and while he gave he exhorted '- -'^'^^0- J"
cultivate for themselves, and when gnang a basket o caches
I have heard him say. "Now be s„n- thee plan s the stones
I remember hearing an elderU- man. in answer tj, my athe
recommendation to plant an °-"-d- ->■' ^^^J,' ':f; ^^ "",
.1 1..." Tlif^ renV was. v\ e 1. no mailer II
live to eat the apples. 1 he repi) wa».
thee don't : somebody else will." ,,,:|Jr,.n from
Father used to say that the best way to keep ^"f ' '";
stealing fruit was to give then, plent>- at home, and that par-
ents were at fault who did not strive to do so.
Though at firs, ncghbors were so scattered and far apart
opportnmties were found for kn,dly offices towards each oth .
M . mother always spoke in the warmest terms of he k ,1-
ness anil pleasant ways to her. In speakmg of those early
"mes. ".Aunt Susie." as every one called her, used to say,
" I and ' we was all like sisters them days.
Thou.dr m^■ mother w as so young when she began her house-
keepingrshe 'took to her new home the best linen tablecloths and
6o8 RECOLLECTIONS OF COLLINS.
towels of her own manufacture, coverlids and blankets of her
own spinnin<^ and weaving.
In all this work of the wheel and loom she was veryr skillful,
and for many years all the wearing apparel as well as the bed-
ding for her increasing family was home-made.
Any financial success to which my father achieved was as
much due to his wife's industry, frugality and economy as to
his own out-door management.
At first, there must have been some scarcity in the larder,
but my mother possessed a peculiar knack to make her plainest
dishes savory. Garden or wild herbs were made to serve for
spices. " Greens " and wild berries were found in their season.
The candles, the soap and almost everything used for food as
well as clothing were home products. A substitute for soda
was found in the lye made from cob-ashes, and if any one now
has nicer short-cake or soda biscuits, more delicious butter or
finer Linden honey " in the honey-comb," than was seen on m)-
mother's table, may I be there to cat.
Before my remembrance the days of scarcity had passed.
Poultry, fresh mutton and veal, besides beef and pork, made
variety through the year. Fruit was abundant and though
canning was unknown, there were such changes of dried and
preserved as left no lack. Of milk and cream, the food of all
foods for children, and for the \\ant of which they grow up
puny and small-boned, there was neither lack nor stint — neither
of butter and cheese.
One who was a boy in 1816, told the following in 1881 :
" I went with an elder brother to lay a stick-chimney, the
lower part of stones, for Mr. Allen. His wife was a little mite
of a woman but she got us the best dinner I had ever seen, and
it was always a mystery to me how she did it when every one
had so little to do with."
No doubt the lad's appetite was good sauce, but there are
others who can testify to my mother's good dinners when she
had a greater variety to select from, and to the open-handed,
generous hospitality that characterized both of my parents,
whether in the log-house or in the larger house next built.
The friend, the wayfarer and the stranger found a welcome ;
the homeless and the fugitive from slavery rejoiced to enter.
RECOI.LKCTIONS OF COLLINS. 609
I never saw but one person turned from the door and he was
an " old codger," in present parlance, a tramp. My father had
ridden up on horse-back just in time to see tlie man enter the
house. Finding it occupied only by women and children, he
commenced to use profane and obscene language, which father,
coming in quickh', oxerheard. Walking towards the man and
making some significant gestures with his riding-whip, he said :
" Thee sees that door; walk out of it." My father was not a
small man, and he was strongly and well built. The fellow did
not " stand upon his going."
Medicinal herbs and roots were ahva}-s kept on hand for use,
and the doctor was seldom seen.
The next year after house-keeping began the first child was
born, and nearly e\'er\- two years another was added to the
family until the eighth and best beloved. Two sons and five
daughters lived to marr}- and find homes of their own.
The log-house which sheltered the young couple, held the
family for more than a dozen years. True it was a little en-
larged by a stoop which served for a dining-room in Summer
and the chamber of an outside cheese-house made more room for
beds ; but I have often marveled since how we were all made
so happ}' and comfortable in such close quarters, though then
we seemed to have room enough.
Not least among the remembered pleasures are the Winter
evenings spent around the great open fire-place. The making
of those fires was a work of labor as well as skill. The late after-
noon was the time for renewing, after the fire had been allowed
to burn down. Then the andirons were pulled forward and all
the brands, coals and ashes scraped from the chimney in a close
heap. Out of doors a clevis, an iron instrument, shaped like a
deep U, with sharp ends, was driven into the prepared back-log
four to eight feet long and eighteen inches or two feet in diam-
eter ; a chain was hooked into the clevis, the log hauled into
the house and with the aid of a hand-spike rolled close to the
chimney. On top of that a back-stick of smaller dimensions
was placed, and frequently a third stick was added to the
top of that. The andirons were put in place, a large, green
fore-stick laid on, and the wood piled on cob-fashion most
TO
RPXT)LLKC'TI()\S oK COLLINS.
unstintingly, the brands and coals ])ut under and the hearth
swept with a sphnt broom.
(3, those glorious fires I Children of the present da}- warm-
ing their feet over a black hole in the floor or sitting b}' the
most artistic base-burner, can have little idea of the pleasure
and cheer that filled the room and glowed upon all its occu-
pants. That great pile all aflame, the smoke and sparks float-
ing up the wide-mouthed chimney, the pictures that came and
went in the glowing coals, ever changing, ever renewing them-
selves in brighter forms, were sights that never i)alled on the
eyes of children.
On the wide, stone-hearth we cracked our \\alnuts and but-
ternuts or roasted our chestnuts in the embers.
The great pewter platter flanked on either side by plates of
the same metal, shone like burnished silver on the cupboard
shelf as the}' were turned up edgewise, displaying their largest
surfaces.
Little need was there b\' that fire of lamp or candle to read
the newspapers, of which there was one in the da}'s of my
earliest remembrance. I cannot remember its name, but I
know it was printed in Buffalo ; was Whig in politics, and was
wonderfull}' entertaining from the President's message to the
last advertisement in doggerel rhymes.
During the first years of my father's residence in the coun-
try he was captain of the militia compan}' of Collins, but his
ideas of war and militar}' life altogether underwent a decided
change, when his heart was renewed b}' grace, and he appre-
hended the teaching of Christ. This change took place among
a band of devoted Methodist people, though he never united
with them, but joined the Friends and lived and died a mem-
ber. The wife had been born of Quaker parents, and
brought up a Friend. My father talked \-er}' little about his
religious opinions, and was very charitable towards the opinions
of others, saying, " He can't be wrong whose life is in the
right."
" By their fruits ye shall know them." His honest, upright
dealing, his generous sympathy for the need}- and suffering-
were among his strong characteristics. The willingness to suf-
fer wrong rather than resent it, or even to defend his own
RKCOl.I.KCrinNS OF C( )I.I.I.\S. 6l I
ri<;hts was sonicthini;- rciiKirkablc. lie was the friend and
counselor of peoj)le in very different circumstances and ranks
in life. Tlie business man sought his opinion of crops, cattle
and lands. Parties in domestic trouble came to him for coun-
sel, while the )-oung entrusted him with their l<jve secrets.
Several times during my father's first years in the countr)^ he
taught Winter schools with such decided success as to show
that he might have been \ery useful had he made a profession
of teaching. He possessed in an eminent degree the four most
important natural gifts for a teacher : An agreeable presence ;
a more than ordinary love and fondness for the young; an in-
tense and abiding love of knowledge, and ability to cc^mmuni-
cate what he knew to others.
I have always been thankful that he was ni)- first instructor.
Teaching in his own district when I was four }'ears old, I was
carried in his strong arms or rode pick-a-back, while my brother
and sister older walked before, through the tall pine forest, and
as we thee 'd and thou 'd by the wa)- the lessons I learned
were, 1 have no doubt, as profitable as what in school extended
from A B C to "crucifix" in Webster's old spelling book.
My father was a ver)- close observer of nature. I used to
think he could most truh' forecast the weather from the morn-
ing's observations. He knew all the trees of the forest, the
plants of the fields, and the birds and ]i\ing things were a study
and a delight to him. I never knew one who seemed to live as it
were in sympathy with all God's creation more than he.
When very old and feeble, he would sit for hours on the \-er-
andah feeding the birds w ith crumbs or looking^out upon the
trees and fields.
I once asked him what he saw there to amuse him so long.
Pointing to the fir-trees, he answered in Whittier's words, I see
" How the robin rears her young,
And how ihe oriole's nesi is hung.
The house was built before an}' roads were laid out, and the
nearest was finally made half a mile away, but the quiet life
was not altogether wanting in stirring incidents.
On one occasion, my mother had sent her eldest child eight
or nine years of age, to a neighbor's on an errand. He" went
6l2 RECOLLECTIONS OE COLLINS.
by a "blazed " path through the woods. When it was about
the time he would be likely to return there came up the most
terrific storm of wind and rain that had been known there-
Large trees were torn up by the roots and blown down in all
directions. The father was away and not expected home.
After the storm subsided the mother looked anxiously for the
absent boy's return, but darkness set in without any tidings
of him.
The hired man was urged to go and ascertain whether the
child had started for home before the storm commenced, but
he declared the path must be so blocked up with fallen trees,
it would be impossible to find the way by night.
But to the mother there was no rest, and no impossibility to
finding the way, along which her first-born might lie crushed
and bleeding under a fallen tree, or having lost his way, might
be exposed not only to the damp chills of night, but to wolves
or panthers. So leaving her other children asleep she took her
lantern — -not the glass globe of the present day, illuminated
with kerosene — -but a lantern of perforated tin enclosing a sin-
gle tallow-dipped candle, liable to be blown out by a too sud-
den gust of wind, and there were no lucifer matches to take
along for relighting. Thus equipped she went through the
woods along the path, climbing over fallen trees, searching
under their broken branches, stopping ever and anon to call
Daniel I Daniel ! but only the echoes and the night sounds of
the great forest replied. The woods passed, the open fields
were soon crossed, to find the child detained by the kindly-
meaning neighbors who realized the dangers of the way more
than the mother's anxiety. The return was more quickly per-
formed, and midnight found her quieting her hungry baby.
For a long time after the settlement of the country the
cleared land formed a very small part of its area, and wild ani-
mals continued to be troublesome. My father had several hogs
carried off by bears. One night when a cow had been shut in
a high log pen with the sheep, the inmates of the house were
startled by the noise of the cow-bell. Father reached the pen
in time to hear a great scrambling as of some large animal get-
ting^'over the logs, but it was impossible to see anything in the
pitch darkness. The creature threw off some of the logs as it
Riaoi.i.iaiioNs OK coi.i.iNs. 613
went, aiul the C(nv. as if beside herself with frii^ht, jumped out
and ran with all her niiii^ht off into the woods, until the sound
of her bell died away in the distance. Morning- lii^ht revealed
the tracks of a ver)- Iari;"e bear.
When speakin;j; of wild animals, I ha\'e heard father lau^h-
in^i}' sa\- that thi)LiL;li he had met with woK'es, bears and many
other denizens of the woods, his t^reatest fright was from a
screech-owl that suddenly called out just over his head as he
was walking alone under the trees one dark night. The first
thought was of a panther.
Year by year the clearing of the land went on, sometimes let
out by the job at a fixed price per acre. Often a chopper was
hired by the month, and worked all winter. I remember lis-
tening to the regular strokes of the axe as it was laid not to
the roots, but to the trunk of the tree two or three feet from
the ground, and it was with no little interest that I watched for
that unmistakable quivering and crackling in the top that be-
tokened the " tottering, crashing, thundering to the ground."
What was not made into saw-logs and firewood w\as left for the
burning, which usually took place the latter part of May when
the adjoining forest had put on its full panoply of leaves.
Then on a still, clear da}' fires were set, and smoke and flame
went up as from a burning city. I once saw twenty acres
burned over at once, part of it on a farm adjoining my father's,
and wood enough was consumed to ha\'e brought quite a little
fortune if it could hava b^en weighed out and sold by the
pound for firew^ood, as I have since seen it in other countries.
I do not remember much of my father's hunting except of
bees. This was a quiet pastime which he seemed to enjoy long
after he had many hives full at home. He was very successful
in raising bees, and great quanties of honey were consumed on
his table, but in those days people had not learned how to pro-
cure the honey without killing the bees, and this was done by
loosening the surface of the ground a yard square and inserting
four pine sticks, to the upper ends of which were inserted rags
dipped in melted sulphur.
A cool evening was the time chosen. Two men, stopping
up the holes in the hive quietly lifted and set it down over the
prepared place, just as a third person had ignited the sulphur.
6l4 RFXOLLECTIONS OF COLLINS.
The earth was thrown up a little around the edges of the hive
and it was knocked and thumped until the poor bees fell down
suffocated with the gas. This was called "taking up a swarm
of bees."
When the older children were young we were accustomed to
use the plain language and at the same time we were trained t:)
show proper respect to superiors and elders; we were not
allowed to use vain compliments — No, sir, or ma'm to our yes
and no.
When my elder sister and myself were just entering our
teens, a dancing-master, who was organizing a class in Gowanda,
in canvasing for pupils, called at our house, Making known
his errand, his statements were politely listened to, while he
dwelt upon the great improvement in manners likely to result
from his instructions. Father replied : " No doubt thee thinks
so, but can thee engage that their morals will be improved
also?" We were not sent to dancing-school.
I have heard persons of. the first generation brought up in
Collins, bewail their want of advantages as compared with the
present youth. But was there not some compensation? Phys-
ically, in the abundance of fresh, unadultered food and the more
simple habits of life, and, mentally, in the necessity of doing
something for themselves ?
True, the young men and maidens could not take the evening
train for the city, hear the last new Prima Donna and be home
before morning. But who shall say that their pleasures were
not as keenly enjoyed, or as conducive to happiness ? Mayhap
they rode to a " paring bee," after a yoke of oxen ; their toilets
probably gave as little anxiety as is now experienced b}' the
wearers of more expensive ones. But did they not fall in love
and marry without ever thinkino^ of diamond engagement-rings
or bridal veils, " imported for the occasion"?
By the time the family exchanged the log-house for a new
one on the public road the tillable land had increased both by
clearing and purchase, until much work was to be done ; and
as the mowers, reapers and cultivators and other labor-saving
machines of the present day were not in use, many more hand.s
were required than would' be necessary for the same work now.
KECOIJ.KCTIONS OF COI.I.IXS. 615
Six or cit^ht men suingin^^ their scythes together is a ])leas-
iint si>4"ht to look upon, whatever it ina\' be to the actors.
Indoors, cheese and bvitter-makinL;- went on : there were hired
spinners and wea\'ers to make up the wool from tlie flock and
workers to cook and spread the table for all. And besides
these there were visitors, comers and Ljoers more in those times
u hen e\er\' one traxelcd in his own con\-e}\'ince, than now.
To partake in tliese labors, to plan and direct either in-doors
or out made drafts upon nerve and brain. But I forbear to go
on in what was but the common life of so man\^at that ]:)eriod.
Towards the closing x-ears of m)' father's life I asked him to
write out his early e.xperience. He said there was nothing
worth writing ; there were no startling incidents, no important
events, that he had merely gone on from da}- to da}- trying to
do the best he could and that was all. Rut for some years
before his death his trembling hand refused to guide the pen
and rhe writing was carried on b}- my mother who kept
up cjuite an extensi\-e correspondence with absent children,
grandchildren and others. This with the culti\ation of flowers
occupied much of her time.
My parents lived to see great changes in their own and other
lands, of which their fondness for reading kept them informed.
They greatl}- rejoiced in all reforms for the benefit of mankind.
Father said, "The world is growing better, this or that evil is
being done away." Always interested in politics, he went to
the polls until the last election day of his life, when four gener-
ations cast in Rej:)ublican tickets.
Rejoicing in all that brought peace and good-will to man-
kind, my parents went down the hill of life and finished their
course in 1879: carried to their graves from the same farm
where had been their home sixty-four }-ears. Mother was
eighty-four and father, who died two months later, near eighty-
six.
Ma}- those who remain cherish their memory and emulate
their virtues.
Mrs. D. C. A. St()1)I>.\ri).
Isaac Allen, the subject of the above sketch, was born Aug.
26. 1793, in Uanby, Rutland count}-, Vt. His father, Zoeth
6i6
THE ALLEN FAMILY.
Allen, served in the Revolutionary war. His mother was Jane
Harper. He was married May 25, i8i5,to Lydia Bartlett,
who was born in Cumberland, R. I., April 25, 1795.
In June, 181 5, he came to Collins, then Concord, Niagara
county. In July of the same year, he walked to Batavia, and
took an article of 220 acres of land, on which he built a log"
cabin. He then walked back to Vermont, and in the Winter
of 1 8 16, moved his wife and goods with a wagon and two
horses to his new home — the journey occupying twenty-three
days' actual travel.
In this home, their first child, Daniel, was born April 28,
/ '
-X
'% m. ^^ 1^
ISAAC ALLEN.
1 8 17. He married Eleanor Wells, whom he survives. They
had four children : Sarah Jane, who died at the age of fourteen
years; Walter W. and Alice, who died April, 1881, and
Leonard D., who moved to the State of Michigan, where he
now lives.
Mary Allen, born April 11, 1819, was married to Benjamin
P. Wells, who survives her. They had three children : Isaac
A., Arestene C, and Mary Josephine.
Drucilla C. Allen, born June 18, 1821, married Rev. Ira Stod-
dard. They went to the Province of Assam in India, as
TIIK ALLEN FAMILY
6l7
missionaries, where they remained about nine years. They then
returned and after a few years went back to their missionary
Avork. Mrs. Stoddard stayed three years and Mr. Stoddard six
years, their health not permitting;' them to remain Ioniser in
that warm, unhealthy climate. They have three chiklren :
Bertha, Klla and Ira J(>\-, all born in India. They now live in
Pella, Iowa.
Jane Allen born March 13, 1814. Died at about two years
of age.
Joshua Allen, born March 10, 1826; attended select school
in Gowanda and Gowanda Union school ; was married to Eme-
linc Etsler, daughter of Archibald Etsler. She was born in
Liberty, Frederick county, Md., Nov. i, 1830. They have five
children : Charles E., Myron H., R. Harper, Eva and Clara M.
Mr. Allen is a dair\' farmer, lix'cs on the old homestead of three
hundred acres ; has been Assessor ten }-ears.
Westi-ikli), N. Y., Aug. 10, 1882.
Erasnms Briggs, Esq.
Dear Sir: — Agreeable to \'our rec]uest, I write to sa}- that
my father, the late Ralph Plumb, was born in Sauquoit, Onei-
da county, N. Y., in the \ear 1795, and was the si.xth child in
6l8 THE LATE RALPH i'LUMH.
a family of seven sons and three daughters. His father, Joseph
Plumb, with his mother Mary, came from Middletown, Conn.,
a short time previous to his birth, and were among the first
settlers of Oneida county. His father died, I think, in 1807.
and left him with four others, with their mother on a small
farm, the older children having previously left home.
My father was thus at twelve years old left with the care of
out-door matters. He remained at home, working the farm
Summers and attending school Winters, until fifteen or sixteen
years old, when he entered a small country store in his native
town as clerk.
During the War of 18 12-15, Seth Grosvenor, of the firm of
Grosvenor & Heacock, doing a general dry goods business in the
then Village of Buffalo, while on his return from New York,
stopped at New Hartford, near Utica, and there met my father
and made a bargain with him to come to Buffalo and engage
with the firm of which he, Grosvenor, was a member. After
the close of the War, he established himself in trade on his own
account in Buffalo, on the northeast corner of what is now Main
and Seneca streets. After a successful year of business, he was
induced by his older brother Joseph to leave Buffalo and go
with him to Fredonia, where they went into the goods business-
as partners. This was in 181 7.
In 18 18, my father was married to Perthenia Hudson at the
residence of her brother-in-law, Hon. Daniel G. Garnsey, in
Fredonia. About a year later — 1819 — I was born at Akron,
Ohio, where my father was temporarily attending to a branch
of the firm's business there. Some time in 1821 or 1822, the
business of J. & R. Plumb was closed up at Fredonia, and in
March, 1823, my father came to the present village of Gowanda,
then known as " Aldrich Mills." He purchased a lot of the
Aldrichs, upon which a frame had been erected. This he fin-
ished for a store with an addition for a residence ; while build-
ing he occupied a small log house, which had been used for a
cooper shop by the owner, John Strang, on the farm now
owned by Dr. John F. Allen, opposite the old cemetery. The
Summer or Fall of 1823, the first store of goods was opened on
the lot on Perry street now owned bj' the heirs of Brazil Coon.
At this time, the population consisted of the old man Turner
TllK I.AIK RAI.l'll IMAM 15. 6ig
Aldrich,, Turner Jr., Merrill and Isaac, sons. Subrina Adams,
Horace Stewart and James West, sons-in-law, with their fami-
lies, and a few others, amon^ whom were Wilson Adams, John
Strang, Parker Dailey, ElncKMi Palmer, on the east side of the
creek, and Thomas b^irnsworth, Dan Allen, Benjamin Water-
nian. (iabriel Strani^, and Daniel Wheeler on the west side.
The old man Aldrich had, previous to my father's coming,
given each of his sons and daughters a farm. I should have
previously stated that Turner Aldrich, Sr., came to this place
about 1810, from the Connecticut valley, and purchased of the
Holland Land company seven hundred acres of land, embrac-
ing nearly all of the valley now included in the Village of
Gowanda, on both sides of the Cattaraugus creek. Merrill had
what is now known as the Slocum farm, on the west side ; Tur-
ner Jr., the south part of lots thirty-six and thirty-seven ; Isaac,
the central part of thirt}--eight fronting east on Buffalo street,
his first house standing on the lot north and adjoining L. M.
Pitcher's, and he after vvards built the brick and stone house
now occupied by U. Ribbel. James West had the land oppo-
site Isaac, known now as the old distillery lot on lot thirty-six ;
.Subina Adams, the land immediately north of Isaac and West's ;
Horace Stewart, the north part of lots thirty-seven and thirty-
eight, now owned by his son Freeman. Uncle John Strang was
located between Adam and Stewart's. Thomas Farnsworth
settled on a small farm located between Merrill Aldrich and
Dan Allen, his house standing near the railroad depot, fronting
the creek. Gabriel Strang had the grove, and lived in a log
house fronting the creek, near where Albert G. Barker's family
reside. Benjamin Waterman had the farm now bearing his
name, in the northwest part of the village, and built his first
house of logs, near the mouth of Thatcher brook.
Before m}' father's ccvming, the Aldrich's had built a brush
■dam near the present one, and erected a grist and saw-mill
near where the axe factory is now located. The grist-mill was
.a mere shell with one run of rock stone, without bolts, smut-
ting or other appendages of a flouring mill. My father soon
purchased the mill j^roperty and the contiguous land, so as to
■control the entire water power. He at once entered upon the
M'ork of building a j)ermanent dam, the work of which is still
620 THE LATE RATJ'H I'LUMH.
standing, digging the race, finishing the flouring mill, putting"
in good machinery, with two run of French buhr stone. Zimri
Howe, then a young man employed in a mill at Rochester,
was hired to come on and take charge of the mill, which he con-
tinued to do for nearly forty years.
Soon Amasa L. Chafee and his brother-in-law Alvin Bugbee
came on from Attica, and started a carding and cloth-dressing
establishment near the ruins of the woolen factory which they
run for some years, and then sold out to father and Asahel
Camp, who subsequently built the woolen factory which was
burned in the great fire of 1856.
The present furnace and foundry owned by Sellew & Popple
occupies the site of Vosburgh & Locke's blacksmith shop and
Elisha and Thomas Henry's tub and pail factory.
The first school-house was built on the site of Peter Rink's
block, in 1824, and the first school opened in that year, taught
by Noble VVeller. My education was commenced in that school
at its opening, at the age of five j'ears.
During the year 1823, religious meetings were held in the
chamber of father's store, by traveling Methodist ministers.
with an occasional sermon from a Congregational and Presby-
terian minister. After the school-house was finished, in 1824,
that was used on the Sabbath for religious meetings by the dif-
ferent denominations for several years. The Methodists soon
organized a church, and the Presbyterians another about two
years later, I think in 1827, of which my father and mother be-
came members ; both societies continued to occupy the school-
house for their meetings until they both built churches, in
1834, the first Presbyterian church having been built on the
site of their present one. The first was burned in 1842,
and the present one was erected the same year. The Metho-
dists built the one now occupied by the old society known as.
the M. E. Church. The Baptists had an organization for a
time, but they never built a church'. The F"ree Methodist
society is a comparatively new organization which was effected
mainly by the efforts of Titus Roberts, who paid most of the
expenses of erecting their meeting-house.
The old man Aldrich antl his son Turner sold the most of
their lands to my father, as did James West; Isaac sold outta
I III-: i.AlK RAl.l'lI I'l.LMI!. 621
various parties, and Merrill soon followed, all i^oing to Michi-
gan, where they all died.
My father, soon after starting his store, built an ashery where
the ashes of the timber of the new settlement was made into
pot ash and the black salts into pearl ash. This was a large
business in the carl\- days. When the farmers were clearing
their farms, and black salts the only thing at one time that
would command cash; Later, he built a distillery to work up
the coarse grain, which he was obliged to take for goods for
years he received but little money for goods, but was obliged
to take all kinds of produce, cattle and hogs. The coarse grains
were worked into whisky and the refuse and slop fed to the
stock. The wheat was floured and all sent to New York and
Canada, where it was turned into money. His business was
very laborious. For years, he was the first man up in the vil-
lage and the last in bed. In addition to his own business he
was the pack-horse for the whole community — doing much of
the conveyancing, drawing of contracts, filling out applications
for pensions and collecting pensions for most of the pensioners
of the Revolution and War of 181 2.
He was Supervisor of Collins for fifteen years, during which
time he was several times chairman of the board, and Member
of Assembly in 1835. Later, he was Sheriff of Erie county.
From about 1842, to the time of his death, which occurred
Feb. 7, 1865, the business was done in the name of R. Plumb &
Son ; the last ten years of his life, he gave the most of his time
to the improvement and management of his farms, the most
of which were stocked with cows. At the time of his death,
the firm owned, rented to tenants ten dairy farms, stocked with
about four hundred and fifty cows. After my father's death, I
sold the flouring mill to John H. White, who now owns and runs
it in connection with C. C. Torrance. The saw mill, carding
machine, planing mill, and the balance of the water power,
with the land connected with it ; I sold to Ansel F. Conger
later sales; sold my father's old residence to Mr. Conger, who
has recently sold it to E. W. Henry. In the Spring of 1870,
after having sold the most of my other village property, I sold
my residence to C. C. Torrance, Esq., and removed to Buffalo,
■622 THE LATE RALI'H PLUMB.
where I continued to reside until the Spring^ of 1873, when 1
came to .Westfield, where I now reside.
The great fire occurred April 30, 1856, commencing;" in the
tub and pail factory, on the east side of the creek, where Sellew
& Popple's foundr)' is now located, communicating with the
old furnace adjoining on the north, thence to the woolen fac-
tory on the south, burning the buildings named and the factory
boarding house, the old store formerly owned and occupied by
R. Plumb & Son, the old grist mill, and the saw mill adjoin-
ing, E. W. Henry's residence and store, the bridge crossing the
Cattaraugus creek, all the buildings fronting on the square west
of the bridge, including the two hotels known as the Mansion
House and the Baker House, continuing up West Main street,
as far as the brick and stone ofifice on the north side of
the street, and on the south side as far as Delia Waterman's
residence, thus destroying in its course, all the stores, hotels,
and places of business in the village, except the Plumb block
of stores on the east side of the creek, and the old Eagle tavern
now occupied b)' Fisher, on the corner of Buffalo and Perry
streets. The value of the property destroyed, buildings, goods,
furniture, machinery, &c., was estimated at one hundred thous-
and dollars, a small part of which was covered b}' insurance.
The names of the owners of the property burned, were as fol-
lows as near as I remember : On the Erie county side, furnace,
A. E. Sellew & Co. ; pail and tub factory, ; woolen
factory, Asahel Camp ; Plumb's store, Gideon Webster ; mills,
R. Plumb & Son ; Henr}''s residence and store, li. W. Henry ;
west side, or Cattaraugus side, stores : Porter Welch, Zimri
W^arner, Dr. J. S. Shugart, Amasa L. Chaffee, A. R. Sellew,
Charles Rollinson, H. N. Hooker, D. W. Brown, W. H. Sun-
derlin, Leander Orr, Mr. Badger, Hiram Palmer, do not recollet
all. Barker House, kept by Michael H. Barker: Mansion House,
kept by Seley Blackney ; several machine shops, including
Henry Dawnsons wagon shop and William Danber's black-
smith shop; also the residences of H. Morgan, Ji^hn Pierce,
and one built b}- Alfred Johnson. The first village name was
^' Lodi," after the one in Flurope. The present name " Gowan-
da," was applied to the \alle\- b\- the Indians at an earl\- da)%
.-ind signifies "a valle\' among the hills. J. H. Pr.UMH.
nil-; I'l.iMi; iamiia'. 623
Joseph H. I'lunibwasniarriccl in tlic Cit\- of Buffalo, Aug. 10,
1842, to Lorctta J. Runisc)-, they have four children, three sons
and one daughter, name and time of birth as follows:
Ralph H., born Sept. 20, 1S45.
Fayette R., born Ma\- 10, 1848.
Kllen Josephine, born Feb. 10, 1851.
(ieorge E., born April 13, 1862.
Ralph H. riumb is a resident of Buffalo, engaged in the
business of manufacturing carriage bolts, nuts, &c.. under the
firm name of Plumb, Hurdick & Barnard.
Fayette R. Plumb is engaged in the business of manufact-
uring hammers, hatchets, edge tools. &c., in the City of Phila-
delphia, and is of the firm of Yerkes & Plumb.
E. Josephine Plumb is now the wife of William Dodman, of
New York city, who is in the hardware business, of the firm of
Dodman & Burke.
George E. Plumb is a minor, and at present employed by
Plumb, Burdick & Barnard, in Buffalo.
Mrs. Pathenia Plumb, widow of Ralph Plumb, died at the
residencj of her son, J. H. Plumb, in Westfield. N. Y., July
22, 18^2. aged eight}'-five years.
About 1840, J. H. Plumb, was elected Colonel of the 169th
Regiment, of the New York State Militia, with Samuel Bab-
cock. Lieutenant-Colonel, and Mr. Willett, Major. A few years
later a Brigadier-General was to be elected, and Mr. Plumb
recjived a large majority of the votes cast for that ofificc, but
being present he declined to accept the position on account of
his youiili (rather an uncommon thing for a young man to do).
He represented the Town of Collins on the Board of Super
visors seven years, and was Member of Assembly in i860, and
again in 1867.
The Gowanda grist mill was built about 1847, ^^as sold to
John H. White. May i, 1868, and in June the same year,
White sold it to Torrance & Allen Clark, Torrance bought out
Clark in 1867. Torrance sold to De Witt C. Hoover in 1879,
and he run it about a year and sold to White & Torrance, who
now own and run it.
624 THE FIRST FRAME HOUSE.
FACTS AS TO HISTORY OF COLLINS AND VICINITV.
Collins Center is situated principally on lot forty-eight,
township six, range eight, and on the westerly part of the lot.
In the year 18 10, Stephen Wilbur, Joshua Palmerton and
Stephen Peters, built a cabin at Collins Center and went to
keeping bachelor hall. Stephen Wilbur located and settled on
the farm about a mile west of Collins Center, now owned and
occupied by his grandson, Robert Wilbur.
Peters located and settled on the hill just above the school
house, about a half mile east of Collins Center, the shanty built
and temporarily occupied by Wilber Palmerton and Peters
being abandoned.
Mr. Joseph Wood bought the westerly 125 acres of lot forty-
eight, and took his deed from the Holland Land company
Sept. I, 1 8 19. On that parcel subsequently grew up what has
become Collins Center, though of late years it has been grow-
ing easterly and westerly from it. Wood sold the east sixt)-
acres of his farm soon after to Yeomans Merritt, and Merritt
■on the 17th day of June, 1822, sold out the same to John C.
Adams. The latter was a blacksmith, and at once built his
shop and commenced doing work for the settlers about him.
That was undoubtedly the germ from which has grown the
present thriving village, the shop serving as a magnet to draw
business to itself and make its location a central point. Adams
rented his farm and carried on his trade at Lodi, now Gowanda,
in the years 1826 and 1827, but went back to his farm in 1828,
and again started his business there.
James Parkinson had purchased Wood's farm, and in 1828
built the dam and erected a saw mill there.
A postoffice was established there in 1828; John C. Adams
was made the postmaster, and the ofifice took the name of Col-
lins Center, which name the village has since borne.
About this time Parkinson built a fulling mill near his saw
mill, and Mr. Daniel Shepardson, a retired, worn-out Metho-
dist minister, bought a lot and built the first frame house in the
village, the one now owned by Mrs. Perry.
In 1829 Mr. Samuel Lake, then seemingly a man of middle
life, though now a resident of Buffalo and still giving some
OUKJINAl. INHAIU TANTS OK COI.I.INS. 625
attention to business, built a frame store for Harry H. Matte-
son, now of Buffalo. Matteson moved into the store and
opened trade Jan. I, 1830. The store built by Lake is a part
of the store now occupied by Bates & White. Matteson con-
tinued in business there about two years and then moved away.
Adams then (juit liis blacksmithing, formed a {partnership with
Nathaniel Kniijht and opened there a general country store,
• Knight retiring from the partnership after about a year.
About 1H35 Chauncey Bigelow, backed up by Phineas Spen-
cer, of Lodi (now Gowanda), purchased the Matteson store and
lot, and opened up a general country store, and in 1836 Adams
sold out to Bigelow & Spencer his farm, and removed firsi; to
Wayne count}', N. Y., and soon after to Kent. Ohio, where he
died in 1847.
Bigelow continued trade there several years, then removed to
Wisconsin. His successors in trade in the Matteson store were
Nathaniel F"rank, then Cornelius Smith, then Thomas Russell,
then S. C. Adams and S. T. White, then S. T. White, S. T.
White & Co., and Bates & White, which brings the old original
store down to the present date. During this time and about
1848 George H. Hodges built his store. Mr. Mugridge built
his store about 1848, and other places of business have since
crept in to make the village what it now is.
James Parkinson converted his saw mill over into a grist mill ;
from that has merged a tannery, in its present shape.
The original inhabitants of Collins Center, those who made
up. the town when in its incipient stage, were the families of
John C. Adams James Parkinson, Lemuel H. Wood, Jona-
than Irish. Erastus B. Mack, Joseph B. Mack, Mr. Randall,
William L. Mosier, Daniel Shepardson, Dr. Israel Congdon,
Edmund P. Palmer and John B. Peasle\-.
Of the Adams family, all sons :
G. R. C, a farmer, resides at Galesburgh, Mich.
Samuel C, an attorney, resides at Buffalo.
Ezra C, a physician, resides at Alamo, Mich.
Chauncey C, a farmer, resides at Riley Center, Kas.
Of James Parkinson's family :
George, a farmer, resides near Gowanda.
Daniel, his oldest, is dead.
26
626 EARLY SETTLERS.
E. B. and J. B. Mack moved West, and Joseph B. Mack
resides at Kent, O.
Randall was an old man, a revolutionary soldier and pen-
sioner, and died long ago.
Mosier had sons and daughters :
Charles, the oldest, a farmer, resided in Collins until his
death, which happened recently.
His other sons died or went west and settled. .Shepardson
sold out to Congdon and removed years ago.
Dr. Congdon was the first physician of the place ; died there
about 1845 ^nd left no children.
Palmer carried on boot and slioe-m iking there for a number
of years; now is a farmer in Evans, in this count}'.
Peasley sold out to Palmer and located on what is known as
the Breakers, on Cattaraugus creek ; died some years ago, leav^-
ing daughters ; one a widow Beverly, now of Collins Center,
and one, the wife of Mr. Seth Bartlett, just below Collins
Center.
Jonathan Irish died a long time ago. His eldest daughter
was John B. Peasley's wife. (3ne of his daughters is Mrs.
Tracy Burnap, of Collins. A son, Allen Irish, resides in Cat-
taraugus county.
Lemuel H. Wood had sons at Collins Center : Gabriel, Cor-
nelius, John and Daniel T. John removed to Leon, Cattarau-
gus county and died there.
Gabriel and Cornelius married in Collins, but removed to
Leon and both died there.
John and Daniel T., both tanners, <md reside in Leon. John
married a daughter of Augustus Smith, of Collins.
Collins, in its earU' history had men residing in it who were
pointed out to children as heroes of the '• Revolution." Among
them were Cromwell Luther, whose daughter, the widow of
Mr. James Nichols, still resides at Collins. Also, Luke Cran-
dall, a Vermonter, the father of Lnke Crandall, Darius and
Philetus Crandall, all of whom, with their families, were among
the earl)' pioneers of the town. Also, Abraham Reynolds, the
father of Norman Reynolds and Nehemiah Re>'nolds, whose
families are still residents of Collins Center and vicinity.
But few farms of the town are still held by the earl}' pion-
eers, or their descendants.
EARLY SE'l TLF.RS. 627
Some of the exceptions arc as follows : Trac)' l^urnaj) still
resides on the farm he cleared up from a dense forest.
Isaac W. Tanner resides on the farm located and cleared up
by his father, Warren Tanner.
Timothy Clark's widow and famil)' occupy the farm he
cleared up.
The heirs of Geori^e Kint^" occu]))- the farm settled upon and
cleared by their t^randfather.
The grandson of Stephen Wilber owns his old homesiead.
Ezra Nichols, lately deceased, remained upon his old home
stead through his entire life.
There are a very few of the original ])ioneers left. Augustus
Smith, Col. Sylvanus Cook, John VVilber, David Wilber,
Tracy Burnap, Elisha Wa.shburn and David Beverly, are all of
them men who redeemed their farms from the native woods.
Church-going, in the early days of the town, was under many
difficulties. Under ordinar\' circumstances, " meetings" would
be held at the cabin or house of some "settler." After school-
houses had begun to be built services would frequently be held
in them. Large gatherings, like Methodist quarterly-meetings,
would be held in some barn, in moderate weather. The
" Friends" were among the earliest to erect "meeting-houses"
or churches.
One was erected at an early date near Augustus Smith's,
where one stands at present. The Methodist denomination
had an early standing in the town, and in the eastern part of
the town there was what is known as a " class," under the lead-
ership of the late Nathaniel Knight, Esq., one of the early
residents and pioneers, and in the early history of the town a
man of very prcnninent standing. His class usually had meet-
ings at what was known as the Re\'nolds school-house. At
Collins Center was another class, under the leadership of John
C. Adams. About 1832 c|uite a " revival" took place, under
the labors of a Methodist minister by the name of Babcock.
C. B. Parkinson, or " Burke" Parkinson as he was familiarly
known, and Reuben Parkinson, his brother, were among the
prominent accessions to the Methedist society at that time.
As a result of the " revival " it \\as found that more room
^vas needed and must be had to accommodate the congregation,
628 THE FIRST CHURCH ERECTED.
and after consultation it was agreed to build a church, not dis-
tinctively Methodist, as general contributions for it had to
be asked for. As in all like cases, the question of location be-
came a serious one. Collins Center with its one store, its saw
mill, its blacksmith shop, postofifice and four or five families,
urged strongly that the " meeting house " should be located
there. The class at the Reynolds school house, more modest
than the Collins Center class, did not claim its location at that
point, but urged a compromise. The question of reaching
church services in those early days was a serious question.
There were then no spring carriages, and but few of the set-
tlers had horse teams and lumber wagons. The teams they
did have were worked hard through the week, and needed rest
over Sunday for the work of the coming week As a result
the popular way of going to meeting was to go on foot. But
three miles on a hot day, on foot, after a hard week's work,
aside from the question of duty, was not pleasant to think of,
and as a result a compromise was necessary and was had. The
Parkinsons, living intermediate between the points, suggested
their neighborhood as the suitable place for the church, and a
Mr. Martin Potter, a good Presbyterian, whose wife was a sister
of the Parkinsons, offered a lot for the site on the hill near
" Burke " Parkinson's residence, and the same was accepted, the
work begun, the foundations laid, the frame work built, the
roof put on, the sides clapboarded, windows and doors put in,
a rough floor laid and then the work stopped, the subscription
exhausted and the fever heat for a new church cooled off.
Temporary rough board seats were placed in the building, and
occasionally it was used, generally for Methodist meetings, often
for anti-slavery or other meetings of like character. The build-
ing stood many years like a monument of mistaken zeal of the
times when it was erected. Finally about 1844, Collins Center
having made some little growth, and it being conceded on all
hands that the church where it stood was but little better than
a mockery, it was unanimously agreed that it ought to be
removed to the Center. A big " bee " was made, the old
church was lifted from its foundations, and placed on long log
runners; all in the vicinity were there with their ox
teams; they all hitched on, and the old church started on its
CHURCH NfATTERS. 629
journey across lots, and after a two days' ride brought up and
settled down for life, no doubt, on the little hill at Collins Cen-
ter, which was first thought of as the place where it should have
first been erected. Contributions were again called for, and the
old church was worked ov^er finally into its present condition,
and became the church of the Methodist-Episcopal society of
Collins Center, with its modest little bell tower and more mod-
est bell, which on Sunday mornings wakens the echoes of the
modest little village, calling the people to religious services.
Thus has been traced the history of the oldest " meeting house"
of Collins, in the neighborhood of Collins Center. There was
another meeting house, however, that was built that has passed
away, and which, unless embalmed in history, will soon be for-
gotten.
Among the prominent religious denominations of the town
in its early years was one known as the " Christians." The
society was quite numerous and earnest and honest in their
convictions. The main portion of the society lived easterly of
Collins Center. One of its earliest ministers, in fact the princi-
pal pillar of the church for years, was Elder Bartlett. He
resided for years near the banks of the creek just southerly of
the present Collins Center school house, and not far distant
from where the old church whose history has just been given,
was first erected.
The Elder, as he is now remembered, was a man of large
stature, finely formed, of iron constitution, zealous at all times
in the interest of religion, and especially interested in building
up his own church. As his society grew it outgrew the meager
accommodations found in the dwellings of its members or of
the school-houses that were occasionally utilized for church
services. The members of the congregation and church being
largely scattered, the question of a central point, with proper
accommodations became of serious importance.
At an early day in the history of the town the corners of the
road near the late Timothy Clark's farm and the Uncle "Sam.
Hazard" farm, now occupied by W. H. Perkinson, was deemed
a central point ; and there had been erected a log school-house
of ample pattern and pioneer accommodations. It had out-
lived its usefulness, fallen down and been removed, but its
630 . EARLY SETTLERS.
recollection as a central point remained in the minds of the
people, many of whom had graduated from it with all of the
instruction that in early days could be obtained from a back-
woods school-house.
It was determined to erect a church at this point for the
" Christians" and one was erected ; a frame church, of respect-
able proportions, quite comfortably finished and furnished. In
it for many years the congregations gathered and held their
services.
As in individual lives so in church and state, there is no one
permanent, continuous period of existence, and this church
being no exception to the rule, its period of activity seemed to
go down and out and its church, once so flourishing, has dis-
appeared from off the face of the earth, leaving scarcely a trace
to show where it once stood, and history now steps in to save
its memory from utter forgetfulness. In latter years the Free
Methodist church or society erected a church at Collins Center,
which has escaped the ups and downs of its neighbor on the
little hill across the little valley. It was built without orna-
ment of tower or spire and has no bell, serving without
the least pretense, the purposes of the society for which it was
built, as a place for their religious services.
Still another church was erected at Collins Center, b)'theUni-
versalists. That, however, has been changed to other purposes.
The old log school-house on the corner of the cross-roads,
near the Timoth)- Clark farm has been mentioned. The cor-
ners were in early days four corners instead of three, as now, and
the school-house accommodated a very large extent of country
the ^r^'j'-trict being very large. Its heating accommodation was
very ample. It consisted of an open fire-place occupying one
entire end of the house, with its large, rough, stone hearth, and
freedom from mantel and jambs, its broad and open stick-chim-
ney slanting from the chamber floor, offering an opportunity at
night of studying astronomy by looking upwards through the
chimney as the stars moved by on their travels. The seats con-
sisted of what are known as slabs, the rounded side downwards
with legs of split billets of wood inserted in auger holes to sup-
port them. The desks consisted of a series of boards, one edge
resting against the wall and slanting downwards. The desks
EARLV SF/nr.KRS. 63 1
were continuous around the room and were for the older and
more advanced classes. The seats in like manner, were con-
tinuous, and the young man or young woman who wanted
to change position from or to the desk, found the work attended
with more or less embarrassment. The younger portion, those
who were not old entjugh to write or cipher, were accommoda-
ted on an inner tier of seats. Those nf)W living who had occa-
sion to occupy them, still have vivid recollections of going to
school. It was a seat upon a hard board, the feet dangling in
the air, inches from the floor, with no back and no support for
the feet, and through the long monotonous hours of the fore-
noon and afternoon, relieved only by the few minutes of recess
and the short exercises of reading and spelling, which
constituted the sole labors of the little folks of the school.
The text books consisted of Webster's spelling book, Murray's,
or the old English reader, and Daboll's arithmetic. The step
in reading from Webster's spelling book to Murray's reader,
would be considered rather abrupt in these days, nevertheless,
that is the way the}' did it then. There are many, no doubt^
of that day, who have no recollectioii of a transitive state be-
tween the speller and reader, but recollect only the English
reader, as their text book for reading. While the present gen-
eration might not survive school privileges of that kind ; the
young men and women of that day, felt especially blest if they
could get a three months' schooling during the year, and grow
up to manhood and womanhood, strong and healthy men and
women, worthy to be the fathers and mothers of the present
generation. Of arithmetic, in that early day, he or she who got
as far as the Rule of Three, was deemed qualified for any of
the ordinary business occupations of life. As to geography
and grammar, they were deemed outside of and beyond the
reach of acquirement in the early school history of the town.
The introduction of these and other and higher branches into
the schools, has been the wc^rk of the years that have gone by,
each making its additions, until the schools of the town became
what they are, equal to those of other portions of the state,
which have been built up, no doubt, in like manner. The old
school house on the Corners, when first built, accommodated
all that portion of Collins, eastward of (and including) the
632 EARLY SETTLERS.
residence of the late George F. King, and the school house was
not over-crowded. The next school house to the eastward was
at Morton's Corners. Lodi furnished the one on the west.
The population of the town increasing, school houses soon
began to be built. A small frame school house was built about
1829, in the Joshua Palmerton and Smith Bartlett school dis-
trict, and stood at the present four corners, then three corners,
between the Moses Conger and Ezra Nichols farms. About
1830 and 1 83 1, the people of that district indulged in the
luxury of a man teacher, for summer school. A Mr. John
Pratt, on account of ill-health, and for want of other occupa-
tion, to which he could adapt himself, accepted the meager pit-
tance that the farmers found themselves able to pay and taught
"the young ideas how to shoot." In those days, and for years
afterwards, the teacher " boarded around," the dollars and cents
paid and received, was practically net gain. A frame school
house was soon after built in the "Crandall " district, as it was
called, and located near the site of the present cheese factory,
just cast of Mr. John H. Johnson's, about a mile north of
Collins Center. That district soon followed the example of
the Palmerton district, and had the services of a man, Mr.
Franklin Bement, for some two summers. The old log school-
house on the hill at Clark and Hazard's corners, having served
its day, it was determined to build a new school house, and one
Avas built on a site obtained of Mr. Warren Tanner, near
the present residence of Mr. Isaac Tanner. The first teacher
of the school the Winter after the house was built was
Howe, of Lodi, then studying law, afterwards Judge
Howe, of Cattaraugus county. A Mr. Arnold Mann, an old
bachelor, taught the school two Winters. Augustus Hanchett,
then studying to be a physician, taught the school one Winter.
Hanchett was afterwards admitted to practice, married a wife
in Springville, and moved west. He was a man of superior
natural abilities, coupled with other characteristics, that greatly
neutralized them, and prevented him from reaching an emi-
nence in his profession, to -which his friends believed he was
fully entitled. Charles Woodward, who since then became a
Methodist teacher, taught the school some two or more Winters.
KARLV SKI'ir^EKS.
633
111 the early history of the town, its school matters were man-
aged by three school commissioners and three school inspectors.
Among those who served as Commissioners and Inspectors
were John Lawton, John C. Adams, Dr. Noyes, Stephen White
Leman II. Pitcher, John F. Allen and Edward Vail. The
plan was changed to that of Town Superintendent ot
Schools in about 1846, and Dr. John F. Allen became the
Superintendent for the first year. The Town of Collins
then comprised what is now^ Collins and North Collins,
and had some twenty-five school houses located within the
town, with more or less joint districts connected with other
towns. Dr. Allen was succeeded as Town Superintendent by
S. C. Adams, who continued in the of^ce some six years, until
he was elected Supervisor of the town.
Adams was succeeded as Superintendent by Dr. William A.
Sibley, who held the ofifice until it was abolished, and super-
ceded, in 1855, by the office of School Commissioner, including
several towns in one Commissioner's district. Since then, S.
W. Soule, of Collins, has served as School Commissioner.
Among those engaged in the town as teachers, not before
mentioned are the following :
Eli Heath,
Edward Vail,
Harvey Hicks,
S. W. Soule,
Alanson King,
S. C. Adams,
Hosea S. Heath,
Joseph O'Brien,
Lewis Varney,
Wilson Rogers,
Erastus Harris,
Charles C. Wilson,
William H.Johnson, Ferdinand Taylor, Horatio Whittemore,
David Woodward, Hiram Clark,
Asahel Sloan, Clark Sibley,
Joshua C. Ticknor, C. Vosburgh,
Z. F. Parks, William Potter,
George Richardson, Ahaz Paxon,
William Pierce, A. T. Brown,
Amos S. Willett.
Among the lady teachers were :
Ruth Knight, Jane White,
Sarah Henry, Rhoda Smith,
Ann Palmerton, Amanda Herrick,
Ann Tifft, Laura D. Abbott,
Lyman Clark,
Joshua Allen,
James Matthews.
Lyman Wright,
Alonzo B. Pierce,
Lewis Rogers,
Mariette Perry,
Emily Brown,
Esther Pratt,
Mary W. Brown,.
634
FORMER LADV TEACHERS OF COLLINS.
Julia E. Martin,
Lydia Ferris,
Ruth Blanchard,
Eunice I'almerton,
Sarah McMillen,
E. L. Rogers,
Mary Johnson,
Sophia S. Clark,
Lydia A. Sisson,
Harriet A. Watson,
Jane Arnold,
Mary E. Jennings,
Ellen Richmond,
Elizabeth Wilson,
Mary A. Clough,
Apalonia Douglass,
Polly Rogers,
Maria Irish,
Lydia McMillen,
Phebe J. Wilcox,
Caroline Etsler,
Lydia Ferris,
Hannah Warner,
Mary Jane Warner,
Emily Lewis,
Amanda M, Avery,
Martha Johnson,
Paulina Wheeler,
Julia A. Smith,
Louisa A. White,
Lucy Clough,
Phebe McMillen,
Betsy A. Hathaway.
Mary E. Wiiber,
Jane Arnold,
Maria Conklin,
Jerusha Pratt,
Malinda Arnold,
Emeline Palmerton,
E. Jennings,
Lucy B. Randall,
Sarah Vail.
Note. — The above communication was written at the request of the author
by S. C. Adams, Esq., formerly of Collins, now of Buffalo.
HIOCRAPHKAl. SKETCHES. 63:
CHAPTER XVIII.
FAMILY HISTORIES OF THE TOWN OF COLLINS, ETC.
Hudson Aiusley.
Hudson Ainsley, son of Joseph and Polly Ainsley, was born
in Palmyra, Pike county, Penn., Sept. 20, 1799. He has
been twice married — first to Matilda Davis, daughter of Gabriel
and Matilda Davis, by whom he had three children, two sons
and one daughter :
Emily, born Dec. 8, iSii ; married William Davis. She died
in North Collins, Jan. 4, 1875.
Ira, born Dec. 8, 1823; married Emily White; lives in
Aurora, 111.
John, born, Feb. 20, 1827; married Harriet Wood, and lives,
in the Town of Eden.
In 1 83 1, he came to what is now North Collins, and located
on a farm formerly owned by Frederic Smith, where he resided
until 1838, when he removed to a farm in Collins known as the
George South wick farm, at which place he has ever since
resided.
His first wife died Feb. 13, 1828. Oct. 17, 1830, he married
Mary M. Heaton, daughter of Thomas and Rebecca rfeaton,
by whom he had eight children :
Joseph, born Sept. 29, 1831 ; married Harriet Jones, and
resides in Gowanda.
Laura E., born in 1833 ; married Leander Stafford, and
resides in Perrysburg, N. Y.
William, born Aug. 7, 1834 ; married Elmira Wood ; lives in
North Collins.
George, born Jan. 29, 1836; married Ella M. Rogers; lives
with his father on the old homestead.
Hudson and Heaton, twins, born Jan. 15, 1838. Heaton
married Electa Hussey ; he died in North Collins, April 18,
1879. Hudson married Alzina Hanford, and lives at Sala-
manca.
636 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Ann M,, born March 2, 1841 ; married Frank Moss and re-
sides in Collins.
Mary R., born May 21, 1844 '' is unmarried and lives with her
father.
Mr. Ainsley is one of the oldest inhabitants of the Town of
Collins, being eighty-two years of age ; yet he is still a healthy
robust old man, with physical and mental powers unimpaired.
He has been an industrious farmer, and by well-directed efforts
has acquired a competence which he now enjoys. He has been
a skillful marksman and a successful hunter, especially when
the country was almost an unbroken forest, and the haunts of
wild beasts were more numerous than the habitations of man.
One season he killed forty-four deer and many bears. He en-
joyed with a keen relish the excitement and dangers of these
sports.
He has living nine children, sixteen grandchildren and two
great grandchildren. His second wife died Jan. 8, 1871.
Harley M. At wood, M. D.
Dr. Atwood was born at Danby, Vt., in 1847. His father's
name was Harley Atwood ; his mother's maiden name was
Amelia Chase. When an infant, his parents removed to Provi-
dence, R. I., where young Harley 's father became a wealthy
shipping master; dying at Providence in 1857,
In i860, the family removed to Collins, N. Y. Soon after,
the do*ctor attended school at the Springville Academy one or
two years. Inclining toward the medical profession, he en-
tered the Buffalo Medical College, graduating from that insti-
tution in 1872. The doctor soon had professional honors con-
ferred upon him. He was appointed physician to the peniten-
tiary in 1874 and '75, and was appointed post-mortem examiner
for the county one year, and during the same three years he
■was examiner in lunacy. He commenced the practice of medi-
cine at Collins Center, in 1877.
The Doctor descended, on his mother's side, from English
sea-faring people, among whom were traders and mariners of
note. Some of them settled at Pawtucket, R. I., where one of
them was a slave-holder and the first Baptist minister in the
mOGRArillCAL SKETCHES. 637
place. The Doctor has two brothers, two sisters and one lialf-
brother, as follows :
Clarence, in mercantile business in Buffalo. Frank, salesman
in Buffalo. Emma married Hiram Brown ; resides in Collins,
Louise, at home. Half-brother Etlward I. Vail resides in
Collins.
Statement of Beiijainiii Albee, 2<l.
My father, Benjamin Albee, ist, was born on the Connecticut
river, in Vermont, in 1771 ; my mother's maiden name was
Abigail Thompson. I had four brothers and three sisters ; we
were all born in Danby, Vt., from which place my father and
mother and their eight children came to Collins in March, 181 1
and located on lot sixty-four. We drove through with two
teams, my two older brothers, Jehiel and Adolphus went
ahead driving an ox team which drew our goods and the rest
of us followed with a horse team.
When we arrived in Collins I think Stepher Wilber, Joshua
Palmerton, Stephen Peters, Arad Howard, Aaron Lindsley,
Turner Aldrich and Jacob Taylor were the only settlers. We
built a rude log-cabin, without any floor, and I slept on hem-
lock boughs thrown down on the floorless cabin, for a bed
until fall. Oats were so high that m}' father considered it
cheaper to buy wheat to feed his teams, and did so. When
operations beganon the Niagara Frontier, in the war of 181 2,
many of the settlers left for what they considered safer quar-
ters. Of our family father and I were the only ones that
remained, the rest were gone six weeks and we had no bread to
eat during that time. Later, when the services of the settlers
were needed as soldiers, my father, brother Jehiel, Darius
Crandall, James Tyrer, Henry Palmerton, Luke Crandall, Ste-
phen Peters, Jesse Frye, Simeon Watterman, Luther Pratt,
Phineus Orr, Elisha Co.x and others, went out on the "lines"
and I was about the only man (and I was only sixteen) left
in our neighborhood to look after things.
I first went to school in Collins in a log school-house which
stood a short distance north of the Free Methodist church at
Collins Center. When we came there was no road cut out in
town. I think John Lawton, as Commissioner, and Stephen
638 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
White, Surveyor, located the first road which now leads from
Colhns Center to Marshfield.
At this early day John Lawton was a prominent man i:n this
region; he was proprietor of the mills at Lawton's Hollow and
in the fall of the " cold season" (18 16), he gave notice that all
grists brought to the mill on the backs of women would be
ground free. One day the wife of William Sisson appeared at
the mill with two bushel of wheat on her back ; but it was sur-
mised that she had carried it but a short distance. At one
time Mr. Lawton had some bags of wheat stolen ; he put up a
notice that if the thieves would return the bags they would be
welcome to the wheat ; when he arose the next morning he
found the bags hanging on his door-yard fence.
During the earlier years of our pioneer life wild animals were
very numerous, especially deer, of which I have killed many ;
wild turkeys were frequently seen. Otters were to be found
also. A party of four, consisting of Luke and Darius Cran-
dall and two Flint brothers, caught four on the stream that
flows near the present residence of John H. Johnson. At
another time Nathaniel Knight and others captured three on
the first brook crossing the road north of Collins Center. Black
bears were also plenty. In the month of April, a party of us
followed the trail of a large bear to the vicinity of Cattaraugus
Creek ; we wounded her but failed to effect her capture ; we
found her cubs, however, and secured three of them alive, one
of which was tamed by David Brand and kept by him a long
time. On one occasion, while coming from the Cattaraugus Creek,
carrying a young pig in my arms, secured by thongs of moose-
wood bark, I was suddenly confronted in my path-way by a
large bear that rose on his haunches and surveyed me and my
pig ; as I didn't show a disposition to retreat he turned and
disappeared in the woods.
My father died Dec. 30, 1858, in Concord, to which place he
moved from Collins. My mother died in Nov., 1861. Of my
brothers and sisters, Jehiel died in Collins ; Adolpheus in Indi-
ana ; Howard in Michigan, and Enoch in Wisconsin. My
sisters are living : Mrs. Rachel Palmerton in Collins ; Mrs.
Clarissa Wright in Avon, N. Y., and Mrs. Diantha Hunt, in
Collins.
HIOCRAPIIICAL SKETCHES. 639
I was born in Vermont, in 1798; married Rhoda Wlieeler
and ha\e reared a family of eii;ht children.
Sylvt'ims Bates.
Sylvcnus Bates was b(jrn in the town of Munson, Mass., Jan.
29, 1786. His parents were poor and at the a^e of eight years
he was bound to service until he should become twenty-one
years of age. At the age of twenty, a difficult)^ arising be-
tween him and his master, he ran away and went to Vermont,
where he worked a short time. He then went to Orange,
Franklin County, Mass. There he hired out to a man by the
name of John Kriggs, to goto New Hampshire and work on the
turnpike. In a few months he returned to Orange and engaged
to labor for one \'ear for Sable Metcalf. While there he formed
the acquaintance of Sylvia Briggs, wiiom he afterwards married.
After his marriage he remained three or four years in Orange
and then removed with his famil\- to what is now Collins, Erie
county, N. Y. Mr. Bates was the father of eight children,
se\en boys and one girl :
Briggs, born in Orange, Franklin county, Mass.; married
Drucilla Bartlett. Tryphena, born in Orange, Franklin county.
Mass ; married Aaron Lindsle}'. Sylvenus, born in Collins.
Erie count}-, N. V.; married Marrietta King. Taylor, born in
Collins, Erie Co., N. Y.; married widow Randall. Stephen,
born in Collins, Erie county, N. Y.; unmarried ; died about
1855. William, born in Collins, Erie county, N. Y.; married
Paulina Bates, lives in Springville. Joseph, born in Collins,
Erie county, N. Y.; unmarried; lives in Collins. Franklin, born
in Collins, Erie county, N. Y.; married Polly Mathews; lives
in Collins.
A Portion of the Stutemeut of Sylveuus Bates.
In April, 181 1, 1 walked from Orange, Franklin county, Mass.,
to Uncle Townsend's, on Townsend hill, in this town. I staid
there a few days, and then started out to look for land ; I went
west through the woods ; there was no guide except marked
trees, and no settlers from Cooper's to near Collins Center ; I
selected a piece of land south of Clear creek, near Marshfield ; I
built me a shanty about eight feet square, on a side-hill near
the creek, the lower side about eight feet high and the back
640 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
side about two ; I drove down four crotches and laid some
sticks across for a bedstead, and measured myself and peeled a
piece of ash bark the proper length and laid it on, and that,
with a blanket, composed my bed.
That Summer I chopped and cleared four acres and sowed it
to winter wheat ; I worked all Summer, early and late; I had
no meat to eat except a hog's leg, which I bought of Samuel
Cooper. I planted some potatoes in the Spring, and when the
new ones got to be as big as walnuts with the shucks on, I used
to dig and eat them, the new and old ones together. I would
eat a half a dozen for my dinner, and would take as many more
out and lay them on a stump for luncheon ; sometimes I became
so weak that I staggered as I walked about ; on the 6th day of
October I started to go to Massachusetts: I \\ent afoot and
alone.
On the II th of February, 18 12, I started back with my fam-
ily, consisting of my wife and two small Lhildren. Kendall
Johnson, a young, unmarried man, came in company with me;
each of us had a pair of oxen, which we drove as one team.
We were on the road twenty-five days, when we arrived at
Uncle Townsend's in this town ; before I went east I had put
up the body of a log house with a bark roof; when I arrived
there with my family there was no door, no windows, no floor;
the gable ends were open and holes between the logs large
enough for the children to crawl through ; had no bedstead, no
table, no chairs ; I drove down four crotches and laid poles
across for a bedstead, and split a basswood log of proper
length and laid the split side up for a table ; made a couple of
stools for myself and wife, split logs and laid them down for a
floor; bored holes in the side of the house and drove in pins
and laid on boards split from logs for my wife to put her dishes
on. I had no hay or other feed for my cattle and they had to live
on browse ; they were so anxious to get at the browse that I
had great trouble to keep them from under the falling trees ;
one ox was knocked down two different times by trees, but
he was tough and lived through.
In June, 18 12, war was declared against Great Britain, and
the settlers in Collins were afraid to remain for fear of the In-
dians, and several moved away ; I moved away also ; I took
I
BIOCRAl'inCAI, SKKTCHES. 64I
ni)' family and cattle and came cast as far as Mr. Lush's and
stopped over night, turned out my oxen and cows, and they
strayed away, and 1 looked three weeks, with others to help,
before I found my oxen ; did not find one of my cows till
some time later ; after about three weeks I returned to my
place in Collins; others returned also.
'niK l!LAtKNK\' MIJRDKK.
On Sept. 9, 1875, the people of Gowanda and vicinity were
thro\\-n into a state of intense excitement by the murder of
Charles W. Blackney, a talented and promising }'oung lawyer
of that place, by Lewis Darby, a young farmer residing in Col-
lins about a mile south of Gowanda ; the murder was evidently
the result of trouble bet\\'een the two years before, although
for some time previous there had apparently been friendly rela-
tions existing between them.
Darb}- was unmarried and lived with his brother on a farm ;
he made arrangements with Blackney to come to his brother's
house on the day of the murder to draw^ up some legal papers.
Darby secreted himself in a clump of willows by the roadside
at the foot of an incline in the road near his brother's house.
As Blackney came down the hill with a horse and buggy and
neared the clump of willows, Darby fired four shots, the four
balls all taking effect in the body of his victim. Blackney fell
from his carriage, and though terribly wounded, commenced
crawling up the opposite hill calling for help. The murderer
leaped o\'er the fence and ran toward the woods ; looking back
and seeing his \'ictim still alive, he returned and beat in his
skull and ran toward the house.
The murder now attracted the attention of a party of men
threshing near b\', who found Blackney still alive and able to
name his murderer. He died in a short time, and the excited
party which had gathered :^'tarted in pursuit of Darby. He
was followed to his room, where he was found in a pool of
blood, having cut his throat from ear to ear.
Mr. Blackney w as the son of N. Blackney, Esq., an old resi-
dent of Gowanda ; was married and twenty-nine years of age.
642 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Burleigh M. Briggs.
Mr. Briggs was born in Collins in 1854. His father, Isaac
Briggs, was born in the town of Hamburg and came to Collins
about 1S40; was one of the first settlers in that part of the
town, frequently designated as New Michigan. His mother's
maiden name was Margaret McMichael. Mr. B. is a brother
of George W. Briggs, of Concord. He was married in 1875 to
Esther Burnap ; they have one child. Glen Ira.
Mr. Briggs is a teacher, and at present (October, 1880,) is a
Deputy Supreme President of the Empire Aid Union, and en-
gaged in organizing lodges of that order. His present resi-
dence is Collins Center.
Henry Beverly.
Mr. Beverly's father, John D. Beverly, came to Collins from
Schoharie county, N. Y., in the Spring of 1817, driving an ox
team. He located on lot fifty-two, range seven, where he has
always resided except four years" residence in Otto, N. Y.
Henry Beverly was born on the farm his father settled on in
1817, Sept. 6, 1834, where he has ever since resided. He was
married in 1880 to Idelia Burroughs.
John Beverly.
Mr. Beverly was born in Collins, in 1827; always resided in
the town of his birth and been engaged in farming. His fath-
er's name was John D. Beverly; his mother's maiden name was
Susan Chichester. Mr. Beverly was married in 1848 to Lucy
Johnson. They have had two children : Clementine and I>ucy,
both of whom are dead. Clementine dying at twelve years old
and Lucy while an infant.
Matthew Beverly.
Matthew Beverly, a brother <^f John Beverl)', was born in
Collins in 1832, where he has since resided in the capacity of a
farmer. He was married in 1857 to Mary Smith. They have
two children ; Frank, born in 1859 '^'^*^^ Susan L., born in 1868.
Bartlett Family.
Smith Bartlett was born April 11, 1790, in Vermont ; mar-
ried Sarah Allen, in 181 5, who was born Ma}- 16, 1796. They
I
lUOCiUAI'IllCAl, SKKTCHES. 643
came to Collins from Danby, V^t., in 18 15 and located on lot
fifty-ei<^ht, where Mr. Bartlett commenced the tanning of
leather in a very primitive manner. About 1828 he built a tan-
nery on the same lot. In 1850 he moved on to lot fifty-seven,
where, notwithstanding" his advanced age, he displa^'ed his usual
energy and i)erseverance in modeling a farm from the wilderness.
He died at this place Sept. 1 1, 1859 ! Mrs. Bartlett dying Aug. 9,
1 86 1. Mr. Bartlett's ancestry were related to Josiah Bartlett,
one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Mr.
and Mrs. Bartlett reared a family of nine children, as follows :
Z. Allen, born April 23, 1816; married, 1838, Ruth White;
died Sept., 1874. Mary, born Jan. 14, 1817 ; married, 1835,
John G. Pratt ; reside in North Collins. Jane, born Nov. 9,
1819; married, 1838, George Lawton ; died in Evans. Seth,
born Jan. 4, 1822; married, 1847, Marietta O'Brien, 1849,
Aurilla Peasly ; reside in Collins. John S., born Sept. 14,
1825; married, 185 1, Mary Kelley ; banker in Gowanda. Silva,
born Jan. 29, 1828; died young. Richard, born Nov. 28,
1829; married, 1851, Phoebe Smith; reside in Pontiac, Mich.
Silva, 2d, born May 7, 1832 ; married 1850, Elijah Willit,;.
farmer in Collins. Sarah, born Sept. 24, 1834; married, 1854
Andrew Allen; died in 1876, in Michigan. Ann C) , born Oct.
26, 1837; married, 1864, George Taylor; reside in Collins.
Seth T. Bartlett is a wealthy farmer of Collins. Up to twenty-
three years of age he worked at tanning, carriage aad shoe-
making. He has two daughters, Julia and Alice.
Curtis I. Bates.
Mr. Bates was born in Collins, in 1843. He was a son of
Jacob Taylor Bates and his mother's maiden name was Mary
Nichols. In the Fall of 1859, ^^'^ became a clerk with S. T.
White, engaged in general mercantile trade at Collins Center.
He remained until he became a member of the firm, now
known as Bates & White. He was appointed Post-Master in
1872 and has occupied that position ever since. He was mar-
ried in 1867 to Calista E. Briggs ; they have two children'
Alton C. and Mary E.
■644 BIOGRyM'HICAL SKETCHES.
r>aiiiel Brown.
Daniel Brown, son of Isaac C. and Judith A. Hopkins Brown,
was born Nov. 12, 1837, in Collins, where he has always resided,
except five years residence in Allegany county. He was
married to his present wife, Betsey C. Conger, in 1867.
Mr. Brown was a union soldier and the manner in which he
performed the duties of a soldier reflect great credit upon him.
He often performed service that entitled him to promotion,
but he preferred to remain a private.
He enlisted Sept. 8, 1862, in Compan)- L, loth New York-
Cavalry, and was mustered out of the service Aug. 5, 1864.
He took part in all the battles in which his regiment partici-
pated except those which occurred during the interval from
May 2d to Nov. 27, when he was in the hospital sick with yel-
low fever, besides the battles of Spottsylvania Court House,
Bloody Run and the surrender of Appomattox Court House.
At the last named place a lucky incident placed him in a posi-
tion in which he overheard the terms of the capitulation between
Generals Grant and Lee.
Nathan M. Bailey.
Nathan M. Bailey, son of Morgan L. and Marj' Ann Bailey,
is a native of Collins and was born April 7, 1838. He was
married Jan. i, 1862, to Esther Burke, daughter of Cortland
and Ann Burke, of Collins. Shorth* after his marriage he
moved on to his father's farm which he now owns and occupies.
For the last two or three years he has also rented William A,
Johnson's farm.
The names of their children are : Ellis C., born Dec. 23,
1863 and died Sept. 24. 1865. Ella M., born April 20, 1S66.
Preston L., born Feb. 4, 1868. Arthur W.. born Jan. 28, 1871.
Alvin H., born Feb. 18, 1876. Cora E., born Feb. 3, 1880.
As a farmer he is prudent and industrious, but has labored
under pecuniary disadvantages, b\- being left at an early age
with the care and responsibilit\- of his father's large and de-
pendent family.
His father, Morgan L., was born in 1804 ^"d passed his
early life in Clarence, N. Y. In 1830 he removed to Collinsand
bought a farm formerly owned by Charles Bar.ien. at which
HKXJRArillCAI. SKKTCMKS. 645
place he resided to the time of liis death, wliich occurred March
16, 1850. He had a family of ten ciiildren : Maria, born May
6, 1833, and lives in Michi<^an. Emmons, born Jan. 24, 1835,
and lives in Wisconsin. Nathan M.,born April 7, 1838. Eme-
line, born Vch. 12, 1840, and li\es in Pennsylvania. Cynthia,
born Au^. 17, 1843 and died in Collins in 1874. Minerva, born
in 1845 and lives in Michii^an. Rosette J., born in 1847 ^^^
lives in Michigan, and Lucinda, Morgan and Monroe, who died
young.
Emily Borkor.
Emil}- Becker, daughter of Austin and Maria Shav\-, was born
in Danb\-, V't., Doc. 23, 1832. When young she remo\'ed with
her people to Erie count}', N. \'., and also to Washington
Township, Erie county, ]^i., and in 1846 removed to Collins,
their present place of residence. In 1854 she married Jacob
Becker, son of Isaac and Nancy Becker. The names of her
children are as follows :
Charlotte M., born Feb. 13, 1855 and died Dec. 3, 1871
Isaac, born Oct. 9, 1857, unmarried and lives with his parents
Ella R., born April 28, 1859 ''^nd died May 31, 1859. Helen
R., born April 22, 1872.
Margaret liecker.
Margaret Becker, daughter of IJr. Levi Goldsburrow, of
Waverly, N. Y., was born in Waverly, Dec. 13, 1831. July 22,
1849, s^^'^ married John Becker, son of Isaac and Nancy
Becker.
The names of their children are as follows : Laura, born
Oct. 3, 1855, and died April 17, 1861. Ettie, born Dec. 12,
1856; married Vird Button, and resides in Collins. Frank,
born March 19, 1862, and died July i, 1865. Levi G.. born
July 9, 1867. Charles, born Sept. 5, 1868. Clarence, born June
10, 1870.
Savid Bartlett.
Savid Bartlett was a machinist and edge-tool manufacturer.
In 1810, he established himself in this business at Danby, Vt.,
and carried on the business there for nearly thirty years. In
1846, he removed with a large family to Collins, and com-
menced the manufacture of sc\'thes, axes and hoes, near where
646 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Collins Station now is. Mr. Bartlett claims to have made the
first cast-steel scythe in America. He had the reputation of
being the best scythe manufacturer in the country.
Mr. Bartlett died in 1856, his wife, Prussia Allen, dying in
1868. Of the children, six are now living:
Marcus resides in Buffalo. Pliny married Susan Chase ;
resides in Collins. Ruth married Albert Wilber. Smith is
proprietor of the Collins Center Hotel. David A. resides at
Tarport, Penn. Jeremy resides in Collins.
Daniel T>. Barnliart.
Daniel D. Barnhart, son of Stephen A. and Hester Barnhart,
was born at Hoosic Falls, N. Y., Aug. 17, 1831. When three
years of age, his people removed to Collins, where he resided
until the Spring of 1854, when he went to California, and
was there engaged in farming until the Fall of 1859, ^vhen he
returned to Collins, where he has since resided, owning and
occupying a farm located two miles northeast of Gowanda.
Oct. 30, 1868, he married Sarah Pratt, widow of Cyrenius
Pratt, and daughter of Jonathan and Temperance Soule, of
Collins. He has no children.
Cliaiincey Beckei'.
Chauncey Becker, son of Isaac and Nancy Becker was born
in Dansville, N. Y., Sept. 20, 1826. In about 1833, he came to
Collins, where he has ever since resided, now owning and occu-
pying a farm located three miles southwest of Collins Center.
Oct. 2, 1852, he married Hannah Poland, daughter of Tru-
man and Sally Poland. They have a family of two sons :
Adelbert R., born Aug. 25, 1853; married Mary O'Brien,
and lives with his father. Willis A., born March 24, i860.
Sarah E. Beverly.
Sarah E. Beverly, daughter of Henry and Rachel Palmer-
ton, was born in Collins, March 14, 1829. In July, 1879, ^^^
married James F. Beverly. In July, 1879, ^^^^ purchased a farm
of 107 acres, formerly owned by George Valentine, which
place she now owns and occupies. Her father, Henry Palmer-
ton, was born in the eastern part of New York, in 1794, and at
lilOOKAl'lIlCAL SKlilt IlKS. 647
the a<;c of seventeen he came with his brother Joshua to what
is now the town of Colhns, where he remained for one year
when he returned to Vermont for two )-ears. DurinLj these
two years he served as a soldier in the war of 1812, and was
present at the burning of Buffalo, at which time he narrowly
escaj)ed being killed. He and a companion, Calvin Car\', of
Boston, Erie county, N. Y., were pursued by the Indians.
Car}', being a large, hea\'\' man, became exhausted and was
not able to keep up with Palmerton, who was encouraging him
to run, when the Indians came up and Cary was killed but
Palmerton succeeded in escaping.
His widow, who still survives him, receives a government
pension. In 1S14, he returned to Collins, and No\' 28, 1816,
he married Rachel Albee, daughcer of Benjamin and Abigail
Albee. Soon after his marriage he took an article of land in
Collins where he resided to the time of his death, which
occurred Sept. 9, 1870. They have four children :
Julia Ann, born Jan. 15, 1819; married Medad Towilegar,
and li\'es in Angola, Erie count}', N. Y. Warren A., born Dec.
4. 1S20, and died Sept. 25, 1822. Sarah E., born March 14,
1829. Albert T., born Feb. 17, 1833, and died Nov. 19, 1852,
and they also adopted a son, David Akins, who was born Sept.
18, 1822, and died in 1876.
i\A. Sylvenus Cook.
I was born in Richmond, Mass., Jan. 14, 1795. M}' father
moved to Danby, f^utland county, Vermont. I came to thi;;
county in February, 1814, cameto Hamburgh first, then to
Collins, and finalh' located at Nichols' Corners, on the John
Nichols place. In April, 1814, Jehiel Albee and I went from
his father's house, near Collins Center, to Nichols Corners, in
Concord, and built a log house or shanty on my lot and finished
it all off and returned the same day. We used no boards, no
nails and no shingles. When I located at Nichols Corners
there was no other settler in that part of the town of Concord.
The next settler was Nehemiah Paine, who located on the next
lot west of mine, the same Spring and .^oon after I did. Jere-
miah Richardson came in the Spring of 1815. He was not
married then, but said he liad a wife picked out He sla}-ed
648 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
and chopped, and put up a house that Summer, and boarded
with me most of the time. We frequently assisted each other
by exchanging work. He went to Batavia in the Fall, and
worked through the Winter and returned in the Spring. John
Battles came about 181 5 and located on the Morton place. Mrs.
Pike came about two years after I did. Simeon Holton came
and settled on the lot south of me. Luke Simons came not
many years after I did. Seymour Newel settled north of me,
up toward Goodels. While I lived there I went to Townsend
Hill to training, and sometimes to Springville to town-meet-
ings. Four or five years after I came I sold out to Levi Nich-
ols, father of John and Isaac Nichols, and I removed down
below Bagdad in Collins.
COMMISSION OF COL. SYLVANUS COOK, JR.
TJic people of the State of Neiv York, to lo/uvn all these pres-
ents shall eoiiie :
Know ye, That pursuant to the Constitution and Laws of
our State, we have appointed and constituted and by these
presents do appoint and constitute Sylvanus Cook, Jr., Colonel
of the 198th Regiment of Lifantry of our said State, (with
rank from July 28, 1838), to hold the said ofifice in the manner
specified in and by our said Constitution and Laws.
In testimony whereof, we have caused our seal for mili-
[l. S.] tary commissions to be hereunto afifixed.
Witness, William L. Marcy, Esquire, Governor of our State,
General and Commander-in-Chief of the militia, and Admiral
of navy of the same, at our city of Albany, the 24th day of
August, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred
and thirty-eight.
Passed the Adjutant General's office.
William L. Marcy.
Allan MacDonald, Adjutant General.
State of NE^Y York, )
Erie County, \ '"'
I hereby certify that on the 3d day of September, A. D.
1838, the within-named Sylvanus Cook, Jr., personally appeared
before me and took and subscribed the oath required by law to
HlOC.KAI'IIICAl. SKKTCIIES. 649
qualify him to discharge the duties of the office to whicli he is
commissioned. JKIIIEI. Hll.l,,
Brig. Gen. 54th Brig. N. Y. S. Inf.
Norman Cook.
Mr, Cook's father, I'eter Cook, came to ColHns from Ver-
mont, in 1825. lie was married at the residence of Hosea
White, in Collins, in 1827, to Lydia White. He died in Ham-
burg, in 1873, aged sixty six. His widow resides in Buffalo
with her daughter, Mrs. Johnson.
Norman Cook was born in Collins in 1 828, where he lived
until nine years old, when his parents moved to Concord. He
lived there until twenty-two years of age, when he returned to
Collins, where he has since resided, a farmer.
Mr. Cook was married in 1852 to Alzora Ashman, who died
in 1854, leax'ing a daughter, Eva, who died in i87i,aged seven-
teen. He was again married, in 1857, to C)'nthia Bartlett, by
whom he has had two daughters: Helen and Clara; Helen
died when three years old.
Mr. Cook came onto his present farm of two hundred and
three acres in 1862.
John V. Cole.
John V. Cole, son of Vincent M. and Julia Squires Cole, was
born in Concord, N. Y., May 2, 1857. He attended school at
the Springville Academy, and in 1879 studied dentistry with
E. R. Vaughan, of Lancaster. In June, 1881, he established
himself in the dentistry business at Collins Center.
He was married in December, 1881. to Jennie E. Beverly.
They ha\'e one child.
Nicholas J. Coon.
Mr. Coon was born in Otsego county, N. Y., July 26, 1815.
He afterwards lived in Susquehanna county. Penn. He came
to Zoar in Collins in 1846, where he has since lived. He has a
family of three daughters and one son.
He married Sarah Fitch, in Otsego county, a lineal grand-
daughter of Capt. Isaac Da\'is, of Re\olutionary fame. Mary
Fitch Coon has just reason to be proud of her ancestry. She
was born Feb. 22, 181 1. in Hancock, N. H., and came to Otsego
when ele\-en }'ears old. Her father, Noah h'itch, was a native
650 BIOCiRAPHICAL SKE'ICIIES.
of Acton, Mass. He married Mary Davis, youngest child of
Capt. Davis. History relates that Captain Davis was a gun-
smith of Acton — which was a village near Concord and Lex-
ington, Mass. He was Captain of the Acton company of
Minute men, being at that time about thirty years of age —
brave and thoughtful, and having a wife and four children, one
of whom was afterwards the mother of Mrs. Coon. Captain Davis
and his company led the way in the march to meet the British
at Concord Bridge, exclaiming as he drew his sword, " I haven't
a man that's afraid to go." At the first volley from the British he
fell, shot through the heart, being the first one killed in the
Revolutionary War. His remains now rest under the Bunker
Hill monument. In the language of James Russell Lowell :
" The Concord Bridge which Davis, when he came,
Found was the bee-line traclc to Heaven and fame."
Herbert Clark.
Mr. Clark, son of Adam Clark and Margaret Bennet, was
born June 14, ICS54, in Collins, N. Y. He has been a mercan-
tile clerk in SpringviUe, Belfast, Allegany county, and Gowanda,
N. Y. He is a druggist by occupation. He was married Oct.
28, 1878, to Lillian F. Emmett.
James Colvin.
Mr. Colvin was born in 1816. He is the second son in a fam-
ily of four sons and one daughter; the daughter being the
oldest. His father's name was John Colvin, his mother's
maiden name was Lucy Frink. His grandfather, Luther Col-
vin, settled in Danby, Vt., in 1765 ; he was a Quaker and a
noted hunter and trapper.
Mr. James Colvin married Lydia Gilbert. They resided in
Vermont until February. 1873, when they moved to Missouri,
remained there until December of the same year when they
came to Collins and located on their pre.sent farm ; they have
had nine children, viz :
Lucy Ann, married Jared L. Cook ; reside in Danby, Vt..
Lucinda, married Wesley J. Leach; reside in Pawlet, Vt.
David, married Ursula Kelly; reside in Collins, N. Y. Emma,,
died at fourteen years of age. Nora, married J. C. Williams,.
I
lUOCkAI'HICAI. SKKICIIF.S. 65 I
author of a history of Danby, Vt., wlierc the)- now reside.
Merrit L., dead ; Noah, dead ; Henry, Willie, died }-()un<^f.
Ahsoii a. Conger.
Anson G. Coni^erwas born at Danby, Vt., on the 26th of Oct.
181 2, and was consequejitl)^ in the sixty-eighth year of his age
at the time of his death, which occurred Feb. 12, 1880. He
was born of Quaker parentage, his father, Noah Conger, having
been a preacher in that denomination. When quite young he
was left in the care of his father's family. He taught school
in Vermont when a )'oung man and afterwards engaged in sup-
plying district school libraries in this state with books.
He was married to Miss Portia White, daughter of Isaac
White, in September, 1845, '^''"-' then settled in Collins, where
he resided until his death.
He was Supervisor of Collins in 1859 ^^^^ i860 and again in
1878. In 1862 he represented his district in the Legislature,
and in whatever body he appeared he made himself felt. He
actix'ely engaged in business up to the time of his death, and
was known for his shrewdness, industry and enterprise.
Soon after taking up his residence in Collins, he entered upon
the business of buying and selling lands and negotiating loans,
and possessing a speculative turn of mind, together with a sound
judgment, soon succeeded in accumulating a handsome fortune.
Mr. Conger was a man of character and force and had the
qualities of a leader. His brain was large and active and he
was knf)wn as a man of quick antl am|)le resource. He was a
man of gentle ([ualities. a kind husband and a most indulgent
father.
Mr. Conger had a son, J. Anson, who died in 1864. aged two
years, and two daughters, Ella P. and Emma M., born repect-
ively in 1853 and 1857.
Ella P. was married in 1876 to Charles W. Goodyear. Esq.,
of Buffalo, where the\' now reside. They have a son and
daughter, Anson C, born June 20, 1877 and Esther, born May
20, 1 88 1. Emma M. was married in 1880 to Charles W. Lap-
ham, of Chicago. The}' ha\'e one son, Anson G., born JuK' 14,
J 88 1.
652 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Noah Conger.
Noah Conger, son of Almond D. and Sophronia Conger was born-
in Collins April 26, 1841. He was married May 8, 186410 Mary
Ann Heath, of Collins, N. Y. Shortly after his marriage he
bought and occupied a farm situated one and a half miles north
of Collins Center, and formerly known as the Stephen White
farm, at which place he resided up to the time of his death, which
occurred April 27, 1873. He was by nature a very ingenious
mechanic, possessing a mind gifted with more than ordinary
intellectual and originating power, which, with the limited means
and opportunities afforded him, he had improved to the best
advantage.
As a farmer he was thrifty and industrious and commanded
the respect of the community in which he was known. His
widow still resides on the farm. He had a family of three
children: Willie H., born Aug. 30, 1866 and died April ii,.
1870. Ada, born May 4, 1871 and died July 27, 1875. Almon
N., born March 27, 1873.
David B. Conger.
Mr. Conger was born in North Collins in 1847. His father's
name was Noel Conger; his mother's maiden name was Bet-
sey Sherman. Mr. C. resided in his native town until twenty
years of age, when he moved to Collins, where he now resides-
on a farm of 160 acres. He was married in 1867 to Angeline:
Foster.
Joseph H. Conger.
Mr. Conger is a brother of David B.; was born in North Col-
lins in 1830; came to Collins in 1861, where he resides on a
farm of 102)^ acres. He was married in 1853 to Amanda M.
Foster.
They have two sons : Burt M. and Charlie F. A daughter,.
Elnora G., died when seven years old.
Sally C. Clark.
Sally C. Clark, daughter of Lewis and Serrepta Trevett, was
born in Homer, Cortland county, N. Y., Sept. ii, 1814; while
young she removed with her parents to the Town of Concord,
where she resided till 1849, when she married Timothy Clark.
HIOCRAI'IHCAL ski: TCI IKS. 653
of Collins, in which place she now lives; her husband died
Aug. 7, 1873. She raised a family of fi\'e children :
Florence, born Now 14, 1850; married Andrew W. Conger
and resides in Collins. Fillmore, born July 14, 1852; died
Dec. 3, 1873. Charles, born Oct. 25, 1855; married Jennie
Canfield ; lives in Collins. Arthur, born March 21, 1857; mar-
ried Antoinette Spaulding and resides on the old homestead.
Douglass, born Sept. 21, i860, and lives in Collins.
Tli«MMl<)r<' A. Caiifielcl.
Mr. Canfield was a son of Sillick Canfield, who was born
in Armenia, Dutchess county, N. Y. The following is Sillick
Canfield's famih' record :
I'AREXTS.
Sillick Canfield, born Sept. 12, 1791 ; married Jan. 22, 18 14,
to Susanna Tousy : died Sept. 20, 1865. Susanna Tousy, died
March 4, 1857.
CHILDREN.
Orrin S., born Now 29, 1814; died Dec. 6, 1816. Orville S.,
born March 29, 18 16; married in 1841 to Sally Briggs ; resides
in Minnesota. Lyman D., born April 28, 1818; died March
28, 1822. Jane E., born April 20, 1820; married in 1839 to
Bijah Gray: died Feb. 5, 1844. Theodore A., born Feb. 13,,
1823; married in 1848 to Nancy S. Sampson. Newmon O.,
born Nov. 26, 1825 ; died July 8, 1829. Sarah A., born Feb.
II. 1828: married in 1846 to A. G. Needham ; died Oct. 3,
1 85 I. Helen M. (twin), born Jan. i, 183 i ; married in 1851 to
Warren Gates; resides in Minnesota. Fllen S. (twin), born
Jan. I, 1831 ; married in 1848, to John Sampson; resides in
Missouri. Cecelia, born June 21, 1834; died Sept. 26, 1855.
Theodore A. Canfield was born in Concord. When three
years old the family moved to Boston, and back to Concord
again in 1833. Mr. Canfield moved to Collins in 1866, where
he has since resided ; has alwa\-s been a farmer. The follow-
ing is his family record :
Florence, born in February, 1850; married in 1872 to Frank
Hunt. Walters., born Dec. 31. 1852; married in 1876 to Ida
^54 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
May Potter. Jennie L., born Dec. 15, 1857; married in 1876
to Charles Clark. Mary A., born Aug. 7, i860.
Mrs. Canfield was born Oct. 15, 1825.
Craiirtell Family.
Luke Crandell, Sr., a soldier of the Revolution, came to Col-
lins from Vermont about 181 5, with three sons — Darius Wil-
liam and Philander, another son, Luke, Jr., having come several
years before and ser\'ed in the war of 18 12. They were promi-
nent among the early pioneers of Collins. They all resided in
Collins till their death, except Luke, Jr., who died in Illinois.
William Crandell was born in Danby, Vt., in 1795, and died
in 1 861 or 1862. He married Betsey Harrington, also a native
of Vermont ; she died in 1855 o^' 1856. The}- had nine chil-
dren, all living :
Three of the sons, Watson, James and Delos, settled in Mis-
souri. W'atson was a Major in the Union army, and was twice
a prisoner in Libby prison. Jefferson lives in Collins and Phi-
lander in Steuben county. There are four daughters : Rachel
livee in Wisconsin. Phoebe in Illinois, Sophia in North Collins,
and Olive, who married Hiram Stage in 1843, and resides at
Collins Center.
Mr. Stage served in the war of the rebellion. They liave
four children :
Three sons, living in Buffalo, and one daughter, Mrs. Flora
Cooper, of Concord.
Moses Conger.
Mr. Conger was born in what is now North Collins, Feb. 12.
1826. He now resides on his farm near Collins. Mr. Conger
has undoubtedly the largest herd of thorough-bred Ayrshire
cattle in the southern towns of the county. At present ( 1881),
he has thirty-four head.
Mr. Conger was married in 1851, to Martha Wood. The}^
have one son, Lawton M., born April 5, 1865.
Amasa L.. Chaffee.
Amasa L. Chaffee, son of .Stephen Chaffee, was born in Rut-
land, Vt., December, 1797. He had four brothers — Kingsley,
James, Oliver and Ambrose, and three sisters — Lucy, Alzina
II
ni()(;RArnKAi, sKirrciiKs. 655
and Ruba. Stephen Chaffee moved to Cazenovia, Madison
count)', N. v., when Amasa was three years old, and when he
was some twelve or fifteen }-ears old they moved to Attica, N.
Y. At the age of seventeen years, he enlisted in the War of
1812. At the close of the war, he learned the trade of wool
carding and cloth dressing, and at the age of tuent\'-four he
married Lydia W^ade, and moved to what is now Gowanda. in
May, 1 82 1, carrying on the wool carding and cloth dressing
business some ten years, building the first establishment of the
kind in that ])lacc, it being cntircl}' new. He built the first
frame house in that village having a brick chimney. He carried
on the mercantile business from 1836 to Dec. 5, 1869, when he
died, aged se\ ent\'-two \'ears.
He held the office of Ju-tice of the Peace and Supervisor,
and was also nominated for the office of Legislator and Con-
gressman of his district.
Mis wife died in Jul}', 1879, aged seventy-six years.
WarrtMi X. Fish.
Warren N. Fish, son of Royal and Harriet Fish, was born in
Danby, V^t., Feb. 11, 1834. In 1847, ^^^ came with his parents
to the Town of Hamburg, Erie county, N. V., and soon after
removed to the Town of Rrant ; in 1851, he came to Collins,
where he was engaged in farming until 1855, when he removed
to Sauk county. Wis., where he remained for nine }'ears, being
there emplo\'ed in farming, and, lasth', in 1864, again returned
to Collins Center, where he now^ resides.
His occupation has been various: Farm labor, photograph}',
clerk in the store of Rates & White, and for several Winters
taught school, and was also book-keeper and pa}'master for
William A. Johnson.
Mr. Fisk is a man of sound judgment and undoubted integ-
rity. He is quiet and unobtrusive, contenting himself with his
own concerns.
April 15, 1855. he married Delia Harris, daughter of Esek
and Susannah Harris of Collins. They have two children :
Albert W., born Oct. 21, 1857, and Marion, born Sept. 3, 1869.
Albert W. is a stenographer and is in the employ of I. L.Wood
&Co.
656 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Ainaiid Fischer.
Amand Fischer, son of Amand and Mary Fischer, is a native
-of Germany and was born in 1848. In 1868, he came to
America and engaged in teaching German for three years ;
after which he became employed in the brewery business, and
at the present time he owns and runs a brewery and hotel,
situated in Gowanda, N. Y.
In 1869, he married Isabelle Goldcamp, who was born in
•Ohio in 1847. He has a family of three children :
Mary, born in 1870. Sophia, born in 1872. Adele, born in
1874.
William C iioUn.
William C. Golm, son of John and Christian Golm, was born
in Germany, March 22, 1855. He immigrated with his parents
to America in the Fall of 1861. He resided with his parents
at Aurora, Erie county, until 1876, when he came to Collins,
where he has ever since resided, being engaged as a carpenter
and builder, and is considered an excellent workman. While
in Collins, he has been superintending workman in the build-
ing of William A. Johnson's storehouse for cheese, situated at
Collins Station, and also in the building of the dwelling-houses
■of George Potter and George Waite. He is now engaged in
building a residence for himself at Collins Station. He is
moral and industrious. He has improved his mind to the best
advantage with the limited means and opportunities which he
possessed.
Aug. 3, 1 88 1, he was married to Ruth Joslin, daughter of
Henry Joslin of North Collins.
Joseph Griftord.
Joseph Gifford, son of Philip and Charity Gifford, was born
in Hartford, Washington county, N. Y., Feb. 13, 181 3. W'hen
two years old he was taken to live with his uncle, with whom
he resided until he was twenty-two years of age. October 12,
1834, he married Mary Ann Goodell, daughter of John and
Ruth Goodell. In 1835, he came to Collins and located on
one hundred acres of unimproved land, which was left to his
HiO(;RAi'nicAi, ski; i( J IKS. 657
wife b\- her father, to which Mr. (iiffortl lias acUietl fifty acres,
which tarm he still owns and occui)ies. His children are:
Ruth C, born Vcb. 2, 1836, who is unmarried and lives with
her father. Mary E.. born Feb. 2, 1839, who married Avery
Kniy^ht, and died in Collins October 18, 1873. Lovinda and
Melinda, who are twins, and were born July i, 1841. Melinda
is a maiden lad}- and lives with her father. Lovinda married
Martin Lewis, Jan. 13, 1863, and resides at Jamestown, X. \'.
She has two chiklren ; Am\- G., born Oct. 12, 1S74. and (irace
M., born April 6, 1878. Mar}' E. had one son, Irwin A., born
April 6, 1870, who, since the death of his motlier, lives with
his i;randfather.
Isaac Hunt.
Isaac Hunt, son of iJaniel and Merc)' Hunt, was born in
Pittstown, Rensselaer county, X. Y., June 14, 1808. In 1817,
he came with his parents to what is now the town of North
Collins, and located near where Lawton's Station now is.
When he was seventeen \-ears of age, he was bound out to
Smith Rartlett, of whom he learned the trade of tanner and
currier. In 1831, he married Diantha Albee, daughter of Ben-
jamin and Abigail Albee. Shortly after his marriage he took
an article for fift)- acres of land in Collins, upon which he built
a tannery and followed his trade until 1852, when he went to
California, where he was engaged as a merchant, keeping a
miner's store. In 1854. he returned to his family in Collins,
where he has since resided, being engaged in farming. Mr.
Hunt is among the early settlers of Collins, and has encoun-
tered all the obstacles and prixations necessarily experienced
during the establishment of a home in an unsettled country.
He came to Collins when it was but thinly settled, but he has
had the pleasure of seeing the town become populous and
sujiplieci with nearly all the needful ad\antages for domestic
comfort. He is a quiet, industrious and unobtrusive man, con-
tenting himself with his own affairs. When Mr. Hunt was a
young man, w ild beasts were still to be found in Collins, espe-
cially bears and wolves of w hich he tells many capital stories,
one of which happened about hft\-fi\e years ago, is worthy of
notice. One of his neighbors. Mr. Cadwcll, observed that his
658 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
corn was being destroyed, as he thought, by his neighbor's
large black hogs, which were allowed to run at large. Mr. Cad-
well told his neighbor of the ravages which his hogs were mak-
ing in his corn field and that if he did not keep them out of
his field he would shoot them. On going to his corn field a
few days later he saw that the same ruin was still going on,
whereupon he loaded his gun and told his son,, a boy of twelve
years to go to the field, and if he saw his neighbor's hogs
there to shoot them. The boy took his stand in the field, and
after watching until near sunset, was about to go home when
he heard the intruder crashing through the corn which \vas so
tall as to prevent the boy seeing the animal until it came very
close to him, when it arose upon its hind-feet upon which the
boy fired, and without waiting to see the effect of his shot ran
home and informed his father that he had shot the neighbor's
largest black hog. On going to the field the}' found dead, not
the neighbor's hog, but a very large black bear which had
ravaged the corn. The names of his children are :
Warren P., born March 23, 1832, and lives in Idaho. Ciar.
issa, born June 2, 1836; married Reed Clark and resides in
Collins. Benjamin F., born May 18, 1850; married Florence
Canfield and resides with his father on the old homestead.
The names of Benjamin's children are :
Ira B , born in 1874, and Coridan ¥., born in 1877, and died
in Sept. 1881.
Plyii Holteii.
Mr. Holten was born in Dorset, Bennington county, Vt., in
1832. He studied medicine two years but never practiced. He
wasmarriedin 1858 to Francis A. Williams. In 1856 Mr. Holten
engaged in mercantile pursuits at Danb}', Vt., which he con-
tinued at that place for twenty years. He was Post-Master at
the same place fourteen years and Justice of the Peace three
terms. In 1876 he removed to Collins Center, N. Y., and
engaged in trade at that place where he now resides. Mr. and
Mrs. Holten have three children : Carrie F., Herbert P. and
Lillie May. Nellie Gay, twin sister of Lillie May, died an
infant.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 659
John Heiii.
Mr. Hcin's ancestors were natives of Alsace, France, from
which place his father, Clemens Hein, his mother, Elizabeth
Beekman Hein, and his {grandfather, came to this country. His
grandfather was a soldier of Napoleon.
John was born in Aurora, N. Y., April 21, 1852. He fol-
lowed the occupation of gardener in Hamburg, for three years.
In I.S59 he became an employee of the Hon. A G. Conger and
has continued in his service and that of his family since.
Erastus L. Harris.
Erastus L. Harris, son of Esek and Susanna Harris, is a
native of (Collins and was born Jan. 4, 1871. He resided in
Collins until 1854, at which time he went to California and there
engaged in mining until the Fall of 1857, when he returned to
Collins. In the F'all of 1858 he went to Iowa, where he bought
land and engaged in farming until the breaking out of the late
rebellion in the Spring of 1861, when he returned to Collins
where he was chosen to represent the famous Ellsworth Regi-
ment, the 44th New York Volunteers. On the 8th of August,
1861 he was mustered into service at Alban)' and joined the
Army of the Potomac under General McClellan, in front of
Washington, in November of the same year. While serving
in this regiment he was appointed Corporal and Sergeant. He
served in this regiment until No\-ember, 1863, at which time he
was promoted to second Lieutenant in the ninth United States
colored troops, and in the Spring of 1865 he was promoted to
first Lieutenant, which position he occupied until the close of
the war, when he resigned August, 1865. He was in all the
battles in which his regiment was engaged, participating in
the siege of Yorktown and the battles of Hanover Court House,
Malvern Hill, second Bull Run, Antietam, Shepardstown F^ord,
P'redericksburg, December, 1863, Chancelorsville, Middletown
and Gettysburg. He was in the above-named battles while in
the 44th Regiment. While Lieutenant in the United States
colored troops he was engaged in the operations about Charles-
ton until August, 1864, when he went to Virginia, and was
here engaged in the siege of Petersburg, Strawberry Plains,
besides numerous severe skirmishes, and was also in the lines
66o BIOGRArHICAL SKETCHES.
before Richmond when that last stronghold of the rebellion
surrendered and was among the first to enter it after its sur-
render.
At the close of the battle of Malvern Hill he was the only
officer in his company who was not either killed or disabled,
and for a short time after this battle he was in command of his
compan}', and for his meritorious conduct in this battle he was
mentioned in general orders by Gen. Daniel Butterfield, Brig-
ade Commander, and recommended for promotion.
In February, 1863, he was married to Emily A. Smith;
daughter of Gilbert P. Smith, of Springdalc, Cedar county,
Iowa, and Lydia Smith, then deceased. At the close of the
war he returned to Collins. He has a famih- of five children :
Howard L., born Oct. 22 1864. Earl W., born April 28,
1868. Alice, born March 13, 1871. Mary, born March 18,
1873. Gilbert P., born Nov. 12. 1875.
Elizabeth Hudson.
Elizabeth Hudson, daughter of Stephen and Mary Wilber,
was born in Scipio, N. Y., Sep*. 25, 1810 ; when }'oung she
came with her parents to what is now the Town of Collins
Marcii 8, 1832; she married Stukeh' Hudson, who was born
March 21, 18 12, and died in Collins in February, 1868. After
the death of her husband Mrs. Hudson removed to Collins
Center, where she now resides. She had but one son, Stephen,
born Ma\' 23, 1834, and died in Collins Nov. 3, 1866. Stephen
was twice married ; his second wife still survives him, and is
now the wife of Charles Russell. Mrs. Hudson has three
grandchildren :
Grace, born March 11. 1859; married Herbert Reynolds and
resides at Cc^llins Center. Elmer and Louisa, who live with
their stepfather, Charles Russell.
Orra L. C Huj»lies, Kscj.
Mr. Hughes was born in York count}'. Pa., Oct. 14, 1836, of
colored parents, and is a notable example of what indomitable
perseverance and indefatigable energy will do for a person in
the struggle for talent and position. Not onh' his color, but
unpropitious circumstances and ad\'ersc surroundings, hav^e
I!I()(;K.\!'1II> AI, SKI;|( IlKs. 661
S()UL;"lit to letter his success. Tlidt his struL;"L(lcs h;i\'e achieved
for liini an eiU'iable |)ositioii in life is ex'ident from the respon-
sible positions he has held and the auto^i^raph letters he has
from men jirominc-nt in the ])o]iticsand literature of the nation.
He began life as a farm laborer, then scliool teacher and printer.
He has edited and published sexeral newspapers in different
parts of the United States, has delivered lectures and always
been foremost in movements tendinis" to the elevation of his
race. He was at one time Superintentlent of I-lducation in
Tennessee, and was appointed by President Hayes Consul to
St. Marc, Ha}-ti, but never entered ui)on the duties of his office
on account of the prex.dence of )'ellow fe\er at that ]jlace. He
was admitted to the bar, and is now a lethal practitioner at Col-
lins Center.
i\('ll<i(']l rloIUISOII.
Kendell Johnson, father of the late Hon. William .V. John-
son, was born in 1786 in Wendell, Mass., from which place he
came to Collins in i<Si i and located on lot nine, township seven,
ranj^e eight. Mr. Johnson was one of the earliest pioneers
whose hardihood and energ\- lead the wa)' from the unbroken
forest to the productive fields and fine homes that constitute
the Collins of to-day. He made the mill-stones for Taylor's
mill at Taylor Hollow and Aldrich's mill at Gowanda. the first
grist mills built in town. After chopi)ing on his newl\' acquired
estate all Summer, he walked to Massachusetts and back.
When he came to Collins he was single, but in 1813 he married
01i\e Townsend, daugliter of Jonathan Townsend. b\- whom
he had fi\x children :
Kendell, born Jan. 21. 1S14; married Lucinda Washburn;
died in Wisconsin about 1870. .Sarah, born fan. 29, 1816;
married first,. Jared King, who died in 1846; second, Hiram
Lindsley. David, born March 12, 1818 ; married Nanc\' Ouinn;
lives in Wisconsin. Charles, born May 29, 1829; married Lu-
cinda Carle}-; lives in Kansas. Ruth, born Now 25, 1822;
married Hiram Hathaway; died in Vermont.
His first wife having died in 1826, he was married a second
time to Julia Ford, by w honi he had four children :
Eli, Martha, Mary K. and William A.
662 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Mr. Johnson died Feb. 26, 1834. His second wife died in
September, 1877, aged seventy-eight years.
W^illiaiii A. Johnson.
VVilham A. Johnson, son of Kendall Johnson, was born in
Collins, May 26, 1834, on the farm his father located in 181 1,
He succeeded his father on the old homestead and lived there
until 1877, when he removed to Collins Center. His education
was attained in the district school, with the exception of one
term at Westfield Academy. He taught several terms in the
district schools ; was twice elected Supervisor of his town (in
1876 and '78), and twice represented the Fifth Assembh' dis-
trict (in 1875 and '79) at Albany.
He was, perhaps, the most extensive cheese manufacturer in
the world, being at the time of his death sole and part owner
in fifty-nine factories, that during the best of the season turned
out seven hundred cheese daily, each weighing some sixty
pounds. He erected an immense storehouse for his business
at Collins Station, three stories, with basement ; 150 feet long-
by sixty feet wide.
In 1862, he was married to Miss LucindaA. Potter, by whom
he had four children, viz.:
Curtis A., Elton E., Grace E. and Edith A.
Mr. Johnson died at Collins Center, July 19, 188 1, \'ery sud-
denly, and his loss was felt to be a great calamity at the time,
but Mrs. Johnson and her two eldest sons took hold of his
immense business, and have very successfulh' carried it on
since.
Mr. Johnson was a man of great cnerg\' and whate\"erhe un-
dertook was carried forward to completion, and he was
possessed also of good business ciualifications, which rendered
his undertakings remunerative, and luid he been spared the
allotted span of life, he would ha\'e acquired a great fortune.
As it was, he left his family in independent circumstances. A
kind and indulgent father, a loving husband, a true friend and
a safe counselor, can be truthfull)- said of William A. Johnson.
Kli F. ffoliusou.
Mr. Johnson has always been engaged in farming and owns
a fine farm about two miles south of Collins Center.
I
RIOCK.M'inCAI- SKKTCllKS. 663
About , he married Miss Dimmis M. Allen. They have
four children : Lillx' E., Mary V., who died Dec. 27, 1865,
Jessie R. and Allen K,
/
floliii 11. tlohiisoii.
Mr. Johnson's father. John T. J(ihnson, referred to in an-
other part of this work — was one of the earh' pioneers of Col-
lins. John II. Johnson was born in Collins Ma)' 29. 1835,
where he has since resided. Heis a successful farmer and has
been assessor of this town for nine )'ears, and is now (1883)
Supervisor of Collins.
Mr. Johnson was married in 1858 to Helen White. They
liax'e two sons : Daniel, born Feb. i. 1863, and Frank, born Nov.
23, 1866.
Francis Joheiigen.
Francis Johengen was born in North Collins, Jan. 18. 1847.
His father, Michael Johengen, was of Prussian birth. His
mother, Margaret Culp, was born in h' ranee. Mr. Johengen
was married in 1869 to Susanna Lackas. They have three
children, viz.:
Rachel L., Margaret M. and Lucell M. Mr. Johengen is a
mechanic.
KiiiU'lit Family.
Nathaniel Knight was born in Chatham, Columbia county,
N. Y., Jan. i, 1792, where he was married to Polly Chadwick,
three )-ears his junior. They mo\-ed to Middlefield, Otsego
county, N. Y., about 18 14, and from there to Collins about
1 8 19, locating on lot seventy-five, about three miles east of Col-
lins Center, where he always resided up to the time of his
death, Oct. 7, 1864. His wife having previously died Nov. 15,
1857. Mr. Knight was the second Supervisor elected in the
town of Collins, holding the office for eight )-ears in succession,
from 1822 upwards. He was elected Member of Assembly in
1830, being the first Assembh'man elected south of the Reser-
vation. The following is Mr. Knight's family record :
Francis L., born Aug. 6, 1815, in Otsego county; married,
first wife, Marie White, second wife, Nanc\' Dunham. He died
664 BIOGRAI'IIICAl, SKETCHES.
in March, 1873. Deborah J., born June i, 181 7, in Otsego
county; married Job Wilber. John, born Feb. 13, 1821 ; died
May 29, 1880, in Colhns. Sarah Ann, born March 16, 1823;
married James Neiper; died on the old homestead, March 29,
1859. Ruth A., born Aug, 7, 1827 ; married Humphrey Rus-
.sell and resides in Colhns. Caleb, born Aug. 8, 1828; resides
in Kansas. Betsey died when a child. William S., born Jan.
10, 1833 ' married Maryette Sherman and resides in Kansas.
Stephen T. Knight was a son of Francis L. Knight. He
was married tf) Fmma Parkenson in 1865. He resides in Col-
lins Center, and is a Justice of the Peace.
flolui Kiii.i>']it.
John Knight was a nativ^e of Collins and was born in 1829.
He married Silvia Ann White, daughter of Stephen and Sally
White. He owned and occupied up to the time of his death,
which occurred in 1880, a farm known as the Herrick farm.
At about 1870, while riding on the New York and Erie Rail-
road, the train was thrown from the track, by which he received
injuries, from the efTects of which he never fully recovered and
which ultimately resulted in his death. At the time of his
accident he received a severe wound on the head from which
his memory and intellect ever after seemed to be dazed.
He raised but one son, Reuben, who married Miss Palmer-
ton, daughter of Evans Palmerton of Michigan. Reuben
occupies and works the old homestead.
Monroe Kelley.
Joseph Kelie}', Monroe's father, was born in 1807. in Danby,
Rutland county, Vt. His wife's maiden name was Harriet
Rudel, and she was born in Danb}' in 1 809. They came to
Hamburgh, Erie ccninty, N. Y., in 1834. and to Collins in 1838,
and now reside in Zoar. Their children are :
P^rancis, born in I)anb>-, V^t., and married Abagail Bates, and
is a farmer and lives in Zoar, Collins. Nanc\-, born in Danby,
Vt., and married George Bates and lives in Otto, Cattaraugus
county. Monroe Kelley was born in Plamburgh in 1835; came
to Collins with his parents in 1838, where he has ever since
resided. He married Rosaltha Babcock. He has been engaged
in farming and has also followed the business of buying and
lUOCKAl'lllCAI. SKKTCIIKS. 665
scllini;- stock to a consitlcrablc extent for several years past.
He has no chiUlren. Delinca married Daniel Bridenbecker,
and lives in Arcade, Wyominj^^ county, N. Y. Marxin married
Alice Kelley, and lives in Collins. He is a farmer.
Caleb KiiifAlit.
Caleb Knio-ht is a son of Nathaniel Kni^dit. He was born
in Collins Aug-. 8, 1828. He has been twice married. First to
Fanny Matthews, second to Mary Rush, by whom he has two
dauL^hters: Laura A. and Emma.
In 1868 Mr. Knight removed to Effingham, Atchison
county, Kansas, where he is engaged in farming.
Kiii.&r Family,
In the Spring of 181 1, Allan, Arnold and John King came
in company with others from Danby, Vt., to Collins. They
located on lot forty-nine, near Collins Center. They built a
log-house and in the Fall, their father, Nathan King, and the
rest of the family came. Allan, the oldest who was married
then moved on to lot fifty-six, from there he moved to Zoar ;
from Zoar on to the farm now owned by John Becker, in Col-
lins, where he lived until his death in 1851. He married Rezina
Thompson, who died in i860. They had eight children, as
follows :
Mariette, born April 27, 1812 ; married Sylvenus Bates, Jr.; Mr.
Bates died April 7, 1874. Lydia, born Dec. 28, 181 3; died in
1855. Harlan, born Oct. 2, 181 5 ; married Phoebe Irish; he died
in 185 I. Emily, born Jan. 6, 1818 ; died in 1822. William T.,
born Aug. 17, 1820; married Lucy Cook. Alvin J., born May
1 ] 1824; married Susan A. Southworth. Charlotte, born May
18, 1828; married George Southworth. Amanda, born April
18, 1832 : died in 1834.
Mrs. Bates, the oldest, had two children : Melissa A., born
in Nov., 1835; died Nov., 1872; she married Hiram Cook.
Sarah W.,born in Dec, 1844; married Butler Potter.
Arnold was married in Vermont to Candace Cook and had a
large family of children. He died in Cattaraugus county
about 1870.
666 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
John married Tryphenia Pratt. He died in one of the west-
ern states about 1872.
The father, Nathan King, died in ColHns in 1830, aged sev-
enty-six. He married Mary Viol, who died in 1842, aged
seventy-four. The following are the names of their children :
Allan, married Rezina Thompson. John T., married Try-
phena Pratt. George, married Betsey Hazard. Lydia, married
Ira Waterman. Polly, married Adolphus Albee. Phila, mar-
ried Edwin Farnsworth. Chloe, married Hiram Hazard. Ar-
nold, married Candace Cook, Isaac, married Emily Allan.
Jared, married Sarah Johnson. Charlotte, married Jared Can-
field. Sally, married Thomas Farnsworth. Angelinc, married
William Farnsworth.
Henry Kouard.
Mr. Konard was born in Mecklenberg. Germany, Jan. 21,
1843. He came from thereto Otto, N. Y., the December after
he was twenty-three years old. He remained there six years then
came to Collins. He has always been a farmer. He was mar-
ried in 1865 to Kate Hahgolstone, who was born March 26,.
1833. They have had five children, viz:
Mary and Minnie, born April 21, 1866. Henry, born March
5, 1869. Charles, born Aug. 5, 1871. Louise, born July 30,.
1875 ; died Aug. 15, 1881.
Aaron Lindsey.
Aaron Lindsey was born in Connecticut. He came to
Madison county in this State and remained a few years. He
came to Collins to look for land in 1809, and located on lot
forty-two, township six, range eight, and moved his family on
in March, 1810. His brother-in-law, Arad Howard, came with,
him and located on the same lot. They had to cut their own
road part of the way from Boston. ,
His children were : Almond, who married Rachel Smith..
Aaron, who married Tryphena Bates. Sally married Wright
Jewel. Ira I., died young. Betsy married Jeremiah Smith. Moses
married Hannah Bates. Norman married Lucretia Bates.
Hiram married Sarah Johnson. Simeon married Mary Eaton-
Lucy married Asa Patch.
tf
hi()(;rai'IIIca[, sketches. 667
Aaron Liiidsey, .Tr.
Aaron Liiuisc}-, Jr., was born in the Town of Nelson, Mad-
ison county, N. Y., April 19, 1807, '^'^^^^ ^^''^^ married to Try-
phena l^ates, in the Town of Collins, Nov. 23, 1828.
Tryphena Bates was born in Orant^e, Franklin county, Mass.,
Aug". 4, iSii. The}' have resided in Collins about seventy
years. Their children were:
Sylvia, born Nov. 30, 1829. Sylvenus, born Oct. 18, 1831.
Daniel F., born Aug. 21, 1833. Orissa, born May 15, 1836.
Richard C, born April 8, 1838. Luc}', born Jan. 9, 1842.
Mary Loretta, born Sept. 20, 1846.
Sylvia died Sept. 14, 1849. Orissa married William Barn-
hart, and died Jul}- 28, 1 856. Daniel died in December, 1877.
Richard married Malora Chafee, and died May 2, 1877. Syl-
x'enus married Dorcas Bartlett, since died. Lucy married Albert
Halcomb, and resides in Collins. Mary Loretta married Nathan
Peasley, and resides in Collins.
When Mrs. Tryphena Lindsey was a small girl four or five
years old, her father, Syh'enus Bates lived at Taylor Hollow.
One day she undertook to walk across the mill race there on a
couple of poles, and fell into the water. David and John Wil-
ber, then fourteen and sixteen years of age, happening to be
at the mill, saw her fall in and ran and rescued her from drown-
ing. This happened sixty-five years ago, and the ])arties are
all still living in Collins.
Georji*' Lenox.
George Lenox, a native of Ireland, was born in 1 809. In
about 1830, he came to America and bought a farm in Collins,
situated three miles north of Collins Center, where he was en-
gaged in farming, until the time of his death, which took place
May 16, 1871.
In 1832, he married Elizabeth Skeggs, daughter of William
Skeggs. His widow survives him and resides at Collins Cen-
ter. They raised a family of nine children :
Jane, who married Rufus Washburn, and lives in North Col-
lins. William S., who was a Sergeant in Company D, Tenth
New York Cavalry, and died in 1862, at Alexandria, from the
effects of a wound received at Bristol Station. George H.,who
668 BKXIRAI'IIICAL SKETCHES.
was also a soldier of his country in the darkest days of her tri-
als and dangers ; he died in a rebel prison ; his friends were
unable to learn the particulars of his capture and death. Ljxlia
M., who married Charles Potter, and lives in Collins. Francis,
who married Lucy Washburn, and lives in Collins. Johanna,
who married John Sherman, and resides in Collins. Chauncy
B. and Selam, who own and occupy the old homestead, and
Ellen, who married Charles Ottenbacher and lives in Collins.
The Liiphaiii Family.
Abram Lapham came to Collins in 1809, from Genesee
county. He was formerly from Ames, Mass. He purchased
in the vicinity of what is now known as Bagdad, one thousand
acres of fine timber land. The next year his son Stephen
came, who, in 18 14, built a saw-mill where the m^ll now stands
at Bagdad. Stephen was married in Genesee county to Mar-
garet Robinson. His brothers were John, Daniel, Savery and
Ira. None of the family reside in Collins at present. Their
descendants are living in Oakland county, Mich.
Samuel Lumbard.
Samuel Lumbard, an old and respected citizen of Collins^
was born in the Town of Wells, Rutland county, Vt., in 1820.
He married Aurelia Hopkins and came to Collins in 1836. He
owns and occupies a farm known as the Hopkins farm. He
has one son :
Albertus, who married Matilda Wickham, daughter of Hu-
ram and Louisa Wickham. Albertus resides with his father and
assists in working the farm.
Mr. Lumbard has also an adopted daughter :
Ida, who married Walter Canfield, and lives in Collins Center.
John 3Iilli.s.
John Millis and wife came to this country on foot, some
three hundred miles. He brought a gun and pack upon his
back and an axe in his hand, and she carried a child nearly two
years old. Millis located some two hundred acres on lot sev-
enty-five, township seven, range seven, which is now in the
Town of Collins. The first night he built a fire by the side of
J5|()(.KArilI(;A[, SKK'I'CHKS. 669
a tree, aiul witli tlic aid of his axe he constructed a shelter for
his wife and child. The next day he set about preparinj^ a
more substantial abode for his family. He built a cabin, but
had no door, this necessarj' article was improx'ised out of hem-
lock boughs. Mrs. Millis, when in after years she related these
experiences, often spoke of the wolves. W'hen pressed with
hunger the\' would often gather near the cabin, and nights
would be weird and hideous by their bowlings. She tells of the
boldness of one old she-wolf; her husband was away; she
was performing her usual household duties; her child was
about the cabin ; she raised her eyes to the door ; a sight was
there that would shock the nerves of almost any one ; the ugly
and gaunt form of an old slie-wolf stood peering in. She said
" its eyes shone like balls of fire, and when it met her gaze it
showed its cold, murderous teeth, then turned and slowly
walked off."
John Millis was a character that pertained to that period,
and one would almost infer that nature, at the start, had de-
signed him for the very position which he occupied. Of low
stature, broad shoulders and possessed of the strength of an
ox, he had a constitution that never wearied, a will that never
yielded until the object sought . had been attained. Uncle
David Wilber says that he has often met John with two bush-
els of corn upon his back, which would be carried to Aldrich's
mill at Lodi and would be returned to his home in meal the
.same day, making the task in coming and going fully sixteen
miles. He was a great chopper, and day in and day out, early
and late, Summer or Winter might be heard the echo of John
Millis' sturdy and telling blows, and they were truly telling,
and the dense, heavy forest soon crept away from his cabin
door and its place was supplanted by broad, fruitful fields.
A large family of stalwart sons and daughters (thirteen in num-
ber) who partook largely of their parent's industrious habits,
lent their willing hands in aiding John Millis to clear his farm.
Scarcely had a score of years gone by before he sold one-half
of his cultivated claim to Esquire Nathaniel Knight, who gave
as a consideration enough to secure a clear title to the other
half; and he found the great aim of all his bitter toils and pri-
vations accomi)lished. He held in fee-simple a deed to his
670 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
home, a home that \\'as bei^un that dismal April ni'jht by the
side of a tree in that great wilderness with onl}- the compan-
ionship of the wolf, whose weird howl often disturbed his slum-
bers. A neat and tasty cottage had taken the place of the
rude log structure, fruits and flowers grew, bloomed and ma-
tured about its door, and ere this honest, industrious couple
had attained the summit of life, -they were enabled to spend
the remainder of their days in comparative ease. John gave
up the making of black salts, and Mrs. Millis did not toil as
busy and constant with her loom and distaff.
Some thirty years ago Mrs. Millis died, and though this made
a broken home and was a truly a great sorrow to the toil-worn
pioneer, still he remained on the farm until all his large family
of boys and girls had gone out into the world for themselves.
The most of them had gone WY-st. Some twenty-five years
ago he sold the old homestead and followed them ; then he had
reached more than the allotted span of three score and ten,
still he was hale and acti^'e. and devoted his time and means in
establishing each of his children in a home; he ga\'e to each a
deed of fifty acres of land and he passed his days in visiting
alternately among them.
Georg-e J. Motzger.
George J. Metzger, son of George and Catharine Metzger, is
a native of Germany, and was born Feb. 26, 1832.. In 1842 he
came to America with his parents, and in 1852 he was married
to Catharine .Scott, daughter of Robert and Lucina Scott, of
North Collins. He is engaged in farming, owning a farm in
North Collins, upon which his son Millard resides, and also one
in Collins which he occupies. The names of his children are
as follows :
Millard G., born March 30, 1855, who married Kmma Al-
drich and lives in North Collins. Caroline, born May 19, 1858,
who married Ernest Valentine and lives in North Collins.
Emma, who died young. Alice, born Aug. 11, 1861. John,
born Jan. 18, 1863, Leonard, born May 15, 1864, and died
March 15, 1866. Sylvester, born March 6, 1867, and died May
30, 1867.
BHXIRAl'lIICAL SKETCHES. 67 I
Saiiiiiel Ttiliiias*' Mmij;or.
Samuel Talmagc Muiit^cr was born at Roxbury, Conn.,
Feb. 6, 1805, and in the year 1816, his father, Samuel Monger,
removed to Warsaw, Wyoming county, and soon after bound
out his son Samuel to his brother, Deacon John Munger of
Warsaw to learn the trade of tanner and shoemakx-r. After
his majority he carried on the shoe business at W^arsaw till
the year 1829. In Jul}' he came to Gowanda, then Lodi, and
engaged in the tanning and shoe business in connection with
Nathaniel Frank, under the firm name of Frank & Munger.
Subsequently Gideon Webster purchased the interest of Mr.
Frank and the firm name became Munger & Webster, who for
several years carried on — for those times — a large and success-
ful business in which he achieved success. In 1839, ^^^- Mun-
ger retired from mercantile business and engaged in farming,
having purchased the farm of Thomas B. Sowle, one mile east
of the village, where he continued to reside until 1853, when
he purchased the farm and built the house where he died. In
the fall of 1829, Mr. Munger returned to Warsaw and married,
October i, Miss Cornelia Clark, daughter of Daniel Clark, Esq.,
of Pawlet, Vt., with whom he lived pleasantly until her death,
June 19, 1852. In 1853, he married Eliza Haskell of Sandy
Hill, N. Y., who survived him. Of his seven children, three
sons died in infancy and William in Oct., 1863, at the age of
twenty-five years, leaving a wife, Rachel, daughter of George
Sisson, and a son. Milton H. Munger, now of Glens Falls, N.
Y. Jennette, his only daughter, married Sumner C. W'arren,
and after his death in Oct., 1865, was married to George Kirby,
Jr., of New Bedford, Mass.. Oct., 1869, where she now resides.
Charles, his eldest son, went to Kansas in 1868 and married
Mary Walters of Effingham, Kan., where they now reside.
Samuel Clark, his youngest child, succeeded to the homestead.
In all the relations of life Mr. Munger hds acted well his
part having been a kind husband and father and a good citizen.
It is not too much to say that few if any shared more largely
in the confidence and esteem of his neighbors and fellow-
citizens.
He died April 14, 1875, ^.ged seventy years, after a lingering
illness, and his funeral was attended at his late residence, where
672 ki()(;rai>iii(AI skktches.
a large number leathered to show resj^ect for the dead andsj'm-
pathy for the Hving. Trul)' it may be said of him. " The
remembrance of tlie just shall not pass away.'"
»i allies Mattlu'w.s.
Mr. Matthews' father, Francis Matthews, mo\'ed to Collins
from Essex county, N. Y., (formerlx' from Vermont), in 1833,
where he lived until his death. He married Roxena Aldrich.
James Matthews was born in Irasburg, Orleans count}', Vt.,
Feb. 3, 1823 ; came to Essex county when fi\e \'ears old and
from there to Collins with tiie family. Has always claimed a
residence in Collins and North Collins since.
In the .S])ring of 1849, Mr. Matthews went to Illinois,
remained a } ear, then started for California and reached Salt
Lake City in July, 1859; remained there until the subsequent
Spring, teaching school during the Winter. In July, 1851, he
reached California and was engaged in mining there until 1853,
when he returned to Collins and engaged in lumbering until
the Fall of 1861 when he enlisted, Sept. i6th, in Company D,
Tenth N. Y. Ca\-alry. He participated in nearly every battle
in which the Army of the Potomac took part. He was ne\-er
wounded, sick, or excused irom duty a minute during his ser-
vice. He was commissioned second Lieutenant Dec. 22, 1862,
and first Lieutenant July 16, 1864. He was mustered out of
service at Petersburg, Ya.. Nov. 22, 1864. At the close of the
war he returned and engaged in farming in \orth Collins
where he resided until 1880, when he moved to Collins Center,
where he is now engaged in the general grocer\- trade.
James H. McMillain.
Mr. McMillain was born in Aug., 1806, in Onondaga count)-,
N. Y., from which place he came to Gowanda in 1821, where
he resided until his death Sept. 26, 1879, which was occasioned
by the running awa\- of his horse in the streets of (Gowanda.
Vov several \'ears afte-' coming to Gowanda Mr. McMil-
lain was in the employ of the Plumbs who were exten-
sive real estate owners and business men. Afterward he
engaged in the grocery trade for hiniself which he continued
until his death. His sons Robert and George continue the
business.
l!|()(iUArillC.\L SKKK'IIKS. (ij I
Mr. McMilhiin was Constable, Collector and Deputy Sheriff
t..r thirteen years in succession, and Supervisor of Collins in
1854 and 1 855. He received the appointment of Commissioner
to locate and build the road throui;h the Cattarau<,ais Indian
Reservation, which occupied a period of four years.
He was married in 1832 to Clarissa Grannis, dau^ditcr of
David Grannis. Of their children there are iivini;- Robert and
(George, who are successfully conducting the grocery and pro-
vision trade at Gowanda, and iM'ances, who married Henry
Russell.
Their great-grandfather, James McMillain, was a resident of
Perthshire, Scotland. Their grandfather was the youngest son
by the last wife of their great-grandfather, which last u ife was
the sister of James Alexander, who figured in the war of the
revolution in this country as Lord Stirling. He died in Phila-
delphia before the war ended. The AicMillains who came to
this country were Peter, Jane and Joseph. The latter was their
•Tandfather. }ane was married in the old country to a man by
The name of James Miller. They all first stopped in Provi-
dence, R. 1. Joseph was married in Rhode Lsland to A\is
Howen .md followed the sea some few years and afterwards
moved to the State of New York, Town of Galway, Saratoga
county. He was with James Alexander, or Lord Stirling, in
his last sickness, in Philadelphia, but went home on business
and Lord Stirling died in his absence and was buried before he
returned.
Mr. McMillain was appointed to superintend the construction
of a road across the Lulian Reserv.ition from Lodi to the mouth
of Cattaraugus Creek. The following extract from a letter ex-
plains itself :
HlM'l'Al.o, Sept. 22, 1843.
James II. McMilUun, lisq.
Dear Sir: — Having tra\eled the road across the hidian
Reservati(Mi from Lodi to the mouth of the Cattaraugus Creek, it
affords us great pleasure to say that it is wisely located and better
constructed than any public road we have examined for many
years. We think it as perfect as it could have been made
674 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
with the sum expended, and that the Superintendent of the
work is well deserving the public thanks.
Thomas L. \^()\'Yl, Judge of Eric county.
Ira Cook,
.fosepli Mugridge.
Mr. Mugridge was born in Kent county, England, April 8,
1822. He came to America in 1833 and settled in Utica, N .Y.;
removed to Buffalo in i84i,and became a member of the firm
of Mugridge & Son ; he remained a member of the firm a short
time. In 1852 he went to California and engaged in mining
for about two years when he returned to BulTalo and engaged
in business, where he remained until the Spring of 1864, when
he came to Collins Center and entered into the mercantile
trade which he still pursues. He has been Justice of the Peace
and Town Clerk. Mr. Mugridge was married to his present
wife in i860; her maiden name was Susanna Hill; they have
one child, Edward C.
Ezra Nichols.
Mr. Nichols' ancestry can be traced back to the 17th century
when three brothers emigrated from Wales and settled in
Rhode Island. His father, James Nichols, was born in Rhode
Island in 1768, and removed to Danby, Vt., in 1780, where Ezra
the oldest of a family of eight, was born Jan. 19, 1795. He
came to Collins in 1816 and located on lot fifty, where he lived
until his death, Aug. 31, 1881.
He was married June 6, 18 19 to Sarah Curtis, who died May
30, 1863, aged sixty-seven. They never had any children. By
strict industry and perseverance he accumulated quite a large
property. He was a man of exact honor and business integrity.
It is said he never was in debt a dollar or paid a cent of interest
during his life. Mr. Nichols was a Quaker, as were his ances-
tors, and he was reared under rigid Quaker discipline.
Charles E. Otteiibacher.
Charles E. Ottenbacher, son of Charles and Sarah Otten-
bacher, was born in North Collins, on the 21st of April, 1858.
Jan. 29, 1878, he married Elli Lenox, daughter of George
HiocRAi'HicAi. ski; ic I IKS. 675
and Eli/.abcth Lenox. Soon after his marria^^c, he purchased
a farm formerly owned by GeorL^e Valentine, on which farm he
now resides. He has no children.
C. B. Parkinson.
Mr. li. Brii^gs.
Dear Sir ;— Vou requested me to write a short sketcii of
my father's, C. B. Parkinson, life, to be published in your forth-
coming; history of Collins. In reply, I would say tliat father,
in company with his brothers, came to Collins in 1816. being
then si.xteen years old, and from that time until a short time
prex'ious to his tleath, he was actively engaged in helping to
make Collins and the surrounding country what we now see it.
The greater and earlier portion cjf his life was spent in building
barns, bridges and mills; while later he turned his attention
more or less to farming.
He lived a temperate, peaceful and orderly life.
I suppose that you. in canvassing this country for informa-
tion, find a great many men and women who can say the same,
\'iz.: "They passed a busy, toilsome and honest life," you find
that they "acted well their part." The\^ are now passing
rapidly away, and your efforts to perpetuate the memory of
these old settlers should meet with the hearty support of their
descendants. We scarce!}' realize the great work that they
have accomplished so successfully. What are now fine farms
was then a wilderness. Giant hemlocks, pines, beech and
maples occupied the places where now we see orchards, barns
farm houses and villages.
They were resolute men who could hew out a ci\-ilization in
so short a time and u'ith such limited means. Wolves were
encountered in the woods, and the wolf of hunger in the house
but their spirits never failed.
Difficulties were encountered onl}- to be o\'ercome. Mills
were to be built. The irons to be brought from Albanj' by
teams — so they used but very few irons. Father's bill for
blacksmithing on the Gowanda bridge was only .$18. The
plows had wooden mold-boards ; the sleighs were shod with
wood, and their houses were built of logs; their clothing of
flax and wool made at home, carded, spun and woven. In
6/6 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Summer, they went barefooted and walked four and five miles
to church or to " raisings " and " loggings." Then they had
fun, and it was lively fun. After they had worked all day roll-
ing the big logs into heaps to burn, and our mothers in the
house had been quilting, a supper was prepared and eaten
with relish ; then log heaps were set on fire for light and warmth^
and the deck was cleared for a" dance." If they had no fiddler
some one would sing ; where there was a will to dance there
was a way.
The old log houses have vanished. The " logging fallows "
have disappeared, and the old times have long since passed
away, and with them passed many of the old folks. Their work
has been well done, and we, their descendants, should feel a
great pride in them.
We have a great national pride in the Puritans, whose
achievements did not much surpass the deeds of the Pioneers
of the Holland Purchase.
I hope your book will be a simple story of how our fathers
and mothers lived, and of what they have done. It will be
prized by us and the generations to come, and now, as these
few remaining " old settlers " are silently and unostentatiously
passing away, let us uncover and reverently bow to their " old
fashions " as a record of a glorious past, and as the old gentle-
man's eye lights up as he recites the "stories of the old times,"
let us tell him that we are proud of his achievements, and that
his deeds shall not be forgotten, and after their footsteps are
silent and that " old, old-fashioned " death has kindly helped
them across the river, let us drop a tear over the grave of the
"old pioneer." Very respectfully,
W. H. Parkinson.
Philip H. Perry.
Philip H. Perry was born in Washington county, N. Y.,
April 26, 1816. His father, Philip Perry, was in the war of
18 1 2. Mr. Perry came to Erie county about 1823. When six-
teen years of age he went to Gowaiida, where he learned the
harness maker's and saddler's trade ; about 1845 he established
himself in this business at Collins Center, and pursued it up to
his death. Nov. 12, 1877.-
liKXikAlilK AL SKKTCIIKS. 677
Mr. rcny was a man who always sou<;ht the best interests
of the community in which he hved. lie was an ardent advo-
cate of the temperance cause, and for many years occupied
some position of public trust ; he was Postmaster at one time,
and filled the office of Justice of the Peace twenty-five years in
succession, and Justice of the Sessions one term, while Roswell
VV. Burroughs was County Judge. He was married in 1839 to
Mariette Perry, by whom he had one son, Wilber C, who per-
ished in Andersonville prison ; and one daughter, Alice (i., who
married A. R. Chase, and resides in Collins.
Mr. Perry was married a second time, in 1865, to Elizabeth
Willson, daughter of Gideon H. Willson. of Mansfield, Catta-
raugus county, N. Y., by whom he had one daughter. May.
Triiinaii B. Payne.
Mr. Payne was born in 1797 in Essex county, N. Y., where
he lived at the time of the war of 1812, in which he served as a
soldier. He came to Collins in 1816 and located on lot forty-
three. He remained four years ; then returned to Essex county
and lived ten years, when he again returned to Collins and
resided until his death, Sept. 30, 1872. He married Betsey
Sampson in 1821 ; she was born in 1794 and died Feb. 18. i860.
They had a family of nine children, viz.:
Lucinda, born Sept. 13, 1824. Hamilton, born May 16,
1826; died in 1826. Rozilla, born July 30, 1827; married Al-
vin Hopkins. Joseph, born May 11, 1829; married Wealthy
Canadey. Emery, born Nov. 13, 1830; married Angeline Sin-
gleton. Ira, born April 24, 1832 ; died in 1844.. Almeda, born
March 12, 1834: died in 1839. Truman W., born Nov. 2,
1835 ; married Mary A. Mason. Amos G., born April 19, 1838;
married Sarah A. Mason.
Joseph Paluierton.
Mr. Palmerton's ancestors were a long-lived New England
people of English descent. His paternal grandfather was a
Revolutionary soldier. Mr. P.'s father, Joshua Palmerton, was
born in New England March 3. 1785; he came from Danby,
Vt., in 1899 to Collins, from Farmington, Ontario county; he
came in company with Stephen and Abram Lapham and
6/8
h[()(;raphk-ai. sketches.
Stephen Peters. After inspecting and selecting lands, Mr.
Palmerton and Peters returned to Batavia and articled their
land. They went on foot, carrj'ing the articles necessary for
the journey in knapsacks. Mr. Palmerton in 1809 selected
lands on the west part of lot forty-eight, and Mr. Peters selected
lands on the east part of the same lot, and they both took con-
tracts for the same. In 18 10 Mr. Palmerton took a contract'
for lands on the east part of lot fifty, on which he settled, and
where he cleared up. improved and owned a fine farm, on which
%'l<
Joshua Pai.mkkion
he lived from that time forward during the remainder of his
life. He died July 12, 1870. He was married Jan. 26, 18 12,
to Hannah Nichols, who was born Feb. 18, 1793, and died Dec.
19, 1870. He was a prominent member of the Society of
Friends, or Quakers. He was what is known among them as a
recommended minister, and for many years after coming to
Collins he preached much, over a wide extent of country. He
usually traveled on horseback, and was often sent for from long-
distances to preach funeral sermons. He was a man of unlim-
ited hospitality, his doors being always open.
lUOCRAI'IIUAI. SKETCHES.
679
The followiiiL,^ is the faniil)- record of his cliilch-eii :
Joel, born Sept. 4, KS14; died Au^. 2-], 181 5. Elisa (twin),
born Sept. 12, 1816; married in 183910 Louis V'arney. Elisha
(twin), born Sept. 12, 1816; married in 1843 to Lydia Ann
Soule ; died Oct. 10, 1849. L>dia, born Dec. 8, i8l8; married
in 1837 to Gilbert P. Smith; died Dec. 25, 1848. Joshua E.,
born Dec. 11, 1820; married in 1846 to Cliarity Bennet..
Phueba, born Sept. 13, 1822; married in 1847 to Chauncey Bal-
lard. Joseph, born Oct. 8, 1824; married in 1854 to Ruth
Mrs. Joshua Palmkrion.
Allen. Eunice N., born May 5, 1827; married in 1851 to John
J. Gurnsey; died Aug. 7, 1852. Hannah, born Oct. 16, 1829;
died Dec. 27, 1848. James W., born Dec. 4, 1S31 ; married in
1854 to Henerette Roberts; died Oct. 3, 1859. M'^iiy- born
April 4, 1836; married, first, in i860, to Daniel Johnson; sec-
ond, in 1865, to Thomas G. Paxon.
Joseph Palmerton was born in Collins, where he has always
resided in the capacity of a farmer. He has been three times
elected Commissioner of Highways of Collins. His wife, Ruth
Allen, daughter of Isaac Allen, a prominent pioneer of Collins.
They have three children :
Durant A., Eunice A. and Frank. Durant is proprietor of
6<So HKJCRAl'IIICAL SKETCHES.
the " Linden Lawn Apian," which has produced some seasons
as high as four thousand pounds of surplus honey, Eunice is
a teacher. Frank, at the present writing (October, 1882), is a
student of the college at Lima, N. Y.
David Pound.
Mr. Pound was a Quaker and came to Collins from New Jer-
sey in 181 1, locating where the Collins railroad depot stands.
He erected a saw-mill on his lot. Mr. Pound and his wife died
in Collins years ago, as did four of their children, a remaining
one d\ing since at the west, leaving the family extinct.
AVilliam P. Pratt.
William P. Pratt, son of John and Lovinia Pratt, was born
in the town of Concord, Oct. 6, 1847. When about nine years
of age he removed to Collins with his parents where he has
ever since resided, living at the present time at Bagdad, where
he owns and occupies a farm. June 15, 1870, he married Flora
Rolfe, daughter of Reuben and Rachel Rolfe of Collins. His
wife was brought up by Augustus Smith. They have no chil-
dren.
Natliaii Pierce.
Nathan Pierce, son of Charles and Flliza Pierce, is a native
of Collins and was born Jan. 12, 1843. March 12, 1868, he
married Julia A. Bartlett, daughter of Seth and Aurilia Bart-
lett. Since his marriage he has mostly been engaged in
the manufacture of cheese for William A. Johnson, being now-
employed in the Collins Center cheese factory. He has but
one child. Lena May, born Sept. 13, 1870.
Merritt K. Paliiiertoii.
Merritt R. Palmerton, son of Elisha and L)'dia Palmerton,
was born in the town of Sheridan, Chautauqua county, X. Y.,
March i, 1847. Nearly his whole life has been passed in Col-
lins, where he has been engaged in farming and the manufac-
ture of cheese. He now owns and conducts a meat-market at
Collins Center. In Sept., 1864, he married Hattie Tanner,
daughter of Anson and Lucy Tanner. The names of their
children are as follows :
Hin(;KAI'IlI( AI. SKE'K HKS. 68 r
Anson P., born Au<j. 13, iiS68; James M.. born Jan. 31. 1S71,
and Kdith. born March 13, i<S77.
Joseph Pottor.
Joseph Potter, an old and highly respected citizen of Colh'ns.
was born in the Town of Providence, SaratOLja county. X. Y.,
in 1804. He married Persus Hayden and came to Collins in
1836 and bou<^ht the farm which he now owns and occupies of
the Holland Land Company. Mr. Potter is a man of quiet and
domestic habits, spending his time almost wholh- with his
famil)\ He has many \-ears been a worthy member of the
Free Methodist Church. His name should ever be remembered
as being associated with those who encountered so man\" diffi-
culties and hardships in subduing the great forest to prepare a
home for themselves and their descendants.
His children are three: Moses, Charles and William. Moses
married Helen Ferris and lives in Collins. Charles married
Lydia Lenox and lives in Collins. William married Dora
Knight and resides with his parents and works the farm. His
oldest son, Moses, has for many years been afiFiicted \\ith the
consumption and has for the greater part of his sickness been
confined to the house.
Joseph AV. Potter.
Mr. I'otter was born in Collins, in 1844, where he has ever
since resided, a thriving farmer. His father, Peter Potter, came
to Collins from Vermont in 1843.
Joseph W. Potter was married in 1872 to Ann Fliza Ha\i.
land The)' ha\e two children, viz: (icorge H.and Herbert L
George Parkinson,
George Parkinson, son of James and Sarah Parkinson, was
born in Collins, Dec. 24, 1826, where he has e\er since resided,
now owning and occupx'ing a farm located three miles south of
Collins Center. Oct. 28, 1848, he married Prusha Allen, daugh-
ter of Lsaac and Lydia B. Allen, of Collins. They have a famil\-
of three children : James, born April 22, 1850, married Sarah
Ann Tyrer, and lives in Collins. Horace, born Jan. 13, 1855,
married Ida Adams, and resides in Colden, Erie count}-, X. V.,
and Nellie, who is an adopted daughter, born March 22, 1863.
682 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Philander Pierce.
Philander Pierce, son of Charles and Betsy Pierce, was born
in the Town of Hamburg, Eriecounty, Aug. 31, 1818. In 1836
he came to Collins and engaged in farming until 1877, when he
removed to Collins Center, where he now resides. Jan. 10, 1841
he married Rhoda Albee, daughter of Adolphus and Polly
Allen. The names of their children are as follows : Lyman,
born Jan. 22, 1842, and died young. Myron, born Oct. 26,
1842; married Abbie Ford, and now owns and occu])ies the
farm formerly owned by his father. Abigail, born April 11,
1847 ! married Luzerne Clark and resides in Collins. They also
have an adopted daughter, Alice, \\'ho was born Dec. I, 1853,
and married Milton B. Sherman and lives in Collins Center.
He is a peaceable, quiet citizen, a kind and obliging neighbor.
Xeheiniah Keyuolds.
Nehemiah Reynolds, son of Abram and Hannah l\c\nolds,
was born in Oswego count)', N. Y., April 14, 1810. When
eighteen years of age he came to Collins, where he has since
resided and is now living with his son-in-law, William H. Vail.
In the Fall of 1836, he married Julia Woodward, daughter of
Enos and Anna Woodward. His children are :
Sylvester, born Dec. 16. 1838; married Fanny Gould, and
resides at P^jrestville, N. V. bVancis, born Sept. 30, 1841 ;
married Lola (iilson ; is a dentist and resides in Pleasantville,
Pa. Byron, born Jan. 3, 1845 '■• niarried Amelia Vail, and lives
in Ohio. Alice, who married William H. Vail, and resides in
Collins.
Mr. Reynolds is respected by all u ho know him, and he has
been among the' worthy and useful inhabitants of the town.
He came to Collins at a time \\hen it was but thinh' settled,
but he has had the pleasure of seeing the town become thickly
populated, and sujjplied with the adx-antages of an enlightened
and prosperous communit)-.
Huniplirey Kiis.sell.
Humphrey Russell is a son of ThcMiias Russell, who was born
in Easton, Washington county, N. Y., of Quaker parentage.
At an early age, his parents removed to Scipio, Cayuga county,
liKKiKAI'IIICAI. SKKTCIIKS. 6S3
and after rcsiclin!4' iIki'c awhiK' the)- rciiioxcd, about 1S17, to
Collins, antl located on lot thirty-nine. He lived here until
1869, when he moved to Farmin^ton, Mich., where he died
a<4ed sevent\'-tw(). He was a member of the Baptist church
fort\'-five years. While a resident of Collins, he was school in-
spector and justice of the peace, and also supervisor in 1846,
"47 and '48.
Humphrey Russell was born in North Collins, Feb. 13, 1828,
where he has always resided as a farmer, with the exception of
four \'ears — 186910 1872, when he became a merchant; two
years at Collins Center and two years in Michigan.
He was married in 1848. to Ruth A. Knight. They have
one son Casper L. Russell, wlio married Ivllen L.Harris.
Aii.nustus Smith's Statt'uu'iit.
I was born in Uanby, Rutland county, Vt., April 27, 1792.
M}- father's name was Nathan, and resided in Massachusetts,
and in the fore part of the Revolutionary War he served as a
soldier. He afterwards removed to Vermont. My mother's
maiden name was I^lizabeth Rogers.
I and m}' wife and twf) children came through from Danby,
V't., to Collins in March, 1816, with horses and wagon, and
landed at Stephen Wilber's. We haci made preparations to
come with a covered sleigh ; had victuals cooked up and the
neighbors came in to make a farewell visit, and that night it
rained and the snow all went off, and we had to make different
arrangements and come in a wagon.
My wife's maiden name was Elizabeth White, sister to Isaac
White. P^zra Nichols, then a y(Hmg man, came into the coun-
tr\- with us. I took an article of my farm in April, 1816,
and built a house on it that Summer, and mo\-ed into it
in the Fall.
At that time, there was no road past nu' place or near it,
I have resided on this farm from that time to the present, being
a period of about sixt\'-seven )-ears.
The first Summer after I came to Collins I Ii\-ed in Stephen
Wilber's ok! log house, w ith a bark roof and puncheon floor.
He had built him a new log house. I cleared off an acre of
land on .Stephen Wilber's lot that Spring and had the use of it,
684 I'.IOGRAPIIICAL SKETCHES.
and also of another acre that was already cleared. 1 raised
corn enough that Summer to keep my family. Job Irish and
wife and one child came into the country when we did from
Vermont. He had been here the Summer before and located
some land over near Poverty Hill. i<Si6 and 1817 were very
hard years. Many families in Collins had no bread to eat for
weeks together. Sometimes the children went into the woods
and dug roots to eat.
In 1817, Stephen Wilber had corn to sell, and asked seventy-
five cents per bushel. A man came over from Perrysburg and
offered to take all he had at that price, and Mr. Wilber refused
to let him have it because he wanted to take advantage of the
necessities of the people and speculate on it.
When I came to Collins, the Friends had a church organiza-
tion and a log meeting-house just over the line in North Col-
lins on Nathaniel Sisson's land. Afterwards, they had a log
meeting-house near Bagdad. The Friends never had any hired
preachers. The Friends' meeting-house standing on my place
was built about 1840. During the first five years after I came
.to Collins, I spent one hundred days attending raisings and
the}' were mostl}- log raisings. There are abcnit one hundred
and twenty persons now li\'ing entitled to call me father,
grandfather or great grandfather. I had four grandsons and
grand sons-in-law in the Union Army in tlie time of the Rebel-
lion, and one of them was killed.
Augustus Smith born April 2"], 1792; married Elizabeth
White, Oct. 29. 1812. Elizabeth White, born Sept. 2j, 1793;
married in the Order of Friends, Danby, Vt ; she died April
.27, 1875. in Collins. He is still living.
THEIR CHILDREN,
Rhoda, b(jrn ()ct. 9, 1813, in Danb}' ; married Caleb Tarbox,
who died ; she lives in Collins. Rachel, born Oct. 20, 18 14, in
Danb\'; married Isaiah Monson ; lives in Iowa. Maria, born
May 13, 1819, in Collins; married Abram Southwick ; died in
Farmington I"eb. 19, 1840. Reuben, born Sept. 11, 1821, in
•Collins; married Mary White; died in Leon, Cattaraugus
•county. April 19, 1S68. Lydia, born Aug. 7, 1823, in Collins.
Amy W., born June ro, 1825, in Collins; married William
IJIOCRAIMIICAI, SKF/rcIIKS. 685
Tyrcr ; lives in Pontiac, Midi. Ilannah, born Sept. 26, 1S27,
in Collins; married Joiin Wood; lives in Leon, CattarauL;"us
county. Stephen W., born Sept. 6, 1829, in Collins; married
Mahala Dou<;las ; second, Mary Knight; third, Knight,
resides on the old homestead in Collins. Phcjebe L.. born
March 8, 1832, in Collins; married Richard Bartlett ; lives in
Pontiac, Mich.
Si.ss«>n Family.
Nathaniel .Sisson, Sr., was a Quaker who came from Dart-
mouth, Mass., and settled in Cilens Falls, Warren count}', N.
Y. From there his two sons, Stephen and Nathaniel, Jr., and
son-in-law, Moses Tucker, started for Western New York
in 1814. with their wives. Their outfit and mode of convey-
ance consisted of a wagon and a single 3'oke of oxen. Arriv-
ing at Buffalo, the}- followed the lake shore until Silver Creek
was reached, when they struck out boldh' through the Indian
Reserwition for what is now North Collins; they were three
days wending their way through the wilds of the Reservation,
their broad brims (the}' were Quakers) affording them a safe
pass through the Indian country. Stephen located on lot fifty,
where he always lived until his death, Aug. 17, 1869. Nathan-
iel, Jr., and his brother-in-law. Tucker, located on lot forty-nine.
The}' brought w ith them apple seeds, which the}' i:)lanted on
their new possessions, and at the present writing (October,
1880,) ajiples are growing upon some of the identical trees
which grew from those seeds.
George Sisson was born in Collins in 181 7, where he has
always resided. He was married in 1838 to Huldah Potter.
They have had nine children, \iz.:
Stephen L. Peter P., died in 1865. Rachel, married Wil-
liam Munger; after his death she married Charles R. Eddy.
Caroline, died in 1844. Reuben, George F., Annie H. Emma
J., died in 1846. Ambrose D.
George Si.sson, in company with James Wilber. Ansel F.
Conger and Enoch Taylor built the first cheese factory in Erie
county. Messrs. Sisson and Taylor went to Herkimer county
and Rome to obtain information from the best dair}men of
that section on the manufacture of cheese. In 1862 a factory
686 biuc;raphical sketches.
was built on the north-east corner of lot sixty-one, Collins ; its
dimensions were one hundred feet in length by thirty-three in
width, consisting of a basement and two stones ; it was opened
for the reception of milk May 5, 1863; it was called the Sisson
factory. By the middle of the Summer, twenty-five cheese,
weighing io<S pounds each were manufactured daily. The fac-
tory is now owned by William A. Johnson.
Stephen L. Sisson, son of George Sisson, was born in Collins
March 4, 1840. He is a farmer. Was married in 1863 to
Anna H. Haviland. They have three children, viz.:
Lydia A., Anna E. and Alice.
HOW STEPHEN SISSON WENT TO MILL.
Soon after Mr. Sisson located in Collins he had occasion to
go to mill. The mill easiest of access to him was situated a
mile or two below what is now Water Valley, distant fifteen
miles. He loaded his grain on to a conveyance which was
termed a crotch or drag, constructed by cutting off the body
of a tree just below the forks and rounding up one side so that
it would pass over obstacles. On to this V-shaped contrivance
Mr. Sisson hitched his oxen and went to mill. Returning the
next da\', following the Indian trail along through the wilder-
ness, night overtook him within four or five miles of home;
fearing he would lose his way if he attempted to proceed in
the darkness and not wishing to remain over night in the
woods, he resorted to this novel plan : Relieving that his o.xen
would instinctively follow the trail home, he unyoked them and
placed them one ahead of the other, the leader ahead, and
seizing the hindmost bovine by the tail, Mr. S. was piloted
safely home, returning next day for his grist. The very owls
must have laughed from their perches to see the good Mr. Sis-
son conducted along through the darkness in this manner.
Stephen A. Si.ssoii.
Mr. Sisson's father, William Sisson, a brother of Stephen
Sisson, came to Collins from Washington county, in 18 18, and
located on lot sixty, where he resided until his death m 1863.
aged seventy-eight years. He was married to Lydia Lapham.
She died in 1873 aged eighty-si.x. They had a family of six, as
follows :
i;I()(;r.\I'1I1c:ai. skktciies.
687
Clarinda. born i8w,: married Thomas J. Kerr and resides m
Collins Charles L.. born iSif, ; died in 1876 in North Collms.
Amanda, born 1820; married Abram Foster and resides in
North Collins. Stephen A., born 1822 ; married Irene Wilson,
and died in I an. 1875.
Stephen A. Sisson was a man of no ordinary business capac-
ity Earlv in life he resolved to be the architect of his own
fortune, ami Ion- before he had touched the meridian of hfe
he had bv judicious management, surrounded himself by afflu-
ence These sterling business qualifications were recognized
by the electors of his town and for three years he represented
Collins on the Hoard of Supervisors. In 1852, he was united
in marriage to Miss Irene Wilson, and two children were born
to them, viz. :
Laura A., and Herbert S.
Mr. Sisson died in January, 1875. and Mrs. Sisson still resides
on the homestead with her two children.
Edwin T. Slaiglit.
Edwin T. Slaight was born near Sodus Bay at a place called
Sodus Corners, March 22, 1828. His father moved to Otto,
Cattaraugus county, when he was two years old. His father
was a carpenter and joiner and also worked at clearing land and
farming. His father was born on the Mohawk and was Cap-
tain of^a militia company in the war of 1812, and served at
Sackett's Harbor. His father moved to Buffalo in 1837, where
his mother died in 1839. Edwin peddled newspapers five or
six years, and in the meantime was bound out to learn the
cooper's trade to a man by the name of Stevens, in Dunville,
Canada. Stayed a vear in Dunville, then Stevens took him
across the lake to Dunkirk, in a yawl boat, and coasted up the
lake to Ashtabula, and when they arrived there the waves rolled
so high that thev were carried right over the top of the pier.
After leaving Dunville. he came to Buffalo and engaged in
selling and delivering newspapers. In 1846, went to learn the
tin smith's trade of Varrum Hodge of Buffalo; remained with
him till 1850, then went to Springville and worked with P. G.
Eaton ten years. He married Waitee Eaton, in 1851. She
died in 1870. Had two sons and three daughters, two are
688 HIOCiRAPHICAL SKPnCHKS.
living. Was married in 1 871 to Hattie A. Springer, daughter of
Samuel C. Springer of Gowanda. Have three children, two
dead. In 1861, Mr. Slaight opened a tin shop at Otto, and
remained there until 1865, when he removed to Jamestown and
engaged in the same business until 1870, when he came to
Gowanda and engaged in the tin and hardware business. Mr.
Slaight, in 1850, made the first apparatus for manufacturing
cheese put up in Cattaraugus county. Mr. Slaight has one
brother living in Buffalo ; one sister, Mrs. George W. Shultus,
now resides in Carson, Minnesota ; another sister, Mrs. E. W.
Allen, resides in Persia, Cattaraugus county.
J. A. Southwiek.
Abram Southwiek, brother of J. A. Southwiek, was born
in Mount Holly, on the Green Mountains, in 1809, where he
lived until seventeen years old, when he came to Collins. He
came o\'er the Erie canal and was twenty-one days making the
trip. He has resided in Collins ever since, except four years
spent in Michigan. His wife, Elizabeth Smith, came from
Danb}', Vt., the same year with her father, Berrick Smith ; she
was then six years old. Her father settled where Harris' mills
now are. He was a Quaker, and a noted Abolitionist. He
made it a point to assist fugitive slaves in their escape, and his
house was a wx^lkknown refuge for the pursued negro on his
way to Canada. Mr. Smith was a mechanic and built many of
the oldest residences in Collins. He died in Iowa in March,
1869. His wife, Mary Calmer, died in 1874.
Mr. J. A. Southwiek is a farmer and prominent citizen of
Collins. In the Fall of 1S81 he was the candidate of the
Greenback party for State Senator.
Solomon 1j. Soule.
Solomon L. Soule, son of William and Ruth Soule, is a
native of Collins, and was born June 26, 1852. In 1872, he
married Amelia Van Slike, daughter of John and Sally Van
Slike, of Sardinia, Erie county. He is a carpenter and builder
and resides in Collins Center. He is a man of quiet and indus-
trious habits, being sociable and amiable in all his relations. He
had one son, William J., born Oct. 19, 1873, and died Jan.
4. 1874.
inocjRAi'iiRAi, ski:tc iiHs. 6?9
Milton li. Sheriiiau.
Milton B. Sherman was born in Evans, X. Y., Oct. 22, i<S48.
He was a son of Benjamin W. Slierman ; his motlier's maiden
name was Anna C. Shaw. When lie was a child the family
moved to Collins Center, and when ten years of at^e to Buf-
falo, remainiiii^" there three years. They removed to Ham-
buri^h, N. v., and back to Collins aijain about 1864.
Milton attended school at the Hamburg Acadeni}- two \'ears.
He has been a very successful teacher, having taught twenty-
four terms, all in the Town of Collins except the first, which was
kept in the Park's district, Hamburg, in the Winter of 1864 and
1865. He has been Collector of his town four years. Mr.
Sherman was married in 1870 to Allie Pierce. The}' have one
child, Elma A. Mr. Sherman is at present engaged in trade at
Collins Center. His father came herefrom Dartmouth, Mass..
and settled at first in what is now North Collins. He was at
one time Supervisor of the Town of Collins.
Silas Schooiiover.
Silas Schoonover was born in Cayuga county, N. Y., in
1820. He married Elizabeth Hopkins and came to Collins in
1846, and now owns and occupies a farm formerly owned by
Amos Hopkins. He has but one daughter, Alida, who married
Wallace Wood, who lives with his father-in-law and assists in
running the farm.
Liions Studley.
Mr. Studley was born in PVanklin count}-, X. Y.. Jan. 5,
1829; moved from therewith his parents to Yorkshire, when
five v'ears old. Came to Collins in 1857 and located on the
farm he now owns at Bagdad. Mr. Studley was married Jan.
12, 1854 to Olivia H. Pratt, b}- whom he has four children, viz :
Lovina L., born March 12, 1855. John D., born March i,
1858; married Hortense Parsells. Sumner W.. born July 10,
1861. George E., born Jan. 16, 1865.
Mr. Studley was married a second time, Nov. 13, to Sally S.
Bump, by whom he has two children: Lois ()., born Eeb. 21,
1874; Lucie L., born June 3, 1879.
Mr. Studley's father, Jonathan Studlc}-, died in ^'orkshire.
N. Y., in 1878, aged ninety-one }'ears.
690 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Mrs. Studley's brother, George Bump, was one of the patriotic
number that did excellent service in the rebellion. He enlisted
from Yorkshire in the Ellsworth Zouaves; was in three years;
was Commissary-Sergeant of his compan)- and participated in
twenty-seven engagements.
A. J. Setter.
Mr. Setter was born in Eden, N. Y., in 1847. His paternal
ancestors were from Prussia. His grandfather lived to the age
of ninet}'-eight. His father, Antoinette Setter, is a mill-wright
residing in Eden. Mr. A. J. Setter is one of a family of eleven
children, ten of whom are living, all brothers and mechanics.
Mr. Setter lived in Eden until eighteen years of age when he
traveled about two years in the western states ; returning in
1866 he was emplo}^ed b}' Sellew & Popple, foundry proprietors
at Gowanda, to manufacture mowing machines. At the expi-
ration of two years he moved to Brant and was employed by
the Erie Preserving Company, as machinist; remaining there
a while he next bought the mills at Taylor Hollow in 1873.
While there he invented a mill-wheel known as Setter's Tur-
bine Wheel, which is quite generally used. From Taylor Hol-
low Mr. Setter removed to Fenton's Mills, where he is now
engaged (1882) in general mill business. He was married in
1867 to Angeline Averell. They have two children : Joseph A
and Alonzo G.
John Schoos.
Mr. .Schoos was born in Luxemburg, Germany, in 1826; re.
sided there until twenty-seven years old ; then came to Collins^
where he has since resided ; has always been a farmer. Was
married in 1857 ^'^ Catharine Babbinger. They ha\e three
children, viz.:
John, born July 8, 1862. Rosa, born Aug. 7, 1 863. Mary,
born March 2, 1869.
Anthony Shiuover.
Anthony Shinover is a native of Prussia, and was born in
1834. He came to America in 1857 and located in North Col
lins, where he resided four years, after which he removed to
Brant, Flrie county, where he lived six years, and in 1867 he
BIOCRAI'HICAL SKETCHKS. 69I
came to Collins, and now owns and occupies a farm formerly
owned by Orton J. Knight. In i860 he married Mar\- Ritter.
They have a family of six children, namely:
Francis, Joseph, Lena, John, Louise and Anna.
Francis displays a marked mechanical ability.
C. C. TorraiH't'.
Cyrenus C. Torrance, Attorney and Counselor at Law, Go-
wanda, Erie county. N. Y., was born at Mt. Clemens. Mich.,
July 21. 1825. His parents were from East Middlebury, Vt.,
and settled in the Town of Lancaster, Erie county, in 1808.
they removed from there to Michigan in 1824, and returned
again in 1826 to Western New York, settling near Gowanda. in
Cattaraugus county. Mr. Torrance studied with Hon. Chester
Howe, and was admitted to practice as a lawyer in 1848, and
then associated himself with Mr. Howe as a partner in the law
business at Gowanda, N. Y.. where he has ever since continued
in the successful practice of his profession as a lawyer. He
was married in 185 1 to Miss Mary Curtiss. They have now
three children living :
Jared S. and Lewis C, sons, both in business at (iowanda,
and Jennie, a daughter.
C. C. Torrance was appointed by the Governor as Attorney
for the Seneca Nation of Indians in 1852, for three years. He
ran upon the Democratic ticket for County Judge of Erie
county in i860, but was defeated with his party in the county.
In 1862 he again ran upon the Democratic ticket for District
Attorney of Erie county, and was elected by about 2,200 ma-
jority, and he very ably discharged the duties of that office for
three years. He again ran upon the Democratic ticket for the
office of State Senator for Erie county in 1875, but was de-
feated, the whole Republican ticket being elected. In 1879
Mr. Torrance was elected Supervisor of the Town of Colhns,
and was again re-elected in 1881, representing his town on the
Board for three years, at the end of which time he declined to
serve any longer.
As a lawyer, Mr. Torrance stands in the front ranks of the
profession in Erie county.
i
692 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Jndsoii Li. Tolnian.
Mr. T()linan's ancestors were of English descent. His grand-
father, Nathaniel Tolman, came from Stockbridge, Mass.. in
1805 to Lincoln, Chenango county, N. Y,', and bought a large
tract of wild land which he divided among his four sons Mr.
T.'s father, Nathaniel Jr., lived on his portion eight years ; then
in March, 18 14, having previously married, he moved with an
ox team and sled to Evans, Erie count)-, N. Y., via Buffalo;
there being no road cut through the forest, he reached Evans
by traveling on the beach of the lake ; he located near what is
now Evans Center. At that time he had three children :
Altana, Elisha and Orrin : the last two died young. Altana
married Dr. Marvin, now of Grand Rapids, Mich., and since
died.
Four more were born in Evans:
Aurelia, who became the second wife of Dr. Marvin. Ann
Eliza, married Orrin Cathin. Judson N. Mary, married Spen-
cer Ikillock.
Judson N. Tolman was born Aug. 27, 1S27, in Evans, where
he resided until the Fall of 1868, when he moved to Zoar, in
Otto. N. Y., where he is extensively engaged in farming. He
attended school at the Springville Academy under Principal
Earle. He was married in 1853 to Lucy Hard, who died the
subsequent year ; married a second time, in 1858, to Eugenia
Bunda}-. They have five children :
Cora E., Howard N., Mary F., Ra\- and Altana F.
Eiioeli Taylor.
Mr. Taylor was a son of Joseph Taylor and Margaret Root.
He was born in Frederick county, Md., Jan. 18, 1809, where
he lived until three }'ears old ; then his father having died,
and his mother having re-married, he was t<d<en to Fincas-
tle, Va. When thirteen years old he learned the saddlers'
trade at Salem, Va., and then went back to Mar\-land and
engaged in that business for two years. He then sold out
and attended school at Alleghany college, Meadville, Pa., two
years, 1834 and 1835. He then spent about two years at
the West, after which he came to Gowanda, where he re-
sided five years. His next move was the purchase of the
BIOCRAriirCAL SKKTCHliS. 693
homestead of Uncle Jactjb Taylor, the old Quaker missionary,
who was an uncle of Mr. Taylor ; he occupied it several years,
when he attain became a residen; of Gowanda for eight years,
at the expiration of which time he removed to his present fine
farm, in i860, where he has since resided. He was married in
1845 to Louise M. Ward. Tiic}' ha\'e a family of five sons and
three daughters.
Th«' TaiiiHT Family.
Warren Tanner was born Ma}' 4, 1786, in Vermont. His
father Joseph Tanner, a Revolutionary soldier, died when War-
ren was four years old. His mother moved to Fort Ann,
Washington county N. V.. and re-married. Mr. Tanner lived
in Washington count}' until the Fall of 1810, when he came on
foot to Collins. He went back, but returned again the follow-
ing Spring, stopping at the land office at Hatavia on his way
and locating land on lot forty-seven, township six, range eight,
where he li\^ed until 1853. ^^^ <-^i^'^^ ''^ Ashford, N. Y., Oct. 30,
1864. He was married in 1817 to Hannah Wilber, sister of
Stephen Wilber; she died March 20, 1 857. They had five
children, as follows:
Isaac W., born Feb. 24, 18 18. Anson and Anna (twins),
born .Vpril 6, 1819 ; Anson married Lucy A. Hawkins in 1845 '-
died Nov. 7, 1861 ; Anna married Dr. L C. Blakel}-. Joseph
D., born Sept. i, 1823; married Betsy Knight in 1855. Sophia,
born Dec. 23, 1832; died in October, 1853.
Isaac W. Tanner, oldest son of Warren Tanner, was born in
Collins, where he has always resided. He is an extensive land
owner and a successful farmer. He was married Nov. 13, 1839,
to Betsey A. Beverly. They have had four children :
Susan, born May 16, 1844; died Sept. 16. 1870. Eveline,
born June 27, 1850. Warren and Hannah (twins), born Aug.
13, 1855 ; Warren married Blanche Bosworth in .Sejitember,
1876.
ii. W. Taylor.
Mr. Ta}'lor is the }'oungest of a family of thirteen — seven
sisters and six brothers, whose names are as follows :
Darius, Marie, Hannah, Samuel, Simeon, Abigail, Rhoda
694 15IOGKAP1IICA1. SKETCHES.
Ann, Benjamin, Mary M., Joseph \V., Ann Eliza. Rosimer and
George W.
Mr. Taylor was born in Essex, Esse.x county, N. Y., March
27, 1832. His father's name was Samuel Taylor; his mother's
maiden name was Lydia Castle. Mr. Taylor came to Evans,
N. Y., with his parents when four years of age ; lived there
until 1852, when he went to North Collins and engaged in farm-
ing, tanning and currying in com{)any with two of his brothers
Remained there until 1864, when he removed to Collins, lot
fifty-seven, old Barlett homestead. He was married in 1864 to
Ann O. Bartlett, youngest daughter of Smith Bartlett. They
have three children, viz.:
Joseph B., born Aug. 16, 1865. Marion B.. born March 27,.
1867. Benjamin Grant, born Dec. 27, 1872.
Mr. Taylor is a prominent friend of [progression, and speaks-
to the people on funeral and other occasions. He is a man of
fine intellect.
Kliccla Taibox.
Rhoda Tarbox, daughter of Augustus and Elizabeth Smith,,
was born in Danby, Vt., Oct. 9, 1813. In 1S16, she came to
Collins with her people, where she has ex'cr since resided. In
1833, she married Caleb Tarbox, son of Benjamin and Huldah
Tarbo.x. She had a family of eleven children, two of whom
died when young, the names of the others are as follows:
Chester, born Sept. 29, 1834, and resides in Collins. Stephen,
born Dec. 20, 1835 ; married Julia Ann Clark, and lives in Col-
lins. Francis, born July 12, 1839; in^i'-ried Mary Baldwin, and
lives in East Otto, Cattaraugus county. Leonard, born April
10, 1845 ' married Addie Stone, and lixes in Evans, Erie
county. Emily, born Jan. 27. 1847: married Hiram Cook and
lives in Collins. Alvin, born Nov. 17. 1848; married Martha
West, and resides in Morris count}'. Kan. Reuben, born
March 18, 1851; married Eva Stewart and lives in Collins.
Hannah, born Jan. 29, 1853; married Charles Babcock and
lives in Collins. ()li\'e, born Oct. 29, 1854; married James
Parkcson, and died in Collins, Aug. 30. 1878.
Caleb Ti rbox died Oct. 21, 1874.
iiiocRAriiu Ai. sKi:rc:iii:s. 695
William H. Vail.
William li. Vail, r.on of Ira H. and Mary Vail, was born in
Danby, Vt., INIarch 26, 1845. ^'^ the Spring of 1869, he came
to Collins and i)urchased a farm located t\\ (1 miles cast of Col-
lins Center, where he has ever since resided.
Se])t. 22. 1869, he married Alice Reynolds, dauc^hter of Nehe-
miah and Julia Reynolds. The)' have two children: Ira H.,
born July 20, 1870. Josephine, born April i, 1879.
His father, Ira H. \\'iil, married Mary Chase, daughter of
Ephraim Chase. He is a man of integrit}' and industr\-, and
has accumulated a good proi:)erty. He possesses the confidence
of his fellow-townsmen, and has been called to fill various
offices of trust and honor in the P^astern States, ha\'ing been a
Selectman two }-ears, a Justice of the Peace five years, and was
a Member of the Legislature in 1859.
He raised a famiK' of seven children : Edward I. married
Julia Fish. Amelia. William H. married Alice Reynolds.
Semantha. Lydia died in 1864, aged eleven. Jennie and Ada.
.ToliiJ Y<)sl)m-g-.
John X'osburg was born in Schenectady, N.Y., in 1799. His
parents moved to Palmyra when he was four years old. He
lived at Palm}'ra until twenty-two years of age, when he was
married to Miss Rets)' Fillmore, and moved to P211icottville.
where he bought four hundred acres of timbered land ; he
cleared up about two hundred acres of it. P>om Ellicottville,
Mr. Vosburg moved to Gowanda about 1825, and engaged in
blacksmithing, and also built a foundry and plow manufactory
in compan)' with James Locke. He sold out his interests in
Gowanda about 1837, and bought three hundred acres of land
on Clear Creek in the west part of Collins, which has since been
frequently designated as Tub Tow n, because of Mr. Vosburg's
building, on his purchase, a tub factory and saw mill which he
operated until the)' were destroyed by fire in 1849.
Mr. Vosburg was for fourteen years Highway Commissioner
in Collins, and many of the roads in that town were laid out
under his supervision. He moved to Perr)'sburg in 1854, and
resided there until his death in 1872.
Mr. Vosburg had eight children as follows : Charles resides
696 hio(;kaphical sketches.
in Waupaca, Wis. William resides in Gowanda. Laura
resides in Gowanda. Frank resides in Waupaca, Wis.; hotel-
keeper. Annette married Robert , and died in i860, in
Perrysburg. Caroline married Frank Campbell ; resides at
Perrysburg. Norton, half-brotlier of the others, resides at
Gowanda. George L.
Geors»<* \j» \osln\r^.
George L. Vosburg is a son of the above-named. He
was born in Collins — Tub Town — in 1838. Mr. Vosburg
first commenced business at Gowanda as stage and liv^ery pro-
prietor, and subsequently engaged in the hotel business, which
he has since followed. He is at present, 1882, the genial land-
lord of the Commercial Hotel at Gowanda. While a resident
of Persia, Cattaraugus county ; he was for two )x^ars Deputy
Sheriff under Cooper.
Mr. Vosburg was married in 1859, ^o Eliza A. Campbell.
They have two children : John C. and Nettie.
Statement of David Wilder.
My father, Stephen Wilber, came from Danby, Rutland
county, V^t.. to .Scipio. Cayuga count)-, N. Y., in May, 1810.
where the family remained until November. In June, 1810,
my father and Joshua Palmerton followed an Indian trail
through the woods from Ezekiel Cook's, in East Hamburg, to
Turner Aldrich's, where Gowanda now is ; the)' had to lay in
the woods one night. Turner Aldrich, Jacob Taylor, Aaron
Lindsey, Arad Howard, (brother of Ethan Howard of Boston)
and Stephen Lapham, on lot fortv'-five, at Bagdad, were here
before he came.
Stephen Peters came immediate!)' after my father and Pal-
merton came ; he took land on the east j)art of lot fort)'-eight,
township six, range eight. My father took land on the west
part of lot forty nine and Palmerton on the east part of lot
fifty, in same township and range. My father, Palmerton and
Peters lived together and kept bachelor's hall that Summer.
They chopped three acres of timber and jiut up a log-house or
shant)- for each one. In the P'all father went to Ca)'uga county
and brought his familv on as far as HambuiLr aiul lixed in one
mO(;KAl'IIICAL SKKTCIIKS. 697
part of Rzckiel Cook's log-house through the Winter until the
first of March. 181 1, when we moved to Collins.
It took us three days to move from Hamburg to Collins : we
staid the first night at Jesse Putnam's, who lived on part of the
farm that Lewis Trevitt has since so long owned and occupied.
We came by the way of W^oodvvard Hollow and the Genesee
road. Besides father's family there were in the company Mrs.
Luke Crandall, Allan King and wife, Arnold King, John King,
Henry Palmerton, Jahiel Albee and John Williams.
When Mrs. Crandall started from Vermont, her father, in
accordance with olden custom, presented her with a bottle of
rum, directing her not to uncork it until they reached "The Hill
of Difficult}-." referring to Pilgrim's Progress. At Woodward's
Hollow they had to chain the sleds to trees to get down safely.
At the foot of the ascent on the other side Mrs. Crandall said :
" Here is The Hill of Difficult}-; let us drink." and o})ened her
bottle and presented it first to Mrs. Wilber. Any one \\-ho has
beeii up that hill will appreciate her remark.
We staid the second night at James T}'rer's, whose house or
shanty stood on the Genesee road, on lot three, township seven,
range eight, and was the first one we had seen since leaving
Putnam's. The shant}' was so small that the whole company
could not sleep inside, so Jehiel Albee proposed that he and
the other young men should sleep up-stairs. Accordingly
Jehiel Albee, John King, Arnold King, Henry Palmerton and
John Willianis slept on top of the shant}'. There was no road
and our progress through the woods was necessarily slow-, but
on the afternoon of the third day we arrived at the house tliat
father had built, which was located on the west j^art of lot forty-
nine, some distance north of where the road runs now.
Our house was built of logs and poles and the ends of some
of them stuck out two feet beyond the others. There was no
lumber and no nails used in its construction. The roof was
made of bark and the first Summer we had no chimney, no
■doors, no windows, and the house was not muded. We built
the fire against the side of the house until it burnt through.
Father said that was the rule. In the P'all father built a stick-
chimney, with a stone back, and cut window holes and made
sash after his fashion and put in greased paper instead of glass
698
TUOCKAPHICAL SKETCHES.
for window li<^hts ; he split and hewed out basswood plank or
" Puncheons," for a floor below — had no floor above. My
mother did most of her cooking out beside a stump during the
warm weather that Summer.
In my father's family there were then six children : David,.
John, Paulina, Alma, George and Betsey. I was the oldest and
was born Dec. 16, 1800. My father and mother and the six
children, and all the household goods we had were brought
from Vermont in one wagon load.
Our table was a box that we brought some of our things in.
I cannot remember whether father and mother had any chairs
or not, but I know that we children had no chairs and after a
little I made some stools for myself and the others. My father
cleared off the first Spring about three acres for corn, half an
acre for oats and one-fourth of an acre for potatoes.
That Summer we chopped and cleared three acres and sowed
it to Winter wheat. That Fall father went to Hamburg and
bought one hundred apple trees and brought home two cherry
trees in his pocket.
We had a yoke of o.xen and two cows and a calf. We had
no hay and we cut the heads of the oats off and gave them to
HIOCRAIMIICAI. SKKTCIIES. 699
the calf, and the straw and corn-fodder we i^ave to the oxen
and cows but the most of their Hving was browse.
The first Summer after we came to Collins my father and
mother and their six children, and Allen King and his wife, and
Arnold King, and John King, two young, unmarried men, all
lived in our small log-house, and how they all managed to live
there I cannot tell.
When we first came to Collins it was sixteen miles to the
nearest grist-niill. We frecjuently got out of meal and then
sometimes we would eat potatoes and milk several days and
sometimes we would grind or pound corn into coarse meal in
our "plumping mill." This consisted of a large log of the
proper length, squared off at both ends and set upright and a
ca\it}' made in the top in the shape of a round bottomed
basket, and a spring-pole fastened to the corner of the house
with a pestle attached and suspended over the cavity in the end
of the log.
Tile first grinding we had done at a grist-mill was at Boston.
When father went to Boston to mill, he carried grists for the
neighbors, and when .'\aron Lindsay went he also carried grists
for the neighbors, and when Benjamin Albee went he also did
the same. Once when father went to Boston to mill he had to
stay over night; and he had no money, and he drew up wood
for Mr. Butterworth with his team to pay for his keeping.
Benjamin Albee located on the east part of lot* sixty-four,
township six, range eight, in the Spring of 181 1, and Luke
Crandall located on the middle part of the same lot the same
year. Warren Tanner came and located on lot forty-seven
same township and range, in 1811. Allen King located on lot
fifty-six. and Nathan King, father of Allen, Arnold and John
King, came in the Fall of 181 1 and settled on lot forty-nine.
Abram Lapham came out in 1809 or 18 10, and bought lot
forty-five at Bagdad and other lands in the vicinity, which lots
were covered with nice pine and other valuable timber.
Stephen Lapham, his son, settled there in 18 10 and built a
saw-mill about 18 14. The first saw-mill built where R. L.
Harris' mill now is, was built in 1824, by my brother John and
myself. David Pound came in at an early day and located on
lot fiftv-three, near Collins station.
700 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
In the war of 1S12 and 1815, Luke Crandall, Jehiel Albee^
Benjamin Albee, Darius Crandall, Rex Brown, David Nivers
and Henry Palmerton and probably others, went from Collins
to the Niagara frontier and served as soldiers. In the time of
the war people were afraid of the Indians, and some of them
left. Mr. Lindsay took his famih' out to Warsaw. Albee's
family went away, he and his son Benjamin remained. I and
my brother John dug holes in the ground to bury our iron
ware. We had our other things loaded up to start, and had
victuals cooked to take along, but father final!}- changed his
mind and we remained. When I was eleven years old, I had
to go out with my father and work, chopping and clearing land.
My brother John and I worked clearing land bare-footed among
the stubs and fire.
Jacob Taylor built the first grist-mill at Ta\'lor Hollow in
1 81 2. John Hanford kept the first store in town at Taylor
Hollow.
One time, Kendall Johnson was at Hanford's store and
wished to purchase a saw, but had not the money to pay for it,
and Hanford refused to trust him. He went out into the field
and stated the case to Taylor, and he picked up a flat stone and
wrote on it an order for the saw, and Johnson went back and
got it.
Smith Bartlett ,was the first tanner and currier and shoe-
maker. He came in about 181 5 and located on lot fifty-eight.
Dr. McDaniels was the first ph}'sician in town. The first card-
ing machine was at Gowanda, owned by Bugbee & Chaffee.
James Parkinson built a saw-mill in the village of Collins
Center about 1830. Samuel Lake built the first store at Collins
Center about 1830. Harry Matthewson managed it.
ISAAC WILBER'S family.
Isaac Wilber, born Dec. 24, 1748 ; married Elizabeth Badgley
and died July 27, 1835. Elizabeth Badgely, born Dec. 5, 1758 ;
died Aug. 13, 1846. Stephen Wilber, born July 27, 1777, (son
of Isaac); died Aug. 21, 1862. Mary King, his wife, born
March 6, 1782 ; died Oct., 1866. Their children were :
David, born Dec. 16, 1800. John, born Sept. 27, 1802.
Paulina, born June 20, 1804; married Robert Arnold; died
about 1875. Alma, born April 25, 1806; married Tompkins
r.IOC.RAI'HICAI, SKKTCIIES. 7OI
White. Gcori^c R.. born Auy;. 7, 180S ; married Jane Lapham ;
died in 1867 in Wayne county, Michii^an. Elizabeth, born
Sept. 25, 1810; married Stukcly Hudson. James, born Jan.
25, 1813; died Feb., 1815. Job, born Jan. 18, 1815, is dead.
Daniel, born April 12, 1817; died Oct., 1826. Joshua, born
June 19. 1819, lives in Dayton Cattaraugus count}-. Stephen,
born July 14, 182 1, lives in northwest part of Michigan. Mary,.
born July lO, 1820; died Oct. 22, r868.
DAVID W I leer's family.
David Wilbcr married Polly H. Russell, born 1808. Their
children were :
Daniel born May 31, 1830; married Hazard and lives
in Collins. Lucy R., born May 22, 1835 ; married Thomas
Russell, and lives in Farmington, Oakland county, Mich.
Robert A., born July 12, 1844; married Eunice Allen and lives
in Collins.
John Wilber.
John Wilber, son of Stephen W^ilber, was born Sept. 27,
1802, on North Hero Island, in Lake Champlain. He came to
Collins with his parents in 181 1, where he has ever since resided
a wealthy farmer and an energetic and capable man of busi-
ness. He has resided on his present farm fifty-four years.
Mr. Wilber is one of the few that remain, who have taken
active part and witnessed the transformation from the unbroken
wilderness to the beautiful farms and rural abodes that consti-
tute the present town of Collins.
Mr. Wilber was married in 1826 to Christiana Strang, whose
paternal ancestors were long-lived and sturdy French Hugue-
nots, who fled from France to England on account of religious
persecution. From England some of them came to New
York. Mrs. Wilber's father, John Strang, was born at Fort
Ann, N. Y., where, when a young man, he was engaged in lum-
bering. He came to Collins 181 2, where he resided until his
death in Feb. 1879, at the remarkable age of 10 1 years and
three months. Mr. and Mrs. W^ilber have reared a family of
six children, viz :
Emily, born Nov, 24, 1827; married William T. Popple and
resides at Collins, Mary E., born April 18, 1839; married
702 BKJGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
William C. Potter and resides in Waupaca county, Wisconsin.
Albert, born Feb. 28, 1832 ; married Ruth Bartlett and resides
at Collins. James, born Feb. 20, 1835; married Lydia Chase,
and resides at Collins. Paulina, born Aug. 16, 1840; married,
first, Albert Bruce; second, PVank P.Johnson; died in 1879 i"
Collins. Eugene, born Jan. 24, 1844; married Mar)' Barry and
resides at Collins.
J. H. White.
John H. White was born in 1833, in the Town of Collins.
His father's name was Hosea White; his mother's maiden
name was Anna Keese. He was married in October, 1859; ^••'^
wife's maiden name was Martha Jane McMillan ; she was born
Sept. 22, 1840, in the Town of Otto, Cattaraugus count}'.
Their children are: Georgiana, born July 20, i860. Frankie
E., born Nov. 28. 1861. Jesse Maud, born April 18, 1867.
James H., born P'eb. 10. 1873. Ethel M., born May 16, 1877.
Mr. White has always lived in Collins, except one year, when
he lived on the Hadwin Arnold place in East Hamburg. He
has always followed the business of farming, and now owns
a large dairy, and in addition he has also been engaged in
the milling business for several years. He owned and run the
Gowanda mill in 1865, then sold it ; bought the mill in Bag-
dad, in 1878, and sold it in 1880 ; again purchased theGowanda
mill and sold one-half U) C. C. Torrance, and they are now
( 1882) running the same together. He formerly dealt quite
largeh' in stock. He brought, for his father, the first mowing
machine into Town of Collins, in 1853 or 1854. He brought
the first Holstein cattle into Collins in 1879. ^^ ^'^'^^ ^^"^' ^^^
the Assessors of the Tow n of Collins for twelve )'ears. He
was elected Supervisor in 1874 and also in 1875.
Smith 13. Washhiirii.
Mr. Washburn, son of Elisha Washburn and Frances Ballard,
Avas born Sept. 21, 1834, in Collins, where he has resided most
of the time. He traveled six years as salesman for a Cle\eland
firm; he was also connected with William A. Johnson in first
starting and operating the Marshfield factories.
lie has been Assessor in Collins two terms.
BIO(;RAriIK AI, SKETCHES. 7^3
Mr. Washburn was married Sept. 4, 1855. to Marinda Wick-
ham, who was born in Collins, Nov. 25, 1S34. They have two
children: Louisa F., born Dec. 18, 1857. George E., born
June 10. 1864.
Isaao A. Wells.
Mr. Wells' grandfather, Rev. Asel Wells, was a Baptist minis-
ter, and occasionally preached to the early settlers of Collins,
to which place he came about 1826, with his son Benjamin
Wells, father of Isaac A. Benjamin Wells, was bom in Halifax.
Nova Scotia, in 1808 or 1809; came to Rochester, N. Y., when
four years of age, and to Collins about 1826. where he set-
tled on lot 21, on land bought from the Holland Land com-
pan\-, where he lived until 1 876. when he sold his farm and
moved to near Meadville. Pa. He married ^Lir\-. daughter of
Isaac Allen.
Isaac A. Wells was born in Collins, June 6, 1858, where he
lived until 1867, when he moved to Persia, Cattaraugus county.
N. v.. where he now resides in the capacity of a farmer. He
was married in 1857. to Mar\- L. King, daughter of Jared King.
They have two children : Jared U. and Cora.
Elisha AVaslibiiru.
Mr. Washburn was born Oct. 7, 1S07, in Wendell, Mass.,
came to Collins from there in 1821, driving a team through for
Everett Fisher — twenty-eight days on the road. He chopped
and cleared land — an acre in six days was about the progress
he made in chopping.
He was married in 1826, to Frances Ballard : they located on
the farm of James Goodell. on lot nine, township seven, range
eight. Collins. Mr. Goodell died in 1851. and they succeeded
to the homestead where Mr. Washburn now lives, his wife hav-
ing died in February, 1881.
Mr. Washburn has held the office of Commissioner of High-
ways several terms. He was Commissioner when the second
Gowanda bridge was burned, and when the Zoar bridge across
the Cattaraugus was built. About 1842. he built a saw-mill on
the north branch of Clear Creek.
Mr. Washburn has four children : Mary married George
704 HIOGRAPMK'Al, SKETCHES.
Valentine, who died. Smith H. married Marinda Wickham.
Rufus (2d} married Ruth Leno.\. Israel, twice married, first to
Eliza E. Goodell,by whom he had one daughter. Dora; second
time to Eliza Chafee, by whom he has three children: Jessie,
Dean and Ira Verne.
StepliJ^ii Tliorii Wliite.
Mr. White's grandfather, Reuben White, was a leading- mem-
ber of the Quaker Society ; he died in Collins at the age of
seventy-two. His father, Isaac White, was born in Danb\-,
Vt., in 1794. He married Hannah, daughter of Judge Thorn,
of Granville, N. Y. He removed to Collins about 1833, his son
Stephen Thorn, being then a }'Oung lad, ha\'ing been born in
Danby, Vt., Sept. 28, 1826. He remained on his father's farm
until 1858, when he engaged in mercantile business at Collins
Center, which he pursued until his death, March 26, 1872 He
was a man of honor and abilit)'. He was Postmaster most of
the tmie while engaged in trade, and was Supervisor of Collins
three years in succession — 1869, '70 and 71. Mr. White was
married in 1853 to Eucy B. Randell, b}' whom he had three
children :
J. Herbert, w ho \\as for a time in compan\' with C. I. Bates
at the old stand where his father had conducted business.
Myra and Charles Car\-.
Kob( It A. Wilbor.
Robert A. Wilber, son of David and Polly Wilber, was born
in Collins July 12, 1844, where he has ever since resided, now
owning and occupying a farm formerly owned b\" Stephen Wil-
ber. Sept. 4, 1866, he married lumice Allen, daughter of
Ahaz and S}-l\'a Allen, of Collins. In 1865 he enlisted in the
Second New \'ork volunteers, Compan}- (j. Mounted Rifle-
jnen, and w as honorabl)' discharged at the close of the war.
Steplioii B. AVhito.
Stephen B. White, son of Benjamin and Elizabeth Beckwith,
is a native of Collins, and was born Nov. 15, 1848. His mother
dying soon after his birth, he was adopted by his grandfather,
Stephen White. March 20, 1867. he married Julia Puller,
i!i< )(:i<Ariii(\i, ski; !( I IKS. 705
dauyj^htcr ot Ira ami Lucinda I^ullcr. lie now owns ami occu-
pies the farm formerly owned b\' iiis grandfather, Stei)hen
White. He has a famil)- of three children :
Warren, born Aui^. 23, i86(S. Carrie, born March 11, 1872.
Charles, born Oct. 23, 1879.
<ir«M>rf»*' V. Waito.
(jcor^e C. W'aite, son of Isaac and Mar\' Waite. was born in
the Town of Eastern, Wasliin^ton count}', N. Y., in 1825. He
has been twice married, first to Elizabeth Potter, daui^hter of
Peter and Rachel Potter; second to Mar\- Lockwood, daugh-
ter of Philo and Poll}- Lockwood. He came to Collins in 1850
and located on a farm formerly owned b\- George Lindsle)-.
In 1871 he remo\ed to East Hamburg, and in 1877 he again
removed to Collins and n(n\' owns and occupies the farm known
as the George Lawton farm. He is a man of toil and industry
and alwa\\s contents himself with his own concerns. By well-
directed efforts he has acciuired a good property. He lias three
children :
Henr\-. born .April 4, 1861. Jennie, born Jul\- 19, 1877.
Ra\-mond. born Aug. 16, 1879.
Hosea White.
Hosea White was born in the j'ear 1798. in the town of
Mount Holly, Vermont. Plis father's name was also Hosea
White. His mother's maiden name was Susanna Thompson.
Hosea White, the second, father of John H. White, was married
in this county to Anna Keese, March 12, 1825. He purchased
of Hadwin Arnold the land on lot thirt\--four, township six,
range eight, on which John H. now li\es. and cleared up and
improved it and built the buildings and resided there until his
death. He at one time kept hotel at the mouth of Cattarau-
gus Creek for two years. Hosea White died in Collins June
2/, 1873, aged sevent>'-five years. Anna Keese White, his
wife, died in Collins, June 3, i87i,aged sixt\'-four years. Their
children were :
Eliza Jane, who married Ransom Moss and died in Collins,
Oct. 25, 1880. (Oliver H. married Nancy Bartlett and lives in
Michigan; is a farmer. John H. Hannah Maud married
7o6 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Silas Taft and resides in Collins. Paulina died young. Phebe
A. married Albert Southwick and lives at Silver Creek. Silas
W. died March 30, 1865, in Collins, aged twenty years. Cyn-
thia E. married Byron Kimball and died Oct, 6, 1873, in the
town of Persia, Cattaraugus county.
(;HNKRAL ills TORY OK NDRIll (OI.IJNS. 707
CHAPTKR XIX.
NORTH COLLINS-GENERAL HISTORY.
It was in May or June, in the year 1810, tliat Encxs South-
wick, Abram Tucker and Stephen Sisson, passed throuy;h the
village of Buffalo on their way to make a home. They were
members of the Society of Friends and it is reasonable to infer
that they were attracted to the settlement made b}' Jacob Tay-
lor some three years previous, although they did not follow the
Indian trail of their predecessor but took the more feasible
route up the lake shore to the mouth of the Cattaraugus Creek
and then struck out due east through an unbroken forest and
brought up near Lawton Station, a mile and a half north of
Taylor's settlement. Here they pitched their tents and made
a beginning. The next Fall Nathaniel Sisson, a brother of
Stephen, came. In the meantime James and Luther Tyrer,
(brothers) from Franklin county, Mass., came and located (^n
lot three, near Marshfield, some five miles east. These were the
only white inhabitants that wintered in what is now known as
North Collins, that year. In the Spring of 1811 Levi Wood-
ward, Jonathan Southwick and Job Southwick joined the little
settlement near Lawton Station and Sylvenus Bates made a
claim on lot ten, near Marshfield. So coming with our subject
up to 1812, we find the following settlers located in the Town
of North Collins, viz :
Abram Tucker, Ste})hen Sisson, Nathaniel Sisson, Samuel
Tucker, Moses Tucker, Henry Tucker, Enos Southwick, Jona-
than Southwick, (ieorge Southwick, Jr., James Tyrer, Luther
Tyrer, John Strang, Stephen White, Stephen Twining, Noah
Tripp, Hugh McMillen, Levi Woodward, S>l\enus Bates and
Job Southwick,
7o8
NAMES OF PERSONS HUYINC. LAND
NAMES OF PERSONS WHO PURCHASED LAND IN NORTH COL.
LINS OF THE HOLLAND COMPANY, THE DATE OF PURCHASE,
. THE QUANTITY OF LAND AND THE PRICE PAID.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, RANGE EIGHT.
Land.
Sylvanus Hussey. . . .
Isaac Hathaway. ...
Thomas Bills
Moses Eddy
George Southvvick. . ,
George Southwick. . .
George Southwick . . ,
James Goodale
James Goodale
Nathaniel Sisson. . . .
Stephen Sisson
Stephen Sisson
Abram Tucker
Abraham Gifford.. . .
Henry Tucker
Henry Tucker
Jonathan Townsend.
Kendall Johnson. . . .
Kendall Johnson. . . .
Isaac Leggett
Benjamin T. Leggett
Levi Woodward
Stephen Jenkins
Stephen White
Stephen White
Stephen White
Stephen White
Gideon Lapham. . . .
Noah Tripp
Nathaniel Sisson, Jr.
Nathaniel Sisson, Jr.
Nathaniel Sisson, Jr.
Elkanah Sherman . . .
David Lawton
Date.
1 ,
1 Land.
1
Acres.
328
Price
1809, Oct. 10. .
1 62 . .
$6;6
1809, May 18..
npt 1 58 &s
ptl59----
400
800
1809. Oct. 19..
m pt 1 61.. .
100
200
1809, Oct. 19. .
n pt 1 61
100
200
1 8 10, Sept. 5. .
1 44
520
1 170
1 8 10, Aug. 4. .
I42
316
711
181 1, June 10..
I35
.305
838
1810, Oct. I.. .
e half 1 3. . .
161
402
181 1, March 6.
w half 1 3 . .
162
44,S
1809, Nov. TO.
n-w pt 1 50
& s-w pt 1 5 1
182
398
1809, Nov. 10.
e pt 1 50. . .
216
432
1 8 10, Nov. II .
Ptl 50
106
406
1 8 10, Nov. I . .
s-w pt 1 ^ 0 .
100
22s
1 8 10, Sept. 19.
pt 1 61 & i
1 60
217
488
181 1, April 25 .
n-w pt 1 5 1 .
182
363
1 8 14, Jan. 13..
s-w pt 1 34.
70
210
1811, April 30.
e half I 18..
169
464
181 1, May 7.. .
s pt 1 10. . ..
100
275
18 18, Mar. 20.
pt 1 10
60
315
18 II, June 10.
n-wpt 1 34.
100
275
181 1, June 10.
e pt 1 42 . . .
100
275
181 1, June 19.
e pt 1 5 I . . .
102
280
181 1, Oct. 10..
spt 1 39...
100
300
181 1, Dec. 23 .
w pt 1 42. . .
117
351
181 1, Dec. 23 .
s pt 1 52...
150
450
1 8 14, Nov. 16.
n-w pt 1 53.
60
195
1 8 16, Sept. 12.
s pt 1 30. . . .
149
^33
181 1, Dec. 5 . .
e pt 1 54...
200
600
18 1 2, May 17..
s-w pt 1 54.
ICO
300
1811, Dec. 4 . .
pt 1 40 & 32.
350
1050
18 12, Sept. 19.
n pt 1 52. . .
98
294
1819, Nov. II .
s-e pt 1 50. .
bo
230
1813. Nov. 8. .
s pt 1 60 . . .
207
569
1819, Dec. 24.
s-w pt 1 42..
50
238
FROM IllK IIOI.IAND COMrANY.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, RANGE EIGHT— Coniinuet/.
7C9
Name.
David Woodward
John Woodward.
William Oatis. . .
Benjamin Cornell.
Jesse Standi ff. . . .
Willard Stancliff.
Nathaniel Potter
Hueh McMullen.
Da IE
Land
Levi Parker
Lemuel M. White. . .
Lemuel M. White. . .
Pardon Brown
Pardon Brown
Thomas Shrouds. . . .
Lilly Stafford, Jr. . . .
Lilly Stafford, Jr
Lilly Stafford, Jr. . . .
Benjamin H. Smith.
Benjamin H. Smith.
Daniel Hull, Jr....
Thomas Cole
Edmund Tucker. . .
Penderon Barton. . .
Humphrey White. .
Oliver Tripp
Stephen Smith
John Train
Humphre}' Russell.
Abner Bri^^gs
Samuel Hall.
Nathan Starks
*John A. Lewis
James Starks
James Goodale
James Goodale
*Caleb Woodward . .
Jonathan Woodward.
Lewis Hall
James Bray ton
Jonas Bray ton
1815, May 23
1814. Nov. 16
1815, May 23.
181 5, Mar. 30
181 5, April 24.':
1815, April 24.
181 5, April 14.
1815, July 3. . .1
181 5, June 30.
181$, June 26
1817, Sept. 25.
1815, May 26..
1816, Sept. 13.
1815, Oct. 20. .
181 5, Nov. 4. .
1816, Aug. 2. .
1816, Sept. 12.
1815, Oct. 20. .
1815, Oct. 20. .
1815, Nov. 28.
1815, Dec. 2. .
1815, Oct. 4. . .
1 816, May 7.. .
1816, March 23
1816, April I . .
1 8 16, April 3. .
1 8 16, April 30.
1816, Mar. 7.. .
1 8 16, Mar. 7 . .
1816, Oct. 19. .
1824, March 4.
1835, Oct. I...
1832, Dec. 1 1 .
1 8 10, Oct. I. . .
181 1, March 6.
1832, June 22.
1833, Aug. 20.
1842, Nov. 3.
1837, Nov. II .
1836, Aug. 18.
Acres.
w pt I 26.
n-e pt I 53
e pt I 34 . ,
pt I53...,
w pt 1 64.
1 63
w pt I 37...
n pt I 59 &
pt I 26. . .
pt 1 31
m pt I 37 &
s pt I 45 . .
pt I 21
w pt I 40. . .
n pt I 47. . .
s pt 1 47 • • •
e pt 1 36 . . .
pt 1 51
PI36
e pt I 46. . .
w pt 1 46. . .
pt 1 59
w pt 1 55...
n pt 1 30. . .
w pt I 38. . .
e pt I 37...
w pt I 29. . .
n pt 1 39 . . .
n pt I 3 1 . . .
I pt I 48
I s pt I 48 . . ,
; W pt I 2. . . ,
|ptl 2
1 pt I 2
i e pt I 2 . . .
' e pt I 3 . . .
: w pt 1 3...
; w pt I 4. ..
pt I 4
pt 1 4
pt I4
s-e pt 1 4. .
Price
125
60
160
242
200
316
100
2CXD
250
100
120
I 10
150
200
47
100
180
177
141
100
100
ICO
100
100
150
116
120
120
100
50
112^
437
'95
560
786
70Q
1 106
325
700
S74
892
500
420
467
562
750
190
425
675
663
528
375
375
400
375
375
600
464
450
450
450
212
75
300
161
402^
162
445
65
2iii
50
200
50
249
65i
278
75
319
JIO NAMES OF TERSOXS I5UYING LAND
TOWNSHIP SEVEN', RANGE EIGHT— Cot!tt>/ucc^.
Elias Twist
John Grant
Greenfield Bates
Greenfield Bates
John Jennings
Barney McDonald.. . .
Andres Demerle
John Weeks
Josiah Whittemore. . .
Lemon Cole
Adam Behringer
David Shrouds
Nathaniel A. Williams
Carolus Ball
Peter Bloch
Jacob Bricks
Nathan Wightman. . .
George Young
George Young
Ambrose Schaller. . . .
Kendall Johnson
Kendall Johnson
James Starks
William Palmer
William Culver
James Starks
Richard Willits
Chad B. Clark
Abraham Clark
John L. Barden
John L. Barden
Caleb Woodward ....
Nathan Hawlev
Simon M. Hall
Ephraim Darling
John Kirby, Jr
Erastus Clark
Willard Slocum
Asa Jennings
Abraham Clark
John G. Potter
Adam Clark
U.VIE.
828
833
833
833
825
820
837
817
836
816
816
836
833
834
834
834
834
833
842
811
818
824
833
829
827
835
833
836
833
817
835
835
835
835
816
830
818
822
823
June 13 .
June 8. .
Oct. 14. .
Oct. 14. .
Jan. 20. .
July 14.,
Sept. 13.
May 3. . ,
Aug. 18,
Sept. 16.
July 16.
Sept. 16,
Aug. 4.,
Oct. I...
Oct. 6. . ,
Aug. 25.
April 23,
Jan. 2. . ,
Dec. 10 .
June I.. ,
May 7. . .
Nov. 20.
March 8.
Oct. 18.,
April 25 .
Jan. 3..,
Oct. 23.
Nov. 21 ,
Oct. 27. .
Oct. 10 . .
Nov. 5 . .
June 13,
June 16.
Sept. 15,
Sept. 29,
Sept. 23.
Oct. 19. ,
Sept. 16.
June 17.
April 16.
Nov. 16.
Oct. I...
Land.
n i)t 1
pt 15
s-\\' pt 1 5
n pt 1 4 .
s-w pt 1 I
pt 16...
s-e pt 1 6
n pt 1 6 .
pt 16.. .
n pt 1 7 .
pt I7...
s pt 1 7..
/ •
s pt 1
pt I7
pt 18
pt 1 8
pt 1 8
pt 1 8
pt 1 8
s pt 1 8 .
s pt 1 10
pt 1 10. .
n pt 1 10
pt 1 10. .
pt I II..
pt 1 II..
n-e pt 1 II
n-e pt 1 12
n-w pt 1 12
pt 1 12
pt 1 12
s-e pt 1 12
n pt 1 13
pt 1 13..
pt 1 13- •
s pt 1 13
pt 1 i3.\
e pt 1 14
w pt 1 14
pt 1 14. .
pt 1 14. .
s pt 1 15.
Acres.
Price
150
590
100
400
50
162
81
344
.SO
212
64
262
58
246
100
500
SO
212
178
756
100
425
178
758
79
335
50
212
50
212
50
212
50
212
50
212
50
212
50
275
100
27s
60
315
125
531
! 86
365
175
575
50
200
108
459
50
162
120
523
45
191
50
212
55
1 78
TOO
500
50
200
55
218
75
300
50
200
100
425
54
22y
100
500
100
425
72
306
FROM rill'. llol.l.ANI) (.OMPAW.
TOVVN'SHIP SEVEN. RANGE EIGHT— C'^;///««.V.
711
Name.
Date.
Rcbckah Hamlin . . .
Crampliin Tcwel . . . .
John McDonald. . . .
Batson McDonald . . .
George Wit^htman..
*Rachael Conf^er. . . .
William Smith
George Barney
David W. Hunt
*Silas Kirby
Teleg Tripp
*Rachel Conger
Abraham Conger. . . .
Eli Barney
Henry Holiday
Henry Potter
Erastus Clark
Asa Jennings
Samuel Bowen
John H. King
Charles De Vol!
John Train
John Train
Wheeler Birdsley. . . .
Samuel Brooks
Aaron Parker
Elijah Leach
Cromwell Luther. . . .
Nehemiah Heath. . . .
Timothy Russell . . . .
Joshua Pickins
John P. Willit
Aaron Hanson
Amos S. Willit. . ..
Asa B. Kinyon
Henry Potter
Nathaniel Smith . . .
James Andrews. . . .
Wheeler Birdsley . .
John Perkins
Joshua Perkins
Lemuel M. White. .
1818. Nov. 3. .
1817, Dec. 26..
181 7, Aug. 28.
1816, Aug. 8. .
1 8 16, July 12 . .
1829, May II..
1829, July 6..
1829, Jan. 15..
1830, Jan. 4....
1829, Apr. 25..
1838, Jan. I . . .
1830, Feb. 4.. .
1838, June 16..
1839, J^"- ^^- •
1816, July 25..
1818, Jan. I.. .
1816, Oct. 14. .
18 1 8, April 14.
1823, June 5..
1824, July 7...
1816, Oct. -J ...
1818, Feb. 20 .
1833, April 24.
1816, July 24 .
1 81 8, Apr. 29..
1833, June 17.
1824, Sept. 21 .
1824, P^eb. 19 .
1820, Dec. 17 ,
1824, Jan. 19..
1823, Nov. 12.,
1831, Oct. 28. .
1816, Nov. 14
1 83 1, July 22
! 1827, Sept. 24
i 1832, April 30
1835, Oct. 15.
1816, July 25.
1816, July 24.
1824, Nov. 4.
1822, Dec. 21.
181 5, June 26
Land.
Acres.
Price
Pt 1 '5
Pt 1 15
pt 1 15
n pt I 15...
1 16.... ;...
n-w pt 1 18.
s-w pt 1 18..
w ])t 1 19. .
pt 1 19
e pt 1 19. . .
pt 1 20
pt 1 20
pt 1 20
w pt 1 20 . . .
e pt 1 2 1 . . .
w pt 1 21...
s pt 1 22. . .
pt 1 22
n pt 1 22. . .
s-w pt 1 23 . .
e pt 1 2 3 ... .
ptl 23 .\-.,
n-w pt 1 23
s pt 1 24 . . .
pt 1 24 . . . .
n pt 1 24. .
ept 1 26. . .
e pt 1 27 . .
ptl 27....
pt 1 27. . . .
w pt 1 27. .
ept 1 28. . .
w pt 1 28. .
pt 1 28
pt 1 29. . . .
pt 1 29. . . .
e pt 1 29. . .
pt I30
e pt 1 32.. .
n-w pt I 36.
s-w pt I 36
pt 1 37. . ..
100
50
100
342
100
69
50
7ii
200
70
50
48
100
150
104
100
100
130
80
100
TOO
79
150
100
66
93
lOI
75
100
75
80
200
TOO
TOO
100
61
100
84
66
60
155
325
500
262
400
1368
300
240
200
286
600
297
150
206
648
600
520
450
500
558
340
450
500
335
600
500
280
279
428
318
425
318-
320
750
396
400
340
244
400
336
297
270
542
712
NAMES OF PERSONS HUVINC LAND
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, RANGE ElGUl— Continued.
Name.
Date.
Land.
Acres.
Price
Thomas Russell
1828,
Oct. I...
|ptl38
50
200
John Whiting
1828,
Oct. I...
ptl38
50
200
Truman Reed
1829,
July 18..
|ptl38
50
200
Moses Martin
1829,
Aug. 22.
i ept 1 38...
97
388
Jonathan Potter
1822,
Feb. 22..
pt I39
100
4SO
Matthew West
1 8 1 6,
Sept. 14.
1 pt 1 40
104
442
George Southwick ....
1820,
Aug. 5 . .
I e pt 1 43 . . . .
200
766
Enos Southwick
1 820,
Aug. 5 . .
s-\\' pt 1 43 . .
48
184
Aaron Davis
1 8 16,
Jan. 29. .
i pt 1 45
100
375
Samuel Tucker
1 8 16,
Julv 1. . .
1 n pt 1 45 . . .
153
612
John Boughton
I S16.
Oct. 7...
1 pt 1 47
95
427
Jedutham B. Taber. . .
1834,
July 5...
n pt 1 48 . . .
94
399
Marshall Judson
1827,
Feb. I . .
s-e pt 1 53..
60
285
John T. Huson
1^33.
Jan. 23. .
|ptl53
50
212
William Sisson
1828,
Dec. 22 .
!ptl53
31
124
William Hulls
1828,
Dec. 22..
1 pt I53
50
200
Charles Wood .
1816,
Jan. 20. .
n-w pt 1 54.
66
247
Samuel Tucker
1816,
Nov. I . .
' ept 1 55...
^55
1 147
Samuel Rogers
1817,
April 15 .
Ptl 56
100
500
Michael Rogers
1817,
Feb. 5 . .
e ptl 56
100
450
Seneca Corbin
1830,
June 21 .
pt 1 56
70
297
John Whiting
1830,
Dec. 1 . .
wpt 1 56. . .
64
274
*Donation for church
purposes by Land Co
1823,
Dec. 27.
e pt 1 64 . . . .
100
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, RANCiE SEVEN.
Ebcn'r & JoshuaHeath
Solomon Heath
Hosea E. Potter
Moses Leonard
Matthias Whitney
Alexander Hopkins..
Robert Arnold
Jirah Tunney, Jr
John Lawton
Thurston J. Goseline.
Ebenezer Cheney. . . .
*John Hall
Josiah F. Coy • . .
1810,
1810.
1816,
1816,
1816,
1816,
1817,
18 1 7,
1819,
1830,
1831,
1H31,
1832,
Sept. 1 1
Oct. 31.
June 25
Oct. II.
Oct. 16..
Oct. 16. .
Nov. 1 1 .
Nov. 12.
June 29.
Nov. 20.
Jan. 7...
Dec. 9 . .
Oct. 22. .
ptl 56
332
747
e pt 1 64 . . .
100
250
w pt 1 55. . .
2 CO
800
pt 1 64
100
450
e pt 1 67
100
450
pt I67
95
427
w pt 1 68. . .
100
500
spt 1 55 ...
100
500
pt I 68 . . . .
50
250
n pt 1 54---
75
300
pt I54
125
500
s-w pt 1 60 .
40
149
e pt 1 58. . .
60
220
KROM 11 IF. HOLLAND COMPANY.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN. RANGE SEVEN— Coniinur,/.
Name.
*Hcnry Hall, Jr
Andrew Hall
Cyrus Coy
Samuel Heath. ......
*Asahel W. Field ....
Jonathan Townsend . .
David Harkness
Jonathan Townsend. .
""Kendal Johnson ....
"'■•'Jar\'is Thompson. . . .
Rial Crouch
■^"Nicholas Feade
Calvin Matterson
James Cooper
Matthew Grover
Philip Bartholomew
ami others
John Shoe and Geori^e
Smith '. .
Mans & Boardwin . . . .
Francis Mitchell
Smith Scwartz
"Flbenezer Chene)-.. . .
Heman H. Annis
*Jacob Tamerle
Flveret Fisher
Frederick Hoffman. . .
■-■•John Schneider
Nicholas (jier
Andrew Nenno
Alexander Bettini^er. .
Maj^dalena Hund
Lansiny," Tooker
Jacob HodLje
Moore & West
John Simon
Samuel Burchill
Crandall L. Hodges...
Peter Thiel '
Milo Lewis
.Abel Cushin<r
Dati:.
833,
834,
834,
835,
835,
835.
835.
836,
836,
836,
836,
836,
Jan. 8.. .
Feb. 13..
Nov. 13.
June 26.
Aug. 22 .
Aug. 28. .
Oct. 12..
Oct. 12. .
July 9...
July 19.
June 29,
Aug. 18
July I...
July 19.
July 19.
St,6, Aug. 19
8^,6,
Aug.
18
836,
Sept.
7-
836.
Sept.
5-
836,
Aug.
29
836,
Dec.
14.
^37^
Nov.
1 1
837-
Dec.
1 1.
837-
Oct.
IQ.
838,
Jan. 6. .
838,
July
13-
S38,
Aug.
13
838,
Nov.
20
838,
Nov.
20
838,
Dec.
21.
842,
Sept
>5
841,
Nov.
I .
841,
Nov.
I .
840,
Aug.
20
842,
Nov.
I .
841,
Nov.
r.
841,
Nov.
I .
837,
Nov.
9-
Lamj.
Acres
837, April 26. pt 1
pt 1 66 3 1
s-w pt I 66. . I 66
w pt 1 51 . . ., 100
s-e pt 1 59. . 86
pt 1 60 80
pt 1 5 I 150
pt 1 5 I 50
ptl52 50
e pt 1 60. . . . 80
pt 1 59 50
s-w pt 1 50. . 100
n-w pt 1 70. . 25
n pt 1 72. . . 100
n-e pt 1 59. . 50
w pt 1 64. . . 100
pt 1 70 75
s-w pt 1 70. . 25
pt 1 7 1 63
ptl52..... 50
s pt 1 7 I . . . . 50
pt 1 62 50
w pt 1 60 &
e pt 1 68 . . , 200
vv pt 1 69 . . . ! 1 50
e pt 1 62 . . . 98
pt 1 69 ! 50
w pt 1 62. . . 25
pt 1 62 50
pt 1 63 60
w pt 1 63 . . . 50
pt 1 62 78
ls6i & 53.. 713
e pt 1 50. . . 82
s-e pt 1 66. . 76
s pt 1 54. . . . 42
wptl56... 88
n-w pt 1 58. 50
sptl72.... 30
pt 1 67 45
pt 1 56 150
713
Prick
100
264
400
844
240
600
200
200
320
200
400
100
425
200
400
300
100
252
200
200
I 200
j 80a
562
392
I 200
[ 100
I 200
' 240
200
312
2852
I 413
418
22 J
395
260
180
i 144
I 600
.714
DEEDS (;IVEN F.V THE HOLLAND COMPANY.
NAMES OF PERSONS WHO HAVE TAKEN DEEDS OF THE HOL-
LAND COMPANY L\ NORTH COLLINS — DATE OF PURCHASE,
ETC.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN. RANGE EIGHT.
Lot.
Acres.
2
75
2
IT2
2
SO
2
ICG
3
6o
3
50
3
5«
3
2
3
100
4
140
4
50
4
50
4
65
4
100
.5
50
5
50
5
50
5
50
5
34
5
29
5
29
5
5«
•6
5B
6
50
6
SO
6
64
6
SO
6
2S
6
25
7
79
7
50
7
50
7
20
7
31
.7
27
8
SO
^
100
Subdivision.
e pt . . .
m pt . .
w m pt
w pt . .
s-e pt. .
n-e pt .
n m pt
s-w pt .
n-w pt.
s-e pt .
s m pt .
w m pt
s-^v pt .
n pt . . .
s-e pt. .
s-w pt .
s m i)t .
m pt . .
m pt . .
n m pt
n m pt.
n pt. . .
s-e pt. .
s-e m pt
s-w pt..
m pt . .
n m pt
n m pt
n pt. . .
s pt . . .
s m pt.
m pt. . .
e m pt
w m pt
w m pt
s pt . . .
s m pt.
D.\TE OF DEKD.
Jan. 27,
Oct. I,
Nov. 9,
Mar. 14
Oct. 16,
July 15,
Dec 30,
Dec. 30,
Dec. 29,
Sept. 17
Nov. 3,
Jan. 1 1,
June 22
Nov. 5,
184T .
«35--
^^37-
, 1836
1837-
1822.
1835-
1836.
1837
, 1853
1842.
1851 .
, 1832
1 841.
July
Oct.
Oct.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Nov.
Nov.
July
Dec.
Oct.
Nov.
Mar.
Dec.
Mar.
Aug".
Sept.
Aug".
Nov.
Nov.
Nov.
Jan.
Jan.
18, 1839.
14, 1833.
21, 1839.
5, 1839..
7, ^838.
17, 1838
7, 1838.
7, 1838.
16, 1842.
24, 1838
24, 1834.
18, 1 83 1
12, 183S
26, 1838
12, 1838
4. 1836.
13, 1841
10, 1 84 1
20, 1839
20, 1839
20, 1840
I, 1842. .
1 , 1 842 . .
Name.
Harry Hall.
John A. Lewis.
John A. Lewis.
Hiram Lewis.
Henry Hall.
John Arnold.
Andrew Hall.
Josiah Rice.
James Starks.
Wilham T. Popple.
Lewis Hall
John Goodell.
Caleb Woodward.
John Benedict Stuhli-
millar.
P. C. Sherman.
G. Bates.
Benjamin Turner.
Andrew Regel.
Lawrence Wolf.
Jos. Anthony Geiger.
Lawrence Wolf.
Francis Geiger.
Andrew De merle.
George L. Unger.
Jacob Huntzeiger.
Josiah Whittemore.
Martin Beach.
Adam Messerle.
Peter Koutzler.
Nathaniel D. Williams.
Louis Poullain.
Anthony Kuhn.
John Jennings.
Jacob Ratzel.
\\m. Haswell Schwert.
Ambrose Schaller.
(leorue Voung.
I>Ki:i)S CIVKN HV IHF, HOI. I, AND C().MI'AN\'.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN. RANGE EIGHT— Contimic^/.
7'5
Lot. 'Acres. Subdivisio.n. Date of Deed.
Name.
<S
S
8
S
10
lO
lO
lO
lO
i I
1 [
I I
I I
I I
12
12
12
12
12
12
'3
'3
"4
'4
14
15
15
15
15
15
16
16
16
16
16
18
18
50
50
50
20
100
60
86
40
50
;o
62
62
125
55
45
50
H3
120
50
75
104
50
54
^o
100
100
53
72
65
50
50
50
142
50
20
43
33
169
69
m ])t . . .
n 111 pt . .
n ni pt . .
n pt
•^ pt
s m pt. . .
m pt . . . .
n-c pt . . .
n-\v pt. .
s-e pt . .
s-e 111 pt
ii-c m i)t ,
n-e pt . '. .
\v pt . . .
s-e pt . . . .
s-e m pt .
s-w ni pt .
s-w pt . . .
n-w pt . . .
n-e pt. . . .
M^t
c m pt. . .
n-e i)t . . .
s-w m pt .
w m pt . .
n m i^t . .
n-w pt . . .
e pt
e m j)t. . .
w pt . . . .
■^ pt
s m i)t . . .
n 111 pt . .
n-e pt . . .
n-w pt . . .
M^t
ni pt . . . .
n m pt . .
n m pt . . .
n pt
e pt
s-w pt . . .
Feb. 25, 1854..
Aui^. 29, 1838.
Sept. 12, 1853.
June 4, 1842 . .
Feb. 12, 1854..
Mar, 22, 1842..
Oct. 20, 1843..
Oct. 28, 1835 .
July 6, 1838. . .
Jan. 20, 1836.
July I. 1839... •
June 5, 1837...
April 9, 1845. .
April 24, 1829.
, June 13, 1833..
Dec 8, 1842. . .
Dec. 8, 1842.. .
July 8, 1839. . .
Oct. 25. 1835..
Nov. 21, 1827.
Dec. 8, 1855.. .
Sept. 4, 1843..
Aug. 10, 184 I .
Oct. 25. 1835 .
April 3, 1843. •
-Jan. 28, 1852. .
Sept. 17, 1853.
Sept. 9, 1824. .
Dec. 29, 1838..
Oct. 30, 1835..
Dec. 12, 1837..
Dec. 27, 1836..
Oct. 26, 1835..
Dec. 22, 1838..
Oct. 10. 1837,.
July 7, 1824. . .
April 7, 1846. .
N()\-. 15, 1841 .
Nov. 15, 1841 .
Nov. 15. 1841 .
June 19, 1818.
Feb. 18, 1836..
George Young.
Peter Greiner.
Peter Bloch.
Leonard Clark.
William Palmer.
Rufus Washburn, Jr.
Jacob LeRoy.
John J. Harrington.
Samuel C. Goodell.
Eber Rogers, Jr.
H. Ballai-d.
John Potter.
Garner Potter.
William Culver.
Caleb Woodard.
J. L. Barden
J. L. Barden.
Pardon C. Sherman..
Abraham Clark.
Chad. B. Clark.
Michael Sucher.
Josiah Wittemore.
Nich. Tienimerlc.
Abraham Clark.
Erastus Clark.
H. Clark.
E. Clark.
John Jennings.
Nicholas Beaver.
Jennings Bowen.
James Brown.
James Brown.
M. & A. Kuhn
Andrew Hepperer.
George Wighrmans.
George Wightmans.
Adam Gartner.
Ignatz Daul.
Nich. Roesser.
George A. Herman.
Ezekiel Goodel.
William .Smith.
7l6 DEEDS GIVEN 15V THE HOLLAND COMPANV.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN. RANGE EIGHT— Con^ium-d.
Lot. Acres
l8
19
19
'9
20
20
20
20
21
21
21
21
22
100
200
71
50
70
50
48
50
lOO
lOO
104
^O
22
50
22
50
22
=;o
22
65
23
100
^3
TOO
23
80
23
49
23
50
23
30
24
75
24
75
24
100
24
66
26
38
26
55
26
125
26
125
27
50
27
51
27
50
27
50
27
75
27
75
28
80
28
100
28
100
28
100
Subdivision. Date of Deed.
Name-.
m pt . . . .
s-\v m pt .
n-w m pt .
e pt
e m pt . .
w m pt . .
w pt
s-e pt. . . .
s-w pt . . .
e m pt. . ,
w m pt . .
n-w pt
n-\v pt.. . . ; May I i, 1829..
e pt April 24, 1829.
s-w pt .... Dec. 28, 1836..
n-w pt ... Dec. 28, 1836 .
e pt July 18, 1839. -I
Mar. 14, 1843 •'
Feb. 4, 1830 . . :
June 16, )838.
Nov. 25, 1854.
Jan. 28, 1854..
Mar. 8, 1839.. •
Dec. 22, 1837 .
Aug-. 19, 1829.
Nov. 3, 1824. .'
Oct. 5, 1832. . .
Oct. 5, 1832.. .;
Sept. 15, 1836.
e pt I Oct. 28. 1838. .
m pt ! May 30, 1833..
s-w pt . . . . I Dec. 31, 1836
I or 1837
w m I April 14, 1840.
w m I Sept. 16, 1854.
w m j April 14, 1840.
s pt ] Oct. 18, 1838...
s m pt.. . . ! F"eb. 28, 1839..
n m pt ...
n pt June 29, 1 840.
s-e pt j Dec. 20, i S36 .
n-e pt . . . . 1 Dec. 20, 1836. .
m pt ! Sept. 21, 1824
w pt 1 Jan. 22, 1824. .
s-e pt ; Dec. 27, 1836.
n-e pt . . .
s in pt . . .
n m pt . .
w m pt
Mar. 31, 1834.
Mar. 14, 1832.
Mar. 14, 1832 .
Nov. 5, 1841 . .
w pt ; Feb. 28, 1827..
e j)t j April 29, i 844
e ni pt . . . . May 29, 1839. •
w in pt...i Dec. 27, 1838..
w pt ! June 22, 1 83 1 . '
Rachel Conger.
Silas Kirly.
George M'cMillen.
Silas Kirly.
Pardon C. Sherman.
Philip Bartholme.
Rachel Conger.
Abraham Conger.
Aug. Cook.
Allen Clark.
George C. Kerr.
George C. Valentine.
Erastus Clark.
Erastus Clark.
Erastus Clark.
A. W. Lawrence.
Elisha Train.
Abel F. Avery.
John TaN'lor.
N. Richmontl.
John Train.
Alfred Jennings.
Erastus Morgan.
Asa Jennings.
Isaac Hoeg.
Elliot Hoeg.
Asa Harkness.
William Smith.
George Conger.
Elijah I>eech.
Fllijah Leech.
Noel Conger.
Richard Willett.
E. Russell.
T. Russell
W. R. Willett.
John Pickins.
Stephen H.Southwick
John H. Paddleford.
Joseph Manchester.
Thomas Baker.
DKKDs c;i\i;n r.N nii: Holland ('().mi'.\.\\'.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, RANGE FAGUT—0»i/i>iiu</.
717
Lot.
ACKKS
Subdivision.
1
' D.'VTK OF Deed.
29
61
^' Pt
June 30, 1855..
29
40
c m pt. . . .
Mar. 12, 1840..
29
60
m pt
April 30, 1832.
29
100
^^' m pt . . .
Nov. 23, 1 841 .
29
100
w pt
Jan. 15, 1839..
30
149
s pt
Feb. 14, 1822 .
30
50
e m pt. . . .
Dec. 31, 1838..
30
50
w m pt . . .
1 Dec. 31, 1838.
30
50
n-c pt . . . .
Dec. 22. 1836 .
30
50
n-w pt . . . .
1 Dec. 24, 1835 •
31
50
s-c pt
June 16, 1835 .
31
50
-S-W pt . . . .
! June 22, 1839-.
31
250
m pt
June 16, 1835.
31
60
n-w pt . . . .
April 4. 1828. .
32
84
^^Pt
Feb. 1 1, 1842 .
32
150
s-w pt . . . .
June 10, 1828 .
32
98
n m pt . . .
Dec. 31, 1839..
32
44
n-w pt. . . .
j June 19, 1828.
34
86
s-c pt . . . .
Dec. 27, 1836 .
34
30
c m pt. . . .
Aui;-. 10, 1829.
34
50
n-e pt . . . .
Feb. 1 1, 1829 .
34
70
s-w pt . . . .
Mar. 31, 1835.
34
100
n-w pt . . . .
April 2 , 1 8 19.
3'
s-c pt. . . . .
Dec. 29, 1837 .
35
')5
s-w pt . . . .
Nov. 1 1, 1836 .
35
50
n-c jjt . . . .
Nov. 5, 1838..
35
50
n ni pt . . .
Dec. 29, 1835.
35
70
n-w pt . . . .
Feb. I, 1836. .
36
100
s-c pt . . . .
Jan. 4, 18^8. .
36
50
n-c pt . . . .
Jan. 4, 1838. . .
36
50
n-c ni pt . .
Jan. 4, 1838. . .
36
5^^
n-w m ])t .
Nov. 14, 1832.
36
50
n-^v i)t . . . .
Feb. I I, 1842 . .
36
60
s-w pt . . . .
, Feb. 16, 1828 .
36
66
s ni jjt . . . .
j Dec. 10, 1836.
57
50
s-e pt . . . .
1 Sept. 4, 1835..
57
50
n-c pt . . . .
Oct. 9. 1835...
37
'55
m pt . . . .
Mar. 22, 1823..
57
100
w pt
Mar. 2. 1819. .
3<S
97
^' pt
Dec. 29, 1837.
38
50
s m pt. . . .
Jan. 20, 1836. .
38
50
n m pt . . .
Oct. 16, 1841 . .
Name.
Geori^e Mennikhcim.
Jo.seph Woodward.
Henry Potter.
Francis Leach.
Darius Anthony.
Henry Joslin.
G. R. Godfrey.
Latham Avery.
Thomas N. Ferris.
Latham A\'er\'.
N. Richmond.
Con. Southworth.
Theodore Ferris.
Richard Rogers.
Peter Hoeg.
Horace Landon.
Horace Landon.
Abijah Smith.
Benjamin VV. Pratt.
John Sherman.
John Sherman.
Noel Conger.
Jonathan Russell.
Charles K. Sherman.
Moses W. Griswold.
Mordecai E. Sherman.
Mordecai E. Sherman.
Joseph Sherman.
Joshua Winner.
William R. Winner.
P'red. Howland.
Roba Pickens.
Pel eg Wood.
Joshua Pickens.
Jonathan Southw ick.
David White.
Humphrcx' White.
David PL' White.
Lemuel M. White.
Hubbard W. Arnold.
Humphrc}" White.
William labor.
7l8 DKHDS CIVEN K^" THE HOLLAND COMl'AXV.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN. RANGE EIGHT— Cojiiuiued.
Lot.
Acres.
Subdivision
Date of Deed.
Name.
38
50
s-w pt . . .
Dec. 28, 1836.
Sylvester Hanks.
38
50
n-w pt . .
June 4, 1835. •
Caleb Bryant.
39
50
s-e pt. . . .
Dec. 28, 1835.
John B. Landow.
39
50
em pt . .
June 8, 1835 . .
Aaron Parker, Jr.
39
39
50
50
n-e pt . . .
Richard Rodgers.
Charles Davol.
s-^v pt . . .
June 9, 1835..
39
50
w m pt . .
Mar. 6, 1837..
James Davol.
39
100
n-w pt. . .
Dec. 28, 1838.
Wilson Rodgers.
40
58
n-e pt . . .
Dec. 31, 1838.
Park Avery.
40
140
m pt . . . .
Oct. 19, 1832..
Lois Sherman.
40
120
w pt . . . .
May 31, 1819.
James Marvin.
42
100
e pt
May 1 1, 1829.
Silas Kirby.
42
50
s-w pt . . .
Oct. 5, 1825. . .
John Lawton.
42
67
n-w pt. . .
Aug. 13, 1822.
Stephen Sisson.
43
200
e pt . . . .
April 20, 1826.
Elijah Pratt.
43
48
s-w pt . . .
Feb. 7, 1827.. .
Oliver Russell.
43
68
n-w pt.. .
Sept. 6, 1823..
Perrv Sisson.
44
200
^ pt
Mar. 29, 1834.
Hugh McMillin.
44
100
m pt. . . .
July 31, [834..
Stephen Randall.
44
100
n m pt . .
Dec. 18, 1836
or 1835
Jonathan South wick.
44
120
n pt
Dec. 21, 1837.
Jonathan Southwick.
45
60
s-e pt . . .
Jan. 26, 1839 •
Stephen Randall.
45
40
s-w pt . . .
Dec. 30, 1835.
M. Judson.
45
100
m pt . . . .
Dec. 20, 1837 .
Abijah Smith.
45
53
n-e pt . . .
Nov. 23, 1836.
Daniel Allen.
45
50
n m pt . .
Dec. 28, 1841 .
Daniel Allen.
45
50
n-w pt . . .
Nov. 21, 1835 .
H. Smith.
46
80
s-e pt. . . .
Sept. 25, 1832.
Joseph Sisson.
46
50
em pt . .
Sept. 26, 1828.
Joseph Sisson.
46
125
n pt'. . . .
Oct. 16, 1829. .
Ebenezer Avery.
46
50
w m pt . .
Aug. 19, 1828.
H. Smith.
46
50
s-w pt'.. .
Nov. 23, 1841 .
H. Smith.
47
75
^Pt
Sept. 20, 1847.
Daniel Shourds.
47
75
s m pt . .
. May 2, 1838. .
Daniel Shourds.
47
95
n m pt . .
. June 4, 1833. .
Luther Rice.
47
60
n-e pt . . .
Nov. 27, 1835.
Horace Landon.
47
50
n-w pt . . .
. Nov. 27, 1835.
Horace Landon.
48
60
s-e pt . . .
. Oct. 20, 1830. .
Julia Spaulding.
48
1 60
s-w pt . . .
. June 3, 1836. .
Ira Stetson.
48
T 20
m pt . . . .
. Feb. 21, 1 83 1 .
Allen Davis.
48
94
n pt
. Dec. 31. 1838.
Elias Morgan.
COPY OK KARLV ASSESSMENT ROLL.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN. RANGE EIGHT— Cot: /inueti
719
Lot.
Acres.
60
Subdivision
Date ok Deed.
Name.
50
s-e pt
Nov. 2, 1825. .
Nathaniel Sisson.
50
106
em pt . . .
Oct. 5, 1825. . .
Stephen Sisson.
50
45
n-e pt . . . .
Oct. 5, 1825...
Obed Hathaway.
50
ti
s-w pt . . . .
May 15, 1823 .
Moses Tucker.
50
40
w m pt . . .
Sept. 22, 1824.
John Lawton.
50
50
n-w pt . . . .
Feb. 22, 1815 .
John I>awton.
51
1 1 1
s-c pt
Aug. 2, 1816. .
Lilly Stafford.
51
100
n-e pt . . . .
Aug. 2, 1816. .
Levi Woodward.
51
132
s-w pt ....
Feb. 22, 18 1 5 .
John Lawton.
51
66
w m pt . . .
Dec. 31, 1836 .
Amos S.Willet.
51
66
n-w pt . . . .
Dec. 26, 1836..
William Wilcox.
52
150
•'^Pt
Jan. 24, 1817. .
Stephen White.
52
98
n pt
Feb. 7, 1821.. .
Stephen White.
53
60
.s-e pt
July 31, 1834..
Martial Judson.
53
31
.s-e m pt . .
Dec. 20, 1837.
Abijah Smith.
53
50
e m pt . . .
Dec. 26, 1836.
Nathaniel Sisson, Jr.
53
60
n-e pt . . . .
July 31, 1834..
William Potter.
53
50
s-w pt . . . .
Oct. 23, 1835. .
Samuel Tucker.
53
50
w m pt . . .
Nov. 8, 1833..
Samuel Tucker.
53
60
n-w pt . . . .
Oct. 14, 1822 .
William Potter.
54
200
'-pt
Mar. 7, 1817 . .
Nicholas Rowland.
54
100
s-w pt
Mar. 28, 1820.
Noah Tripp.
54
23
n m pt . . .
April 22, 1838.
Jesse Stanclift.
54
43
n-w pt . . .
Sept. 5, 1838. .
Ebenezer Smith.
55
55
s-e pt
Oct. 12, 1835. .
George C. Valentine.
55
55
s m pt . . .
June 7, 1832 . .
L. W. Se\'mour.
55
95
n-e pt
Dec. 31,1836 or
1837
Andrew Davis.
55
50
n in pt . . .
Jan. 12, 1836. .
Reuben Stanclift.
55
50
s-w pt . . . .
Dec. 21, 1836.
Sherman & Hale.
55
50
n-w pt . . . .
Dec. 21, 1836.
Sherman & Hale.
56
100
^'Pt
Oct. 16. 1835. .
John Davis.
56
100
m pt
Oct. 10, 1837. •
Dudley O. Stevens.
56
70
w m pt . . .
Dec. 22, 1838.
Stephen Smith.
56
64
w pt
Dec. 31. 1836.
John & Patterson Kerr,
58
336
l57&spt5<S
Oct. 24, 1809. ■
Thomas Stewardson.
58
70
m pt
Dec. 26, 1838.
Daniel Pierce.
58
62
n m pt . . .
Dec. 10, 1835.
Peter Crapo.
58
40
n m pt . . .
Mar. 10, 1835.
Elijah Pratt.
58
25
n-e pt ....
Dec. 23, 1835.
David P. Fuller.
59
145
m pt
Dec. 2^, 1835.
Israel Wilson.
59
35
n m pt . . .
June 6, 1844. .
Daniel Pierce.
720 DKKDS CIVKX l;V TWE IIOI.I.AM) COMrAXN'
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, RANGE EIGHT— (lV«/m//,</.
Lot.
Acres
Subdivision.
1
Date of Deed.
Name.
59
70
n m pt . . .
Dec. 29. 1837.
Ralph Plumb.
S9
100
n pt
Dec. 30, 1837.
William Culver.
59
60
60
s m pt . . . .
Job Sherman. Jr.
T. T. & H. D. Laing.
50
s-e pt
Aug. II, 1834.
60
50
M^t
Sept. 24, 1844.
Job Sherman. }r.
60
50
s m pt. . . .
Sept. 20, 1837.
John Smith.
60
57
n m pt. . . .
Oct. 19, 1839..
John Smith.
60
no
n pt
Mar. 23, 1819 .
Abraham Gifford.
61
TOO
m pt
Mar. 4, 1818 . .
Samuel Tucker.
61
. 100
s pt
Mar. 23, 1819 .
Abram Gifford.
61
100
'1 pt
Oct. I, 1819. . .
Charles Wood.
6^
328
Nov. I''. 1 8 16
Benjamin and Stephen
Husse\'.
63
66
M^t
Aug. 18, 1835.
John Stancliff. Jr.
63
100
s ni pt . . .
Feb. 18, 1829.
Jes.se Stancliff.
63
50
n m pt . . .
April 4, 1823. .
John Sherman,
^3
■ 50
n 111 pt . . .
Sept. 28, 1829.
Elijah Kerr.
63
50
n pt
Nov. I ^, 1828.
Reuben Stanclift.
64
100
^ pt
Dec. 29. 1823.
First Congregational
Society of Collins.
64
120
s-w pt . . . .
Sept. 30, 1833.
William Stanclift.
64
80
n-w" pt . . .
Aug. 3, 1833. .
Charles Wood.
TOW.NSH
II' SEVEN, RAXC
;E SEVEN.
51
90
e pt
Oct. 15. 1838. .
Ezra Chase.
51
50
e m i:)t . . .
Dec. 24. 1839.
Heman H. Annis.
51
50
m pt
April 24, 1840.
Adin Townsend.
51
53
,\v m pt . . .
June 30, 1855 .
H. J. Metzger.
5'
50
S-AV pt . . . .
June 27. 1843.
William \\\ Luck.
U
50
n-\v m pt .
Oct. 7, 1854...
Seymour Lewis.
52
q8
e pt
June 25, 1840.
Silas W. Fisher.
S2
164
m pt
Dec. I, 1855 . .
Cornelius H. Smith.
52
1 6'
m pt
July 18, 1839..
Nov. 30 or 13,
Pardon C. Sherman.
S2
100
w pt
^^37
Warren Tyrer.
53
150
s pt
June 2, 1855 . .
Ansel W. Stickney.
S3
50
1 s ni pt . . .
Aug. 16, 1856.
Jacob Rose.
53
25
j m pt
' Aug. 16, 1856.
Balzer Lalming
53
25
11 m pt . . .
Aug. 16, 1856.
Peter Meyer.
DKKDS CIVKX liV TlIK 11; )I, LAND (O.Ml'ANV.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN. RANGE SEVEH—Condnued.
•2F
Lot.
Acres.
Subdivision.
s pt
Date ok Deed.
Namk.
Pardon C. Sherman.
54
84
July 18, 1839..
54
250
n pt
April I, 1839. .
D. H. Chandler.
55
50
M^t
Oct. 18, 1849..
John Harton.
55
50
s pt
Dec. 2, 1836. .
Jacob Becker.
55
52
m pt
May 30, 1833.
Samuel C. Sweet.
55
200
n pt
Jan. 10, 1839. •
F. B. Marvin.
56
100
e pt
May 13, 1833..
S. C. Sweet.
56
150
m pt
Jan. 22, 1842. .
Barak Gushing.
56
87
w pt
Nov. I, 1842. .
Samuel Burchill.
5S
60
^M3t
Jan. 19, 1839. .
Nathaniel Starks, Jr.
5H
40
s ni pt ....
Aug. 19, 1854.
Samuel Heath.
5«
70
n m pt . . .
April 14. 1855.
Peter Nenno.
58
150
m pt
Oct. I, 1853.. .
Alexander M. Bruce.
58
25
n-w pt . . .
Nov. 1 1, 1854.
John Michel.
59
36
.s-e pt . . . .
April 28, 1855.
J. Gasper.
59
50
c m pt . . .
July 26, 185 I..
J. G. Whitney.
59
50
n-e pt . . . .
Dec. 2, 1854 . .
Stephen Conger.
59
50
n m pt . . .
July 19. 1836..
Jarvis Thompson.
59
38
m pt
Nov. 25, 1854.
Peter Jonas.
59
44
w m pt . . .
Nov. 25, 1854.
Andrew W'ever.
59
25
w pt
Nov. 25, 1854 .
Michael Clasen.
60
80
s-e pt . . . .
July 9, 1836..
Kendell Johnson.
60
50
n-e pt . . . .
July 18, 1839..
P. C. Sherman.
60
70
m pt
Jan. 20, 1855. .
Joseph Jennings.
60
3
m pt
July 7, 1855..
Joseph Jennings.
60
80
w m pt. . .
Aug. 22, 1835.
Asahel \V. Field.
60
100
w pt
Nov. II, 1837.
Heman H. Annis.
61
355
50
July 18. 1839.
Dec. 14, 1834 .
P. C. Sherman.
62
e m pt . . . .
Ebenezer Sherman.
62
68
m pt
July 2, 1840. .
Martha Hund and
Magdalena Hund.
62
50
m pt
Jan. 19. IS' 44..
Michael Haberer.
62
25
^\• m pt. . .
May 28, 1845 .
Nicholas Gier.
62
25
w m pt. . .
Oct. 4, 1844... .
John Gier.
62
25
\v pt
July 13. 1S38..
John Schneider.
63
50
Ill pt
Dec. 16, 1854..
Amb. Schaller.
63
30
\v m pt.. .
May 28, 1 8"$ 3.
Michael Nenno.
63
30
w m pt. . .
May 28, 1853.
Alexander Bettinger.
63
50
^\' pt
Nov. 25, 1842.
Alexander Bettinger.
64
100
^"Pt
Aug. 16, 1853.
Uri Clark.
64
100
1 m pt
Mar. 17, 1846.
L. S. Clark.
64
43
w m pt. . .
29
April 8, 1854..
L. S. Clark.
'22 DEEDS GIVEN BV THE HOLLAND COMPANY
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, RANGE SEVEN— Continued.
Lot
Acres.
100
Subdivision.
Date of Deed,
Name.
64
w pt . . . .
Dec. 27, 1845 .
H. J. Redfield.
66
120
s-e pt . . .
Oct. 15, 1856. .
Samuel W. Pratt.
66
54
n-e in pt .
Nov. I, 1841 . .
Sylvester Hawks.
66
50
s-w pt . . .
Dec. 8, 1855 . .
A. B. Pierce.
66
16
w m pt . .
Dec. 15, 1855. .
H. Hall.
66
46
n-w pt . . .
Dec. 9, 1831 . .
John Hall.
66
31
n m pt . .
Jan. 8, 1833. . .
H. Hall, Jr.
67
50
e pt
Dec. 30, 1836.
John Arnold.
67
50
em pt . .
Nov. 1 1, 1837.
Thomas Annis.
67
45
m pt
Nov. 9, 1837. •
Milo Lewis.
67
50
w m pt. . .
Oct. I, 1835... .
John Arnold.
67
120
w pt
Aug. 29, 1822.
John Arnold.
68
54
em pt. .
July 18, 1839.
P. C. Sherman.
68
50
m pt
Dec. 30, 1836.
Robert Arnold.
68
50
w m pt. . .
Mar. 5, 1827. .
Robert Arnold.
68
100
w pt
Aug. 22, 1831 .
Hiram Arnold.
68
100
ept
Nov. II, 1837.
H. H. Annis.
69
59
ept
June 8, 1844. .
Mark Smith.
69
59
e m pt . . . .
June 8, 1844. .
Jacob Smith.
69
50
m pt
Feb. 13, 1844.
Philip Hoffman and
others.
69
150
w pt
April 2, 1838..
Jacob Tammerle.
70
65
ept
Dec. 7, 1840.. .
John Heavy.
70
75
e m pt . . . .
Sept. 24, 1841 .
Jacob Johnges, Jr.
70
75
m pt
Nov. 30, 1840.
Adam Stephan.
70
50
w m pt. . .
Jan. 24, 1844. .
Peter Rincas.
70
25
s-w pt . . . .
Jan. 18, 1842 . .
John Shoe.
70
25
n-w pt. . . .
Aug. 18, 1836.
Nicholas F'eade.
71
50
M^t
Nov. 13, 1841 .
Peter Schmidt.
71
31
s-e m pt . .
Sept. 16, 1 841 .
Frederick Dicker.
71
31
.s-^\' m pt .
Sept. 16, 1841 .
Zaccheus T. Prince.
71
50
s m pt. . . .
July 13. 1838..
Nicholas Hoardway.
71
168
n pt
July 13. i8<9. .
P. C. Sherman.
72
194
s pt
July 18, 1839..
P. C. Sherman.
72
100
n pt
July 10, 1839..
Calvin Matteson.
NAMES OF ONE OR MORE OF THE FH^ST SETTLERS ON EACH OF
THF LOTS IN THE TOWN OF NORTH COLLINS.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, RANGE EIGHT.
Lot 2, Samuel Hall, Nathan Starks and J. A. Lewis; lot 3,
James Tyrer and Luther T}Tcr ; lot 4, Matthew Clark; lot 5,
XA.MKS OF FIRST SKITLFRS I\ NOR! II COLLINS. 723
Granficld Gates; lot 6, Mr. Conklin ; lot 7, Kzra Brown ; lot 8,
Geor^-e Miller ; lot 10, Sylvanius B.ites ; lot 1 1. Gardiner Potter
and John Potter; lot I2, John L. Harden; lot 1 3, Ghad B.
Clark; lot 14, Abram Clark, Willard Slocum, J. G. Potter; lot
15, Stephen Jewell, J.Brown; lot 16, George W'ightman ; lot
18, William Smith ;• lot 19, llijah Smith: lot 20, Abram Con-
ger and Mr. Barry; lot 21, I'Vanklin W'ightman ; lot 22, Asa
Jennings, Erastus Clark; lot 23, John Train ; lot 24, Wheeler
Beardsley, Samuel Brooks ; lot 26, B. W. Pratt ; lot 27, Corn-
wall Luther; lot 28, Joseph Willet, Mr. Baker; lot 27, Noah
Bump; lot 30, George De Voll ; lot 31, Samuel Richmond;
lot 34, Henry Tucker; lot 35, Jonathan Russell ; lot 36. Mr;
Pickins ; lot ^J, Lemuel Wliite ; lot 38, Humphrey White ; lot
39, Aaron Parker; lot 40, Horace Landon ; lot 42, Stephen
White, Benjamin Leggett and George Southwick ; lot 43, Job
Southwick ; lot 44, Hugh iMcMiller and Jonathan Southwick;
lot 45, Daniel Allen, John L. Edd)-, Asher Aver}- ; lot 46,
Joseph Sission ; lot 47, Asher Avery; lot 48, Humphrey Rus-
sell, Abner Briggs ; lot 49, ; lot 50, Stephen
Sisson ; lot 51, Levi Woodward, Lilly Stafford ; lot 52. Stephen
White, Daniel Hunt ; lot 53, John Woodword, William Potter ;
lot 54. Noah Tripp; lot 57, Thomas Hunt; lot 60, Abram
Gifford, Samuel Tucker, John Ray ; lot 63, Jesse Stancliff,
John Stancliff ; lot 64, Willard Stancliff, Lyman B. Harris.
TOWXSHIl' SFN'EX, RAXCF: SEVEN.
Lot 50, William Soule, Samuel Heath; lot 51, Seymour
Lewis, Adam Townsend ; lot ^2, Jonathan Townsend ; lot 53,
Mathew Brewer, Amos Patridge ; lot 54, Stickney & Thomp-
son ; lot 55, Samuel Sweet ; lot 58, J. F. Coy, C. F. Hodges ;
lot 59, Cooper & Thompson; lot 60, Robert Scott; lot 61,
Jacob Smith, Mark Smith ; lot 62, M. Haberer ; lot 65, T.
Thiel ; lot 64, Samuel Clark ; lot 66, Henry Hall, Jr., lot 67,
John Arnold ; lot 68, Robert Arnold ; lot 69, John Demerlex' ;
lot 70, Nicholas Ferdick ; lot 71, George Decker; lot 72, Calvin
Matthewson.
724
COPY OF EARLY ASSESSMENT ROLL.
COl'Y OF THE ASSESSMENT ROLL OF THE TOWN OF NORTH
COLLINS (then COLLINS) FOR THE YEAR 1823.
TOWNSHIP SEYEN, RANOE EKiHT.
Name.
Land.
Timothy Stancliff
Mose.s Tucker
Jonathan Southwick..
Asher Avery
Lennuel M. White
Humphrey Smith
Charles Devol
Noah Tripp
W'iUiam Potter
Daniel Allen
David White
Humphrey White. . . .
William Pickins
Joshua Pickins
Job Southwick
Job Sherman
Charles Sherman
Jonathan Russell
David Conger
David Conger
Lilly Stafford, Jr
Noel Conger
Jonathan Sherman.. . .
Henry Joslin.
Jacob Bardin
John Bardin
Leonard Reed
Levi Parker
Levi Parker
Horace Landon
Richard Rogers
Elisha Train
James Marvin
Humphrey Russell. ...
Luther Rice
Daniel Shord
n-w pt 1 64.
s-\V pt 1 50.
n pt 1 44 . . .
m pt 1 45 . .
w pt 1 37 . .
s-w pt 1 46.
s-e pt 1 46. .
s-vv pt 1 54.
n-w pt 1 5 3 .
n pt 1 45 . . .
m pt 1 37..
e pt I37.. .
m pt 1 36. .
e pt 1 36 . . .
e pt 1 43 . . .
n-w pt 1 35 .
s pt 1 35~. . .
n-w pt 1 34 .
e pt 1 42 . . .
w ptl 33...
s-e pt 1 34. .
s-w pt 1 34 .
n-e pt 1 34. .
s pt 1 30 . . .
n-e pt 1 30. .
n-w pt 1 30.
s pt 1
m pt 1 3 1
m pt 1 40
s-e pt I40& s-w pt 1
" pt 1 31 i
n-e pt 1 40
s-w pt 1 40, n pt 1 39j
& " pt 1 47 1
s pt 1 48 I
"1 pt 1 47 i
S pt 1 47 :
Acres.
70
50
310
98
96
56
70
98
58
144
152
94
99
59
195
68
124
96
97
179
78
66
80
145
48
48
96
1451
102 1
144
100
67
269
234
94
148
Val.
$191
177
740
258
344
162
175
385
145
382
488
244
260
147
527
•74
261
253
627
160
165
213
443
141
136
262
427
295
190
Tax.
;i 47
I
I
I
36
98
98
2 64
I 22
1 35
2 96
1 II
2 93
7^
84
13
08
33
2 00
I 96
4 82
I 23
I 26
1 63
3 42
I 08
1 05
2 01
562 i 4 34
3 30
2 23
I 43
679 5 24
486 I 3 75
197 ! I 51
388 2 98
cow OF FARI.V ASSr,SSMi:N 1- ROLL. 725
TOWNSHIP SEVEN', RANGE EIGHT— G'liiiiiiM/.
Name.
James Rathbonc. . .
James Rathbone. . .
Frederick Smith. . .
Darse Roberts. . . .
Josepli Sisson
Jesse Stanclift
John Stanclift
Lyman B. I'rancis
Stephen Smith . . . .
Stephen Wliite. . . .
Le\i Woodw arc! . . .
Hui^h McAIiUain. ,
Lilly Stafford
Obed Hathaway.. ,
Perry Sisson
Geori^e Lapham . . .
Stephen Sisson. . . .
Stephen Sisson. . . .
John Lawton
Land,
n-w pt 1 38.
m pt 1 39 . .
n pt 1 46 . . .
.s-wl 38....
m pt 1 46 . .
pt I63
n pt 1 63 . . .
n-e pt 1 64.
m pt 1 56. .
John Davis
Jolm Stanclift. Jr
Willard Stanclift
Thomas Stancliff
Nathaniel Sisson
Nathaniel Sisson
Nathaniel Sisson
Elkanah Sherman . . . .
Klkanah Sherman . . . .
Llkanah Sherman, /
VillaL;elot No. 28, \
John Ra}'
Thomas Hunt
Cromwell Luther
Anna Howland
Isaac Gifford
John L. Edda
Thomas W. Howland.
Josiah Crath
Geori^c W'ii^htman. . . .
.Stephen Jewel
n-e pt 1 51
s pt 1 44
s-e pt' 1 51
n-e pt 1 50
n-w pt 1 43
s-w pt I 43
pt 150...^
^^•pt I55
w pt 1 4 1 , s-w^ pt 1 5 I
n-w pt 1 50 & s-w
pt 1 4:^
c pt 1 56
s ptl 63
s-w pt 1 64
n-w pt 1 63
s-e pt 1 50
n-w pt 1 42
s-w pt 1 62
n-w pt 51
m pt 1 23 •. . .
471 i
98f
96
47
96
94
46
6
99 :
243 '
97
193 I
109
43
66
45
lool
100 1
s pt 1 60 . . .
n pt 1 59.. .
n-w pt 1 59,
n-w pt 1 50 .
Ptl58
s pt 1 58 . . .
Ptl58
m pt 1 15...
1 16
m pt 1 15 .
$375
267
117
244
304
148
56
314
797
264
7^5
389
116
264
133
320
2000
89
61
211
180
104
48
340
■54
59
6S
339
162
48
65
59
120
139
146
5
49
99
69
39
69
69
80
64
337
99
102
21 1
142
87
172
172
200
169
887
260
Acres. Val. Tax
52 88
2 06
89
1 84
2 34
1 14
43
2 44
6 14
2 04
5 88
2 00
89
2 04
I 02
705 5 42
15 40
62
36
61
18
- d3
I 25
93
I 07
I 12
04
78
162
I 08
66
I 33
I 33
I 54
1 23
6 84
I 99
726 COPY OF EARLY ASSESSMENT ROLL.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN. RANGE EIGHT— Co;, tinm;/.
Name.
John McDaniel . . .
Abraham Clark . . .
William Sisson, Jr.
Stephen Hussey .. .
Benjamin Hussey .
Charles Wood
Charles Wood
Samuel Tucker. . . .
Abraham Gifford..
Rufus Gifford
Rufus Gifford
Joseph A. Gifford .
John Woodward . .
Erastus Clark
Isaac Hoag
Eliott Hoag
John Train
Asa Jennings
William Palmer. . .
James Goodell ....
Nathan Starks ....
Luther Tyrer
Andrew Hall
Henry Hall
Willink & Co
Willink & Co
Willink & Co
Willink & Co
Willink & Co
Willink & Co
Willink & Co
Willink & Co
Willink &Co
Wilhnk &Co
Willink &Co
Willink &Co
Willink &Co
Willink & Co
Willink & Co
Willink & Co
Willink & Co
Willink & Co
Land.
m pt 1 I 5
m pt 1 14
m pt 1 21
n pt 1 62
s pt 1 62
n pt 1 51
n-w pt 1 54
m pt I61 &s-wpt 1 53
pt Its 60 & 61
pt 1 60
m pt 1 44
s-w 1 60
11-c pt 1 53.-
w pt 1 22
pt 1^4
m pt 1 24
m pt 1 23
m pt 1 22
pt 1 10
pt 1 10 {
•^-^v pt 1 3
n-w pt 1 3
n-e pt 3 ,
•^-e pt 1 3
e pt 1 2
1a
s pt 1 6
18
n pt 1 10. . .
In
e pt 1 64 . . .
n pt 1 56. . .
n pt 1 48 . . .
e pt 1 38. . .
n pt I 36. ..
e pt 1 29 . . .
I 27
e pt lot 26.
n pt 1 24 . . .
w pt 1 23 . . .
n pt 1 22 . .
\CRES
\^A1..
49
247
98
245 j
99
247 1
160
694
i5«
695
81
549 :
66
132
T 1 -y
1223 !
167
493 1
128
310
65
139 1
5«
149
47
155
96
277
149
37^
99
247 1
99
256 1
99
265
94
257
59
147
61
122
78
196
106
310 \
58
116 ,
237
592 1
386
945
350
875
223
557
330
765
21 1
557
n n ">
832
113
282
132
330
100
250
247
617
66
i6s
261
652
351
877
118
290
66
165
159
397
141
3^7
I
88
I
87
I
88
.
:>
JJ
5
4
23
I
01
9 49
3
80
2
39
I
07
I
16
1 12
2 13
2 88
I
90
I
97
2
04
I
98
I
13
94
r
51
2
39
90
4
56
7
28
6
75
4
29
5
89
4
06
6
41
2
18
2
54
I
93
4
75
I
20
■>
02
6
75
0
24
I
20
3
06
2
52
COPY OF EAKiA' ASSESSMENT ROLL.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN. RANGE EIGHT— Continued.
727
Name.
Willink & Co . . .
Willink & Co . .
Willink & Co . . .
Willink & Co . . .
Willink & Co . . .
Willink & Co . . .
Willink & Co . . .
Hiram Arnold . .
Robert Arnold . ,
John Lewis
John A. Lewis. .
Orin Servis
John Arnold . . . .
Amos Stickney . .
Samuel C. Sweet
Edson Putnam . .
Willink & Co . . .
Willink & Co . . .
Willink & Co . . .
W' illink & Co . . .
Willink &Co . . .
Willink &Co . . .
Willink & Co . . .
Willink & Co . . .
W' illink & Co . . .
Willink & Co . ..
Willink & Co . . .
Willink & Co . . .
Willink &Co . . .
Willink &Co . . .
Willink & Co . . .
Willink & Co . . .
W^illink & Co . . .
Willink &Co ...
Land.
A( KEs. Val. Tax.
1 20
1 19
w pt 1 1 8
s pt 1 I 5 .
w pt 1 14
1 I
pt
1 12
pt 1 68
pt lots 67 and 68
m pt 1 67
m pt 1 67
e pt 1 67
.s-w pt 1 67
m pt 1 5 5
m pt I55
nptl 55
■ 59
1 60
1 61
1 62
I63
w pt 1 64,
1 66
e pt 1 68 .
1 69
I/O
I71
1 72
1 50
I51
153
153
154
158
405
33^
169
72
54
284
403
lOD
66
93
49
50
102
47
98
98
345
381
355
355
415
146
320
205
318
315
349
294
333
341
359
340
334
340
1012
827
422
180
135
710
1007
260
162
236
102
100
^22
130
263
250
862
952
887
887
1037
365
800
512
79=;
787
872
735
832
852
897
850
835
850
7 80
6 36
3 25
I 39
1 04
5 47
7 75
2 00
I 25
1 79
78
77
2 47
1 90
2 02
1 92
663
7 IT
/ JJ
6 83
6 83
7 98
2 81
6 16
95
13
06
71
5 66
6 40
35
91
54
42
54
The total valuation of the present Town of Nortli Collins
(Collins and North Collins were at that time one town) accord-
ing to the above assessment roll, was $61,437 ^ the valuation of
the real estate was $61,121 ; personal property, S3 16; tax,
$585 ; Collectors' fe:s, $17.16.
728 town officers of north collins.
List of the Principal Town Officers of North Col-
lins FROM THE Organization of the Town in 1853,
UP TO the Present Time:
supervisors.
1853 — Edwin \\\ Godfrey. 1868 — Daniel Allen.
1854— Edwin W. Godfrey. 1869 — Edwin \V. Godfrey.
1855 — Edwin \V. Godfrey. 1870 — Edwin W. Godfrey.
1856 — Lyman Clark. 1871 — Edwin \V. Godfrey.
1857 — Lyman Clark. 1872 — Michael Hunter.
1858— Charles C. Kirby. 1873—
1859 — Charles C. Kirby. 1874 — Michal Hunter.
i860 — Charles C. Kirby. 1875 — Charles C. Kirby.
1861^ — Wilson Rogers. 1876 — James Matthews.
1862— Wilson Rogers. 1877 — Charles C. Kirb}'.
1863— Giles Clifford. 1878— Heman M. Blasdell.
1864— Giles Gifford. 1879— Heman M. Blasdell.
1865— Daniel Allen. 1880— Heman M. Blasdell.
i86(^Thomas Russell. 1 881— Charles H. Wood.
1867— Daniel Allen. 1882— Charles H. Wood.
18S3— Jacob Staffen.
TOWN CLERKS.
853— Paul H. White. 1868 -Andrew Hurley.
854 — Paul H.White. 1869 — Andrew Burley.
855 — Paul H.White. 1870 — Andrew Burley.
856 — Charles C. Kirby. 1871 — Andrew Burley.
857 — Charles C. Kirby. 1872 — Andrew Burle}'.
858— Paul H. White. 1873—
859 — Paul H. White. 1874 — Joseph Naber, Jr..
860 — Michael Hunter. 1875 — Joseph Naber, Jr.
861 — Michael Hunter. 1876 — Andrew Burley.
862 — Michael Hunter. 1877 — Andrew Burley.
863 — F^rancis Leach. 1878 — Andrew Burle)-.
864 — Francis Leach. 1879 — Andrew Burle}'.
865 — Henry Beveir. 1880 — Andrew Burley.
866 — George Barringer. 1881 — Andrew Burley.
867 — George B;irringer. 1882 — Andrew Burley.
1S83 — Joseph Naber, Jr.
TOWN OFIICKRS OF XORI'II CO], I. INS.
729
SUI'FRINIKXDKXTS OF SCHOOLS.
1853 — Willi. 1111 11. Train. 1855 — Stephen Williani Soulc.
1854—
1856 — Alon/.o H. Pierce.
lUSTICES OF niK I'KACE.
1^53 •
854
856
«^57
858-
859
860
861
862
86:;
865.
866
867
868
1 Charles C. Kirb}'.
Samuel 1 leath.
f Thomas S. Hibbard.
— Samuel Heath.
-William A. Fish.
— I.yman Clark.
\ Charles C. Kirb}\
( Matthew Brewer.
—Michael Hunter.
\ William A. Fish.
I Matthew Brewer.
—Ansel W. Stickney.
— Charles C. Kirby.
\ Michael Hunter.
f Thomas Russell.
— Thomas Russell.
— .\nsel W. Stickne}-.
— Francis Leach.
John Potter.
Da\id A. Avery.
Ansel W. Stickney.
1869-
1 870-
1871-
1872-
1873-
1 874
1875
1876
1877
1878
1879-
18.S0-
1881-
1882-
1883-
-PTancis Feach.
-Milton Roeller.
-H. M. H ark n ess.
-N. Lollman.
Milton Roeller.
Thomas S. Hibbard.
Charles C. Kirb\-.
Charles C. Kirby.
Charles Stuhlmiller.
N. Lollman.
Charles H. Wood.
T. S. Hibbard.
Henry Joslin.
Henr}- Joslin.
Edwin W. Stanclift.
Charles W'hitney.
Clarence F. Lawton.
-Perry T. Scott.
E. B. Austin.
Charles C. Kirb\-.
853 i
.S54-;
856-
857-
858-
859-1
(jeorj^e Burnett.
Giles (jifford.
Sanuu;l Sweet.
William Hathawa)'.
Loren/o D. Palmer,
ALirshall Judson,
Fsaac A. Hale.
■Daniel Sisson.
AVilliam T. Popple.
-Henry Joslin.
Fsaac A. Hale.
Matthew Brewer.
ASSESSORS.
I 860-
1861-
1862
1863
1864
1865
1866-
1867
— Benjamin Salts.
-Daniel Allen, Jr.
\ Isaac A. Hale,
I Daniel Sission.
\ S. B. Patridge,
I Lewis Rogers.
— Olney P. Harkness.
\ E. W. Stanclift.
/ John Staffin.
—John Staffen.
\ S. W. Lawton.
/ Nicholas Beaver.
730
TOWN OFFICERS OF NORTH COLLINS.
1868
\ Nathan Sisson.
( Henry Joslin.
1869 — Nicholas Beaver.
1871 —
1872— James Lenox.
1873-
„ \ WilHam H. Willett.
^'^74 , jgaac Wilcox.
1875 — James Lenox.
1876 — Isaac Wilcox.
1877— William H. Willett.
1878— John Staffen.
1879— W. ^^- Taylor.
1880 — Edwin W. Stanclift.
1 88 1 — Nicholas Beaver.
1 882 — Peter Winter.
1883— H. S. Kirby.
COMMISSIONERS OF HIGHWAYS.
1853 I
1854—
1855-
1856-
1857J
1858—
1859-
1860—
1861 —
1862—
1863—
1864 I
1865 (
William Smith,
Benjamin Hussey.
Benjamin Hussey.
John J. Jennings,
Rufus W. Stickney,
Daniel Allen, Jr.,
Stephen Conger,
Luther Landon,
George P. Sipple.
Stephen Conger.
Luther Landon.
Isaac Russell.
Stephen Conger.
Stephen Conger.
Isaac Russell.
1866
1867
1868
1S69
1870
1871
1872
1873-
1874 — John Thiel.
1875 — John Thiel.
1876— Augustin Smith.
1877 — Jacob Staffen.
1878 — Jacob Staffen.
1879 — J. J. Pickens.
1880 — Jacob Staffen.
1 88 1— George H. White.
1882— H. S. Bebee.
1883—
COLLECTORS.
1853 — Isaac Russell.
1854 — Isaac Russell.
1855 — Sherman Avery.
1856 — Sherman Avery.
1857 — Alanson Clark.
1858 — Joshua J. Pickens.
1859 — Joshua J. Pickens.
i860 — Joshua J. Pickens.
1861— Elias A. Morgan.
1862 — Elias A. Morgan.
1863 — Daniel Allen, Jr.
1864 — Daniel Allen, Jr.
1865 — Isaac Wilcox.
1866—
1867 — Harvey J. Tucker.
1868— Michael Roeller.
1869— Milton Roeller.
1870 — Milton Roeller.
SOCIKTIKS OF NDRTII COLLINS. 73 1
1871 — George H. Dana. 1878 — John Pflecger.
1872 — Thomas S. Hibbard. 1879 — Jolm Pflceger
1873 — 1880 — William Hyde.
1874 — Milton Rocllcr. 1S81 ^
Ij^j5 . 1882 • Paul J^antle.
1876 - Paul Bantle. 1883 \
1877 ^
NoiK. — In 1S73, owing to a fenr of spreading small pox, no town meeiing
was held, and the officers elected the previous year held over.
NORTH COLLINS SOCIETIES.
North Collins has eight secret societies or beneficiary orders,
all with headquarters at North Collins x'illage, except a lodge
of Good Templars at Lavvton's Station, and a Catholic order
at Langford. The following statistics relate to the respective
orders :
A. O. U. W., NORTH COLLINS L0D(;E, NO. 96.
Organized June 9, 1877 ; number of charter members, twenty-
seven ; present membership, fifty. Original officers : —
L. B. Shaw. P. M. W.; M. Hunter, M. \V.; W. H. Estes,
Recorder; David Sherman, G. F".; E. H. P''oster, Financier ;
E. S. Hibbard, Receiver; E. E. Ensign, O. \V.; James Huzzy,
G.; Frank Russell, O.; Horace Wood, I. W.
E. O. M. A., LINCOLN LODGE, NO. 87.
Instituted Ma}' 8, 1879. Charter members, twcnt\--two ;
])resent membership, sixteen. Original officers : —
Job Southwick, Jr., President ; George W. Spaulding, Vice
President; A. F". Mason, Recording Secretary; Plllmore Rogers,
Financial Secretar}- ; George Barringer, Treasurer; George
Sucher, Chaplain; A. T. Huson, Conductor ; Hiram Pease, I.
G.; Emmonds Hunter. O. G.; Enos S. Hibbard, Past Presi-
dent.
K. T. OF T., NORTH COLLINS COUNCIL. NO. J^.
Instituted Now 17, 1879; charter members. thirt\' ; present
membership, fifty-five; original officers: —
S. H. Shaw, S. C; E. A. Morgan, V. C; E. W. Godfrey,
P. C; A. W. F"ranklin, Chaplain ; E. G. Ellinwood, Secretary
E. Ensign. Financial Secretar\- ; A. H. Welch. Treasurer;
732 SOCIETIES OF NORTH CoLLIXS.
Warren Needham, Herald ; Joseph P. Barr, Guard ; Philip'
Knopp, Sentinel.
E. A. v., JEFFERSON UNION, NO. ■/$.
Instituted April 12, i8So. Charter members, thirty ; present
membership, fifty-three. Original officers :
Michael Hunter, Chairman ; Stephen H. Shaw, Advocate ;
Berton S. Partridge, President; Dora J. Baldwin, Vice-Presi-
dent ; Adelia Sprague, Auxiliary ; George Barringer, Treasurer ;
Edwin W. Godfrey, Secretary ; Dewitt E. Hibbard, Account-
ant; William G. Webber, Chaplain ; Lydia Hunter, Warden ;
George W. Sallman, Sentinel ; Orange Sedwell, Watchman.
(r. A. R., S. C. NOYES POST, NO. 22.
Organized June 20, 1881. Charter members, sixteen ; pres-
ent membership, thirty-three. Original officers :
A. Hilliker, Commander ; E. S. Hibbard, S. V. C; Harvey
Smith, J.V. C; Andrew Bearly, Adjutant; M. M. Speny, Ser-
geant ; Isaac E. Stedwell. Chaplain ; Charles Beach, O. D.;
John Robinson, O. G.; E. J. Foster, S. M.; George Davis,.
Q. M. S.; Peter Bowers, Guard.
INDEPENDENT ORDER OF GOOD TEMl'LARS, MC KILLOP LODGE,
NO. 516.
Organized June 29, 1882. Charter members, thirteen ; pres-
ent membership, thirty-two. Original officers :
A. W. Franklin, W. C. T.; Ida Ensign, W. V. T.; Miss M.
Van Epps, W. C; W. W. Ransom. W. S. E. C; Hattie E.
Burnham, W. A. S.; Herbert I. Burnham, W. T. S.; Eva Estes,
W. Treasurer ; Cortney Brown, W. M.; Fanny Franklin,
W. D. N.; Santford Bundy, W. I. G.; May Stanclift, W. O. G.;:
Jennie Stanclift, W. R. H. S.; Lottie Rankin, W. L. H. S.
I. O. OF G. T., LAWTON LODCIE. NO. 519.
Organized July l, 1872. Charter members, thirty-eight.
Original officers :
Leroy Sherman, W. C. T.; Gladry Lawton, W. V. T.; Lucy
Sherman, W. S.; G. O. Dillingham, W. F.; George Burgott,
W. F. S.; George Taylor, W. C; Fred WiUett. W". M.; Fred
Stage, W. S.; Marion Taylor, W. G.; Helen Sherman, W. A. S.;
Mrs^ Carl WiUit, W. D. M.; Florence Lawton, \\\ R. S.;.
NORTH COI.I.IXS SOI.DIKKS RECORD. 733
Eunice Palmcrton, W. S. S.; Uuran A. Palmcrton, V.. W. C. T.;
Willie Law-ton. L. 1).
C. M. H. A., MARTINS BRANCH, NO. 35.
Ortjjanized May 25, 1879. Charter members, thirteen. Oric^i-
nal officers were : —
Jacob Staffen, President ; Paul Bantle. first Vice-President ;
John Smith, second Vice-President ; George A. Sipplc, Record-
ing Secretary ; Jolm Junker, Assistant Recording Secretary;
Peter Hearye, Treasurer- Lewis Andres, MarshaL, George
Schneider, Guard ; Fred Rider, Charles ThieJ, P^rank Johengen,
Michael Hoepfinger and P'rank Menges, Trustees.
NORTH COLLINS SOLDIERS' RECORD.
The following is believed to be a nearly correct list of those
from North Collins who serv^ed in the war of the Rebellion.
Some names have perhaps been unavoidaibly omitted.
North Collins was represented in thirty different regiments.
More than half her soldiers, however, were in the following
regiments : —
Tenth New York cavalry. One Hundred and Sixteenth New
York volunteers, P^orty-fourth (People's Ellsworth), Forty-
ninth New York volunteers, and the Sixty-fourth New York
volunteers.
Of the gallant service which her soldier boys performed as
members of these regiments it is needless to recount, as they
have been well portrayed in regimental histories and other
works, and form a permanent part of the brave and patri-
otic deeds of the War. Doubtless the same may be said of the
various other regiments, some of which had but a single repre-
sentative from the town.
" Up many a fortress wall
They charged ; those Boys in Blue ;
'Mid surging smoke and volleyed ball,
The bravest were the first to fall,
To fall for me and you."
Put what of those that fell ?
" On Fame's eternal camping ground.
Their silent tents are spread ;
And glory guards with solemn sound
The bivouac of the dead."
734 NORTH COLLINS SOLDIERS' RECORD.
Noi'E. — A star placed opposite the name indicates death in the service, and the person's
narae will be found at the close in a list of the dead.
Allen, Daniel, Sergt. 64th N. Y. V.
"Baker, Samuel K., loth N. Y. Cav.
Barring, George, Corp. Lst Reg. N. Y. S. sharp shooters,
8th Co.
Burleigh, Andrew, 116 N. Y. V., Co. A.
Bar, Joseph P., " 900th Scott Cav."
Brim, Adam, i i6th N. Y. V.
Blakeley, Sylvester N., ii6th N. Y. N.
Bettinger, Nicholas, 2d Mounted Rifles.
-"Bennett, Ferdinand, 44th N. Y. V., Co. 7\.
Brown, John S., 9th N. Y. Cav.
Brown, David H., 9th N. Y. Cav.
Buckmer, Henry, 155th N. Y. V.
Beaver, Henry, 24th N. Y. Cav.
Ballard, Joseph, 49th Battery.
Ballard, Sebastian, 187th N. Y. V.
-Cook, John, 1 1 6th N. Y. V.
Cook, Adam, U. S. V. Army.
Conger, George D., Corp. 44th N. Y. V.
Clend, Ebenezer R., looth N. Y. V.
Clark, William, Artillery.
Cooper, John looth N. Y. V.
Curtis. Charles H., i6oth N. Y. V.
Doanc, William, loth N. Y. Cav.
Davis, George H., ii6th N. Y. V., Co. K.
Day, Nelson V., i6oth N. Y. V.
Deyre, Henry, i6oth N. Y. V.
Demerl}', Charles, 33d Batter)'.
Dean, George.
Fisher, Jacob, 28th N. Y. V.
Foster, Oscar E., 2d Mounted Rifles.
Fuller, Frank, 11 6th N. Y. V.
Farnswick, William K., loth N. Y. Cav.
Cuyger, Lawrence, 44th N. Y. V.
Gearnie, Matthias, U. S. V. Army, Light Artillery.
Gray, William F., 72d Reg. (Excelsior Brigade).
■'•"Harmatinger, John, ii6th N. Y. V.
NORTH COLLINS SOLDIKRS' RLCORL). 735
Holcomb, I'ranklin. loth N. V. Cav.
Hinman, Byron C, 13th N. Y. V,
Huzzy, James, loth N. Y. Cav.
llibbard, luios S., Sergt. loth N. Y. Cav., Co. D.
Heltmcr, Jacob, Jr., "900th Scott Cav."
Heltmyer, John, Corp. 97th Reg.
Harmon, Godfrey, 21st N. Y. V.
Hanson, John, U. S. Artiller}-.
Hancs, William H. H., i6oth N. Y. V.
■^'•'Haberer, George, 33d Battery.
Hanes, Clements, 15th Artillery.
Hosford, Hiram ii6th N. Y. V.
Jennings, Asa C, 44th N. Y. V.
Johnson, John B., 155th X. Y. V.
Konklin, John C, looth N. Y. V.
*Leach, Stephen H., loth N. Y. Cav. Co. E.
L}'nde, Thodore.
Lynde, Myron, ii6th N. Y. V.
Laveter, Stephen W.
Lollman, Nicholas, 27th Light Battery.
Lighe, Charles, i6oth N. Y. V.
McCarty, Michael, i6th U. S. Cav.
Miller, John, i6oth N. Y. V.
Madison, John, i6oth N. Y. V.
O'Connor, Patrick. i6oth N. Y. V.
O'Brian, Daniel, i6oth N. Y. V.
Prince, Leonartl, loth N. Y. V.
Parker, Harrison, 44th N. Y. V.
Pfleger, John, 10th N. Y. Cav. Co. E.
*Palmer, Thomas, 64th N. Y. V.
Pratt, Samuel W., 64th N. Y. V.
Petrie, George, 19th U. S. Cav.
Robinson, John, 83d Pa. Reg.
Ro.ss, William, Corp. ii6th N. Y. V.
Rogers, Samuel S., loth N. Y. Cav.
Rogers, Jacob W'., loth N. Y. Cav.
Rogers, William A., Sergt. 44th N. Y. V., Co. A.
Russell, Isaac H., 44th N. Y. V., Co. A.
Roeller, Milton.
736 NORTH COLLINS SOLDIERS' RECORD.
Randall, Byron, " Sidnay's Reg."
Randall, Hair}-, " Sidna}''s Reg."
"Rogers, Jerome B., loth N. Y. Cav.
Ritter, Francis, 49th N. Y. Inf.
Sherman, Job B., i i6th N. Y. V., Co. K.
*Smith, Chester, 44th N. Y. V.
Smith, Egbert, Corp, ii6th N. Y. V., Co. A.
Staffin, Peter. 44th N. Y. V.
Staffin, Jacob, 90th N. Y. V.
Smith, Marcus, loth N. Y. Cav.
"Smith. Philip, U. S. V. Navy.
Smith, William, i6oth N. Y. V.
Stimpson, John, i6oth N. Y. V.
Soloman, James, i6oth N. Y. V.
Skinner, Nelson S., 12th N. Y. V.
Stanclift, Edwin J., 10th N. Y. Cav., Co. E.
Smith, Henry C, 44th N. Y. V., Co. A.
Secrist, Jacob, 97th Reg.
Smith, Augustin, 27th Battery.
''■\Shaller, Joseph, 15th Artillery.
Saunders, James.
Taylor, John, 19th U. S. Cav.
Terhams, Gilliam, 12th N. Y. V.
Uhls, Silfrey, loth N. Y. Cav.
Uhls. Frank, loth N. Y. Cav.
Wysinger, David, Corp. ii6th N. Y. V., Co. K.
Willett, Homer B., ii6th N. Y. V., Co. A.
"Whittemore, Hor^itio G., ii6th N. Y. V.
Wolf, Frank, 11 6th N. Y. V.
Wolf, Andrew, 11 6th N. Y. V.
Walker, John, 94th N. Y. V.
West, Francis, 49th N. Y. V.
Warner, Reuben, 9th N. Y. Cav.
Wood, Charles, looth N. Y. V.
Way, Elijah, i6oth N. Y. V.
'"Winter, John, "900th Scott Cav."
Zahm, Jacob, U. S. V. armv.
NOK'l'II (Ol.l.IXS SoI.DIilKS KiiCOKD. -^j
[.isr OK IIIOSI'. WHO W KRK KII.I.Kl) OR I)Ii:i) [ X J 1 1 1-; SKRXICK.
]iakcr. Samuel K.. shot in the head and killed at tlie battle
of the Wilderness.
Bennett, PY'rdinand. killed b)- the burstin-^ of a shell at the
battle of the Wilderness.
Cook. John, shot in the head and killed at the battle of Win-
chester.
Harmatin^er, John, died in the hospital at Morj^ans, La.
Haberer, Georije, died in the hospital near New York, Oct.
30. i<S64.
Leach, .Stephen VI., died of starvation at Anderson\-il]e
prison.
Palmer. Thomas P.. died in New York of wounds receixed at
h'air Oaks.
Rof^ers. Jerome B.. died at home Nov. 15, 1863.
Smith, Chester, killed July 2, 1863, at Gettysburg.
Smith. Philip, died in the hospital at the Portsmouth nav\'
yard.
.Shaller, Jose})h, died at home Jan. 18, 1865, of wounds re-
ceived at Petersburg.
Whittemore, Horatio B , died at Baton Rouge.
FIRST c()N(;ri-:(;a'1'Ion.\l cihrcii of north colfixs.
The societ}' was organized June 11, 1818. The ori<^inal
members consisted of John Stanclift, Sr., a Revolutionary .sol-
dier, his sons Timothy, John, Jr., Willard, Jesse, and Sarah,
Lucy, Mary and Phebe Stanclift. Being the first church soci-
ety organized in township seven, range eight, it recei\ed a gift
of one hundred acres of land from the Holland Land compan\-.
The land now comprises a part of the farm of Edward Stan
clift. The first mention on the records of preaching to the
society was b)- Rev. John Spencer. No mention is made of
an}' other minister until 1826, when the names of Rev. Lot
Sullivan, Rev. Bawlden and Rev. Hiram Smith appear. The
church ne\"er had a regular installed p.istor. The societ\- was
reorganized Jan. 4, 1881. The present church edifice was
built in 1844, Daniel Van Arnem being the builder.
738 THE SOUTHWICK FAMILY.
Job SoutliAvick's Statement.
I was born in Queensbury, Washington county, N. Y., Feb.
12, 1796. My father's name was George and my mother's
maiden name was Lydia Sargent : they were natives of Smith-
f^eld, R. I.
I came to North ColHns in March, 181 1. Enos Southwick,
Abram Tucker and Stephen Sisson came in May or June,
18 10, and settled near Lawton Station. Nathaniel Sisson,
brother of Stephen Sisson, settled here in the Fall of 18 10. I
and my brother Jonathan came in March, 181 1. I was fifteen
years of age at that time ; we were on the road twenty-eight
days ; came with an ox team ; from Buffalo we followed up the
beach of the lake to the mouth of the Cattaraugus creek, and
from there we came to Taylor's Hollow.
When we first came to North Collins the nearest mill was at
White's Corners ; we went there to mill generally with oxen
and sled ; there were no roads and we had to follow Indian
trails. At one time I carried a small grist for each of nine dif-
ferent families.
Abram Tucker, Stephen Sisson, Nathaniel Sisson and Enos
Southwick were all the white inhabitants in North Collins in
1 8 10. The settlers who had located in North Collins up to
and including 18 12 were Stephen Sisson, Nathaniel Sisson,
Abram Tucker, Samuel Tucker, Moses Tucker, Enos South-
wick, Jonathan Southwick, George Southwick, Jr., James
Tyrer, Luther Tyrer, John Strang, Stephen White, Stephen
Twining, Noah Tripp, Hugh McMillen, Levi Woodward, Syl-
venus Bates and myself.
One time all of us about or near Lawton Station went over
to Springville to town meeting on foot ; we went up the Gen-
esee road by Woodward's Hollow, and over Townsend hill ;
when we came back a dozen or more of us stopped at Cooper's,
stayed all night and slept on the floor. Once we had the town
meeting at Taylor's Hollow ; the town was twenty-four miles
long, east and west.
I have known wheat to be sold at Taylor's mill at Taylor
Hollow for twenty-five cents per bushel.
The Friends (or Quakers) would not voluntarily pay taxes
for war purposes ; some of them would leave money lying on
TiiK sor riiwicK iamilv. 739
the mantel shelf or some other place where the Collector could
<^et it ; others would let their property be levied u[)on. When
Harry Sears was Collector, he took a nice yearlinj^ colt of mine
up to Springville and sold it for $12 ; my tax was four dollars
which he took and returned me eii^ht dollars.
I settled on lot fort\--three in North Collins, and remained
there till 1826, when we moved here where we now live.
Father died in North Collins in 1824, and mother in 1845.
i\I\- oldest sister, (irace, married John Bragg, and died in Au-
rora. George married Jane Bowson ; he settled in the Town
of Collins ; then sold out and went to Meadville, Pa., where he
died. Royal married Christina Langdon ; lived in North Col-
lins; sold out, went to Wales and died there. Lydia S. mar-
ried Hugh McMillen ; lived in North Collins, where he died,
but she died in Iowa. Jonathan married Martha Irish, and
they both died in North Collins. Enos married Pauline Bar-
ker ; they both died in Gowanda. Hannah married Levi
Woodward; she died in Illinois; he died in Concord.
Job Southwick married Sophia Smith at Tub Town, in Col-
hns, in 1816; she is dead ; he lives in the north-east corner of
Brant. Mr. Southwick has been Highway Commissioner in
the Town of Evans, and Supervisor of the Town of Brant.
His children were :
Phebe, born in 1817; married \\'alter Kimball, lives in Brant.
Richard, born in 1819 married Amelia Pound; li\'es in Eden.
Wheeler B., born in 1821 ; married Sarah Stafford; died in
1864 in the army. Edmond Z., born in 1823; married Mari-
etta Clough ; lives in Evans. Priscilla, born in 1825; married
Thomas Brunell ; died in 1855. Josiah H., born in 1828;
Huldah Ann Hawley ; lives in Evans. Sophia, born in 1835.
Stephen, li\es in Evans. Job, Jr., born in 1837; married
Phebe A. Smith: li\es in Brant.
Job Southwick, Jr., attended school at Westfield academy.
He was Deput\- clerk under Remington, and "vvas elected Mem-
ber of Assembh' from the fifth assembh' district in 188 1. His
children are :
Grace, born in No\-ember, 1865. Georgiana, b(jrn in June,
1857. L\-nn, born in October, 1875.
Job Southwick, Sr., died in 1882.
740 1!I()(;rai'hical sketches.
Statemeut of Isaac A. Hale.
My parents came from Connecticut to York state. I was
born in 1S03, in the Town of Schoharie, Schoharie count}-, N.
Y. My mother died when I was but three years old ; there
were four in the family that were not able to take care of
themselves. My father broke up house-keeping — the children
that were eld enough took care of themselves; father bound
one brother to a man by the name of Furguson, two he gave
away to two of his neighbors, and I went from place to place
for two years, then went to live with a man by the name of
Lamb, a hatter. They were a couple of old people, conse-
quently I was their pet. The old lady was a weakly woman
and I worked in the house part of the time an'd part of the
time in the shop and doing chores; lived there for three years
when the old lady was taken sick and died ; then Lamb broke
up and sold out. I was nine years old at that time and was
then bound out to John Lawton until twenty-one years of age,
when I was to have a horse, saddle and bridle, to be worth
sixty-six dollars, two suits of clothes and a certain amount of
schooling.
In October, 181 5 we moved to North Collins, then a part of
the town of Concord and Niagara county. The country then
was very new and my chances for schooling were very small.
Mr. Lawton had been out to this county in 181 3 and purchased
two hundred acres of land, then returned and married a worthy
woman by the narru: of Eunice Kimball, and w^hen they moved
here in 181 5, they had one child. About 18 17 they moved on
to a place on the N orth Clear Creek where there was a mill-
seat and where he built a saw-mill and a grist-mill. The
year he built his mill was a very wet season and he was put to
o-reat expense and everything went wrong. I had to work very
hard, but I was well fed and well clothed. I had as good amis-
tress as ever was and my master used me well when not excited.
I was advised to leave him, but I lived in hopes of better times,
and in a few years it was better, and I have the consolation of
thinking that I attended strictly to his business as far as cir-
cumstances would allow. When the mills were finished he
sawed and ground for the whole country far and near. He was
a thorough-going man and kept the mills going night and day
lUOGRAl'IllCAL SKKTCIIKS. 74 I
when there was sufficient water. Had a great run of custom.
He sawed for money when he could get it, and he sawed for work,
and lie sawed on shares. After main' years the country was
cleared up, the water failed and the mills went down.
Mr. Lawton held most of the different town offices in town.
He was the first Supervisor of Collins when that town was
organized in 182 I. But the office he liked the best was High-
wa\' Commissioner. He did a great deal for the town in that
capacity — got what money the town would allow him, cut out
the underbrush, girdled the large timber, and through swamps
made causeways, as they were called in those days ; now they
are called corduroy. This wcn'k was generally let to the lowest
bidder, and I have known the corduroy to be built for a shilling
a rod. People were poor and would take the jobs to get a
little money to pay their taxes. " '■'' " '-^ ""
One day a man came to the mill and said there was a bear's
track across the road. I soon raised five or si.x men and
started ; the track bore southwesterly towards the South Clear
Creek ; in abcnit two miles we came to a large basswood — the
track circled around and went up the tree, wdiere a large prong
was broken off there was a hole. W'e went to work and cut the
tree almost down. I had no gun and was selected to fell the
tree. The men pecked their flints, saw that their priming was
all right, and placed themselves so that they would not shoot
each other, and said all read}' — and down went the tree with a
crash. Up jumps a bear, half bewildered, took a few rounds,
came partly towards one of the men who stood posted with gun
in hand, and he cries out at the toj) of his voice, '' S/ioot /
Shoot/ Shoot.'" The bear took another turn, took her back
track and left. Not a man fired a gun. All rushed for the top
of the tree and there found one bear stunned and another fast
under a shell of a tree. One says " Why didn't \'ou shoot?"
another says, " Why d'\d\\\ yon shoot?" "Oh, I was afraid of
shooting the dog," but that dog had not molested the bear at
all. I went home with m}- axe on my shoulder, and the men
with their guns in their hands and dragging the two bears.
The people here were greatly annoyed by an old she-w^olf ;
she haunted us by night and by da\-. killing the sheep and
742 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
carrying off the lambs. She avoided all the hunters and trappers
for a long time ; some dogs she mated with, others she whipped
severely. One day a neighbor, passing through the woods,
saw her with a rabbit in her mouth and concluded that she had
young ones. The next day we rallied out, fourteen of us, and
strung out in a line in hearing of each other, and started forth ;
after a while orders were given to halt, and present!)' the word
rung through the line — "We have found the young ones!"
Just at that time a man on the farther end of the line saw the
old wolf and drew up his gun ; she heard the clamor on the
line and wheeled and fled. We took out the young ones, seven
in number, and then set spring-guns about the log for two
weeks, but none of them were discharged. At that time there
was a bounty of thirty dollars a head for young wolves. John
Lawton took the scalps to Springville and the Supervisor raised
two hundred and ten dollars for us. I received fifteen dollars
for m}' share.
One dark, lowery morning, between daylight and sunrise, I
was going throughthe woods with the dog, looking after cows
that had lain out over night. I saw the dog was uneasy, but
thought no harm of it. All at once the dog gave a yelp and
darted between my legs; I looked around and there was the
old wolf within ten feet of me. I threw a club and started to
run ; she soon came in ahead of me three times before I got to
the clearing. That was the first time and the last time that I
ever was scared that I remember of. At the time I thought
she meant me, but since, I have thought perhaps she meant
the dog more than me, but I was scared just the same.
Now I was one and twent}-. I got up in the morning and
breathed the free air and invoked the Higher Powers to help
me to be a man. My mistress often gave me good counsel —
she sowed good seed in my bosom, which I believe has brought
forth more or less good fruit ever since. I settled up with my
master in good friendship and remained so through his life. I
did not want the horse so he gave me a yoke of steers and a
\'earling heifer and some money that he had paid on a piece of
land that I had taken of the Holland Company.
BiO(;RAriricAi, skktciies. 743
FAMILY RECORD.
Isaac Hale, born Oct. 16, i<Sc)3; married in North Collins,
(then Collins), Sept. 4, 1827; died March 29, 1882. His wife,
Phcjcbe Pratt, born in Ontario count}', Au^:^. 21, 1807; died
March 26, 1872. Elizabeth, born July 21, 1828; married E.
W. Stancliff in 1848. Alexander, born Jan. 22, 1883; married
N. Kimball in 1856. David P., born Oct. 24, 1836; married
Mercia Potter in 1858. Eunice L., born June 26, 1844; married
Evans Potter in 1866.
Statement of Noah Conger.
M\' father's name was David Conger; my mother's name was
Rachael Wilber ; I was born in Danb\', Rutland county, Vt,,
in 1802. Our family consisted of father, mother and eight
children ; came from Vermont to North Collins, (then Con-
cord), in the Spring of 18 17. We brought a span of horses,
a yoke of oxen and two cows ; came through in twenty-one
days. Brought our provisions and cooked our own victuals and
slept in our own beds made upon the floor; we stopped on the
Mohawk river, got the use of a big Dutch oven and baked a
bushel and a half of flour into bread which lasted us to near
Batavia. There we bought a bushel of wheat (all the miller
had), got it ground and made it into bread. We had a barrel
of pork, and the pork and bread and the milk of the two cows
furnished us our living. When we arrived in North Collins we
purchased of Henry Tucker one hundred acres, six acres im-
proved. The log-house which ^ve first occupied had no win-
dows and but one door. We brought no furniture with us and
father set about making certain articles ; his kit of tools con-
sisted of an axe and auger. I made a cross-legged table; the
top was split and hewed out of a whitewood tree, made stools
for seats; and one-legged bedsteads to sleep on, with elm or
basswood bark for bed-cords.
At the time we came to this county there was for a year or
two a great scarcity of provisions, and it was with the greatest
difficulty that some families managed to live through.
Among our neighbors who endured the greatest privations
was one Joseph Woodward, '\vhose family consisted of a wife
and three small children. That Spring Woodward went to
744 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Hambui'ij and bought some seed-corn, and after planting had
a peck left ; he then went to Jacob Taylor's to buy some more
corn and all that Taylor would spare him was another peck.
They had no meat and all the provisions they did have from
that time until their Winter wheat was so far advanced to be
eatable was the half bushel of corn. They lived mostly on
leeks, ground nuts and other roots that they dug in the woods,
and on buds and the bark of birch, basswood and other trees.
Mrs. Woodward spent much time in procuring roots, bark, &c.,
from the woods, without which they would have inevitably
starved, as what few neighbors they had were unable to aid
them materially, being but little better off themselves. Mr.
Woodv/ard was not strong and sometimes became so weak for
the want of food as to be unable to work and felt almost like
gixing up in despair, and it w^as only through the great energy,
courage and perseverance of Mrs. Woodward that the famil)-
survived their many hardships. After their wheat began to
ripen they fared much better. They cut off the heads and
rubbed out the wheat with their hands, even while it was in
the milk and scalded with birch-bark and basswood buds and ate
it. Mrs. Woodward is still living at a ver\' great age. She
resides with her granddaughter, Mrs. Clark Alger, in the Town
of Concord.
In i8i8 we raised some oats and we threshed them with a
flail ard cleared them with a hand-fan. I went and worked
two days for Lemuel White for the use of his wagon and father
Avent to Buffalo and took fort\' bushels of oats and some buck-
wheat, etc. He was gone four days, took his own feed with
him and slept in his wagon. He could not sell his oats for
money, so he traded the forty bushels for a barrel of salt, sold
his meal and buckwheat and bought a piece of sole leather for
tapping boots and shoes, and half a pound of tea which lasted
a long time, for we only used it on special occasions.
At this time, and years before and afterward a large she-wolf
infested this part of the town, and did great damage b\- killing-
sheep and carrying off lambs. One evening I went over to
Mr. Woodward's, about a mile from our house, and on my
return through the woods and in the darkness, I suddenly heard
the terrible and prolonged howls of the old wolf near by. In-
I
lilOCRAlMlICAL SKKTCIIKS. 745
stantly my hair was on end. ai.d my hat elevated. I had no
weapon of anv kind to defend myself with, and I thought run-
ning was the' wisest as well as the most natural thing to do.
I d\d not stand on the order of my going but ran at once. I
think I made better time that night than I ever did on any
other occasion; I doubt if the professional runners now-a-days
could better it. When 1 got within hailing distance of the
house I made an outcry and some of the family came out with
a light, and as I scaled the fence into the yard by the house,
the^old wolf went o\'er at the same time near by me. I went
back the next day and looked over the ground. As a race it
was about an even thing, and I saw where I jumped over a
small ravii^.e, and the distance was twice as far as I could jump
under ordinary circumstances.
In the Fall of 1819, when about eighteen years of age, I
started to go to Vermont on foot. I went through in twelve
days a.;d it rained or snowed every day. On the nth day of
February. 1 started to return on foot with a pack of cloth weigh-
ing forty-three and a half pounds on my back, and came through
ii^ten days, being a distance of four hundred miles or more. I
spent only three dollars and fifty cents on the route both ways,
and did not beg anythii^g either.
Mr. Conger is a very respectable and well-to-do farmer of
North Colli'i^s. Physically, he is large, and has been a strong,
athletic and powerful man.
Family Record: Moses married Miss Wood and lives m
Collins.' Joseph married Miss Foster and lives in ColHns.
.Ansel F. married Miss Sisson, and lives in Gowanda. Noel
married Miss Bartlett, and lives West. David married a
daughter of Stephen Foster; lives in Collins. Sarah Ann mar-
ried''a Mr. Flowers, and lives in Versailles. Rachel married
Henrx- W. Curtis and lives in Brant. Zubia married Oba-
diah 'Edmonds and lives in Ripley. Betsy married Daniel C.
Brown and lives in Collins. Helen married Mr. .and
lives on the old homestead with him.
Statement of Isaiu- AVo<mUv:u<1.
Though my father settled in North Collins in 181 i, and was
the first^ man ever married in that town, but being his third
746 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
child, my recollections do not dat-e back as far as some men
who are still living and who might have written something
more interesting than I can.
I was born in the year i8ii, and my earliest recollections
date back to the Summer of 1819, when I was first sent to
school. My recollection is not clear enough to describe the
old school-house, which was situated at the western terminus of
the Cattaraugus or Genesee road, and was soon after pulled
down to give room for quite a respectable frame house. The
mode of punishing scholars at that time was somewhat peculiar
and I must say in cases very cruel. I remember in my own
case, for some slight offence, I was placed between two girls,
which so frightened me that I set up such a hallowing that the
teacher was glad to let me go back to my own seat (but I do
not suppose that my " hollering" had anything to do with the
naming of " Woodward's Hollou.' " 1.
Our immediate neighborhood was settled mostly by Quakers
— as sober, honest and industrious a people as ever lived. They
all went to meeting twice a week, viz., on Sundays and
Wednesdays, or as they called them the first and fourth days,
for by their rules they were not allowed to speak the names of
the days of the week ; they frequently held sessions of two
hours' duration without a word being spoken, as no one was
permitted to speak in their meetings who was not moved upon
by the spirit to do so. They never drank any of the ardent,
but those not belonging to the Quakers always kept a jug of
whiskey in the house with which to treat a neighbor or friend,
and I have heard my father say that he would have been
ashamed not to ha\e had whiskc\- in his house to treat his
minister when he called on him.
I have heard my father speak of his frequent encounters with
bears when he first settled there, but they were pretty well
thinned out before my remembrance. I never saw a live bear in
the woods, but I remember having seen James and Luther Tyrer
carry a bear they had just killed past my father's house. I do
not know that I ever saw a wild wolf alive but I frequently
heard them howl. One old wolf in particular was the pest of
the neighborhood ; for one whole season she mated with a
large dog belonging to my father. They ran together killing
BIOCKAl'llHAI. SKKTCHKS. 74/
sheep, aiul when the cIol; came home at n'\<^h{ the wolf woultl
follow nearl\' to tlie house aiul m;ike the m"L;ht hideous with
her howlini;'. The dog" was suffered to Ii\'e for a long time,
hoping" b}- that means to capture the wolf, but he was finally
hanged b)- ni}- indignant grandmother. The wolf was after-
wards caught in a trap by Samuel Tucker and the neighbor-
hood again enjox'ed a season of rest.
Though the west part of the town was settled before my re-
membrance, the eastern portion was not much settled before
the year 1830, and when it began to be settled in earnest that
portion south of the Cattaraugus or Genesee road was called
New Michigan, and that portion on the north was called New
Oregon. New Oregon was settled mostly by Germans, and it
was as great a sight for children at that time to see a lot of
these men and women, dressed in their uncouth manner, with
a bag of grain on their heads going to mill as it was to see a
circus. They passed my father's house and some of them
went as far as eight miles to Lawton's mill, in that primitix'e
manner.
It is \-er}' common to hear old people speak of the hardships
and i)ri\ations of the earl\' settlers, but as far back as m}' ex-
perience goes and my recollection serves me, farmers and their
wives enjo\'ed themselves better than they do now. The\'
lived on what they raised : most e\ery man's \-ard was filled
with fowls, and eggs and chickens were no rarity on the poor-
est man's table : pork was but poorly fattened and but few-
kept it the year round ; but sheep were plent\' and cheap, and
mutton w as the poor man's meat through the Summer ; where
now only the wealthiest can indulge in that luxur\-. Most
everybody kept a few cows, nuiking butter and cheese, which
they ate at home, but dair\-men now can scarce e\en afford to
eat cheese.
People were more friendl}- and si)ciable with each other then
than now, and on Winter exenings would yoke their oxen and
such glorious sleigh rides we had — no snow-drifts then — and
such glorious times we had at spelling-schools and bussing bees.
Young people enjo\-ed themsehes much better than they do
in the ball-room to-da\', and were I \-oung again. I could think
k
748 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
of no happier place on this earth than to be placed again far
in the wilderness, with a few generous souls to keep me com-
pany, surrounded by everything again as I was in my youth,
with nothing left out but profanity and whiskey.
HKXiKAI'lllCAL SKK'I'CIIKS. 749
CHAPTER XX.
FAMILY HISTORIES OF THE TOWN OF NORTH
COLLINS.
The town of Shirlc)-, now North Collins, was erected b)- the
Hoard of Supervisors, No\^ 24, 1852. The first town meeting
was held at the house of Henry \V. Curtis, March I, 1853.
Lyman Clark, Edwin W. (lodfrey and Charles C. Kirb)- were
appointed to preside at this meeting. The next year the name
of Shirley u^as changed to North Collins.
Nicholas Boardway.
Mr. Boardwa}' was born in South Buffalo, Eeb. 13, 1835, and
came to North Collins when five years old, where he has since
resided. He now owns and cultivates a farm of two hundred
and three acres.
He was orderly sergeant of company G, — th Regiment,
National Home Guards, and was a member at the time the
regiment was disbanded. Mr. B. was married in 1858 to Kate
Landman, who was born August 27, 1838. The\- ha\'e eight
children, viz:
George N., born May 13. 1839. Michael H., born h\'b. 15.
1 861. Mary V., born Eeb. 14, 1863. Joseph, born May 13,
1866. Hannah H., born Sept. 17, 1868. Albert B., born March
17, 1 87 1. Emma ^L, born June 24 1875. Clarence E., born
Dec. 18. 1879.
Xioliolas IBoaver.
Mr. Beaver was born March 3, 1824, in 1"" ranee. twent\--four
miles from the city of Strasburg. When six years old he
removed with his parents to Eden, Erie county N. Y. When
twent\--three years of age he located on the Genesee Road, in
the west part of Concord, where he li\ed until 1864, when he
750 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
disposed of his farm and moved to his present farm in North
CoHins. He has been twice married, first in 1844, second in
1868. He has eleven children ; eight b}-his first wife and three
by his second wife.
Mr. Beaver's paternal grandfather was a soldier of Napoleon,
and was with him through his campaigns, from the burning of
Moscow, to his final defeat at Waterloo. He died at the age
of one hundred years.
George Barriuger.
Mr. Barringer was born in the town of Wurtemburg, Ger.
many, Jan. 24, 1831. He came from there to Buffalo, Aug. 27,
1847, and worked at chairmaking in that cit\' about fifteen
months. He then removed to Shirh", in the tovvn of North
Collins and engaged in wagon making, which he followed at
that place for twent}-six years, when he moved to North Col-
lins village, where he still follows the same business.
He was married in 1854, to Emih' A. Randall. They have
had three children, viz :
Henrietta died in 1S73. Ella E. died in 1868. Jennie, born
June 5, 1872.
Mr. Barringer has a good war record. He enlisted Sept. 10.
1862, Compan}' eight, first Regiment, New York State Sharp
Shooters ; went into camp for the Winter at Washington and
Arlington Heights. In the Spring of 1863, he took part in the
siege of Suffolk under General Peck. In July of the same
year he joined the Army of the Potomac at Waterford, Va.,
and during the following year he took part in the battle of the
Wilderness, Spottsylvania, C. H., Laurel Hill, mine explosion
at Petersburg and capture of Welden R. R., where he was taken
prisoner, Aug. 19, 1864, and taken to Libby and Belie Isle
prisons, but was paroled at the expiration of forty-nine days.
He was then transferred to the hospital at Annapolis, Md.,
where he was discharged in June, 1865.
LiOAvis S. Clark.
Lewis S. Clark was born in Hamburg, Erie count}-. N. Y.^
Jan. 2, 1823, has resided in North Collins since 1836 and is a
farmer. He was married July 4, 1848, to Louisa A. White, and
has ten children :
]!I()(;kai'hical skkiciiks. 751
Gcortre A., Frank L., Mary. Charles, Albert. Henry. Harri-
son, Emma. Ella and William Henry.
Mr. Clark's i;reat grandfather, Henry Clark, came from
Danb\'. Vt., in 1806, his grandfather, Nathan Clark, accompany-
ing him. Each purchased of the Holland Company two hun-
dred acres of land for which the\' j^aid $2.25 per acre. The
r^rie county fair grounds now occupy a portion of their pur-
chase. They built three log cabins and returned to Vermont.
In March, 1807, the}- came back wilh their families. Elisha
Clark, another member of the family came with them. Henry
Clark had a family of ten children. Nathan also had ten, one
of whom, Samuel, the father of Lewis, was born in Danby,
Vt., June 4, 1796, and died in North Collins 1870. He served
in the war of 1812. He married Sylvia Foote, a native of
Connecticut and a cousin of Henry Ward Beecher's mother.
She was born in 1780 and died in 1852. She had three chil-
dren :
Eliza Ann married Ansel \\\ Stickney. Lewis S. and L^ri.
David Conger.
David Conger, son of Ruth and Enoch Conger, was born in
Danby, Vt. He came to North Collins in June, 1817, where
he died in 1823. He married Rachel Wilbur. Their children
are as follows :
Marion, born in 1801, married James Ray and died in Min.
nesota in 1880. Noel, born June 30th, 1802, and has been
twice married ; first, to Betsey Sherman, second, to Susan
Ogden, and resides in North Collins. Sally, born in 1804, mar.
ried Stephen White and lives in California. Moses, born in
1806 and died when twelve years of age. Ann, born in 1.808,
married Ansil Ford and reside in Michigan. George, born in
1810, married Eliza Hoag and lives in Michigan. Abram,born
in 1812, married Anna Hunt and resides in North Collins.
Stephen, born in 1813, married Adelia Eaton and died in North
Collins in 1S75.
Stoplit'ii "\V. Connor.
Mr. Conger was born in North Collins, March 12. 1847. His
father's name was Stephen Conger. His mother's maiden name
was Fidelia Eaton. He was marneci in 1866 to Marv E.
752 i;i()GRAPHRAL SKETCHES.
Landon, daughter of Luther Landon. Mr. Coni^^er has always
resided in North CoHins, is a successful farmer, an occupation
which he has always followed.
Stephen Conger.
Mr. Conger was a son of David Conger. He was born in
Tinmouth, Vt., Jan. 28, 18 14, and came to North Collins with
his father's family when fi\'e \'ears old. When fifteen years
old he went into the unbroken forest on lot eighteen, and
carved out for himself a farm, experiencing during the time
those incidents and hardships connected with early pioneer
life. His brother, George, aged nineteen, and Abram, aged
seventeen, took land adjoining at the same time. Mr. Conger
lived upon the farm he transformed from the wilderness in his
youth, until his death Jan. 25, 1877. He was married in 1834
to Fidelia Eaton, who was born Feb. 25, 181 3, in Springville.
They had three children: Rachael, born June 24, 1838;
Stephen W., mentioned elsewhere; Portia, born Sept. 8, 1850.
Dennis Dillingham.
Mr. Dillingham was born in North Collins Oct. 6, 1852. His
father's name was James Dillingham and his mother's maiden
name was Beulah Willet. Mr. Dillingham has always resided
in North Collins and vicinity, except about six years spent in
Michigan. He is a farmer by occupation and was married in
1871 to Ella Philbrick. He has two brothers, William a tobac-
conist, living in Buffalo, and Gurney O., the present School
Commissioner of the third district of Erie county.
Abram Foster.
Mr. Foster's grandfather, William Foster, came over from
England during the Revolution as a captain in Burgoyne's
army, and was taken prisoner at Saratoga. Mr. Foster was
born in Jefferson county, N. Y., Sept 3, 1816, and came from
thereto what is now North Collins in November, 1824, with his
father, Warren Foster, who drove an ox team the entire dis-
tance. Mr. Forter has always resided in North Collins and pur-
sued the vocation of farming. He was married in 1839 to
Amanda Sisson. Mr. Foster served in the capacity of coroner
BIOGKAPHlCAT, SKETCHES. 753
■one term and from 1S41 to '45, he held a commission from
Governor Seward as captain of a rifle company, attached to the
96th Regiment of the state militia. He was also enrollinc^
officer for the Town of North Collins during; the draft in time
of the Rebellion.
Hen jam in iiortlory.
Benjamin (iodfery was born at W'estport, Conn., m 1782. In
about 1 8 14, he came to Taylor Hollow, formerly called Angola
and kept a grist mill for five years, after which he removed to a
farm known as the Smith Sherman farm, where he was engaged
in farming up to the time of his death, which took place in
1828. His widow survived him many years dying in 1869, at
the advanced age of eighty-seven years. His children are as
follows: George R., born in 1804, married Lydia Hudson and
died in North Collins in 1843. CHiarles, born in 1806, married
Polly Wells and resides in Nebraska. Mary Ann, born in 1808,
married James Kerr and died in North Collins in 1833. Eleanor,
born in 181 1, married P^lijah Kerr and died in 1833. She raised
one daughter, who married Dr. John D. Arnold. Esther, born in
1813 and died young. Leander, born in 181 5 and died in 1839.
Edwin, born in 18-0, married a Stratton and lives in North
Collins.
Ertwin AV. Oortfery.
Edwin W. (iodfery was born in Angola. Erie county, N. V.
in 1820. When tw'elve years of age he entered the employ of
Abner and John Sherman, with whom he remained until he
was eighteen, receiving for his services $100 and a new suit of
clothes. In 1842 he entered into partnership with John Sher-
man, with whom he continued until 1 865, after which he car-
ried on business with otliLM' parties until 1872, when he was
appointed Postmaster of North Collins, which office he now
holds.
Mr. Godfery has for nian\- years been one of the most useful
and active men of North Collins, taking a deep interest in
everything promotive of the welfare of the community. He
has largely enjoyed the confidence of his fellow-citizens, having
been called to represent his district in the Legislature in 1864,
754 BIOCRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
and we also find his name associated with many of the town
offices of North Collins, he bjing Supervisor for six years and
also filling various other town offices, all of which he filled with
honor to himself and credit to his constituents. The names of
his children are :
Theron, born Dec. lO, 1845, '^'id resides in North Collins-
George, March 23d, 1856, and died Sept. 16, 1S56.
Eiios S. Hibbard.
Enos S. Hibbard was born in North Collins, April 24, 1841,.
where he has ever since claimed residence. His father, Thomas.
S. Hibbard, was an old resident of North Collins, and died in
1881. His mother, Clarinda South wick, was a daughter of
Enos Southwick, Esq., of Gowanda.
Mr. Hibbard was married in 1867 to H. Josephine Hall, of
Rochester, N. Y., who was born Aug. 14, 1846. They have six
children, as follows:
Hoyt R., born March 30, 1871. Howard G., born March 19.
1873. Irene, born April 4, 1875. Clarinda, born July 3, 1876.
Fred L., born Oct. 21, 1878. Edgar H., born Sept. 11, 1880,
Mr. Hibbard did his country good service during the Rebel-
lion. He enlisted Sept. 24, 1861, in Company D, Tenth New
York cavalry. He lay in camp at Gettysburg during the Win-
ter of 1861-62. The first engagement he took part in was at
Brandy's Station, June 9, 1863. He participated in the battles
of Upperville, Gettysburg, Sheridan's raid (May 9th to 25th),
Cold Harbor, Sheridan's raid to Travillion Station, June 7th to
28th, 1864, Lee's Mills, Roynton Plank Road, Spotts)'Ivania
Court House, mine explosion at Petersburg, and the final sur-
render at Appomattox Court House. He was mustered out of
service at Washington Jul}' 1, 1865. He was Commissary Ser-
geant of his company.
Mr. Hibbard is and has been for three years past Secretary
of the Republican County Committee. His residence at North
Collins is undoubted!}' the finest in his town.
Michael Hunter.
Michael Hunter, a native'^^of France, was born in 1831, and
came to North Collins in 1836, where he now resides. In
KIOGRArillCAL SKKTCUKS. 755
June, 1852. he married Lyclia Potter, daui^rhter of Henry Pot-
ter, who was born in Now Bedford, Mass. and died in North
ColHns in 1845. ^^^'- 1 1 uiiter is engai^ed in farniini;- and hotel
keeping, being proprietor of the North Colhns House.
Mr. Hunter has possessed the confidence of his townsmen,
and has from time to time been honored with various offices of
trust and responsibility. He was elected to the Board of
Supervisors in 1S72-73-74. and officiated as Justice of the
peace for eight consecutive years, and also as Town Clerk for
three \'ears.
He attended school at Marshfield, where the school was
taught by Dr. William A. Sibley, he being the only scholar of
foreign birth in attendance at that time. His children are as
follows ;
Emmons, born Vch. 28, 1853; married in 1873 to Libbie
Hussey. Millard, born Sept. 4, 1854; married in 1875 to Cora
Rogers. Henry, born Aug. 19. 1856, and died April 8, 1859.
William, born Oct. 25, 1858 Alice, born Nov. 26, i860. Em-
ma, born June 3, 1863. Harvey, born Aug. 2, 1872.
Henry Josliii.
Three brothers named Joslin came from England about two
hundred years ago ; two of them settled in Boston, Mass., and
the other, who was Mr. Joslin's ancestor, in Newport, R. I.
He had seven sons and two daughters, and those seven sons
each had seven sons and two daughters ; each generation was
named after the one preceding, so there were forty-nine sons
and fourteen daughters having only nine names. One of those
seven sons, named Henry, great-grandfather of Mr. Joslin,
married and lived to be ninety years of age, .md his wife 104,
His seven sons were:
John, Henry and Thomas, wlio wore ministers ; Thomas was
also a lawyer, and was sent from East Cireenwich, R. 1., to the
Legislature three times. Treeborn, a doctor. Benjamin, a
farmer, who owned 1,150 acres of land in White Creek, N. \.
Potter, also a farmer, and Clark.
Henry, grandfather of Mr. Joslin, was born at Flxeter, R. I.,
in 1757, and died at Broadalbin, now Inilton county, X. V.,
756 BIOtiRArHICAI. SKETCHES.
ill 181 3. He married Mary Tift, of Rhode Island, who died
about 1834. They had three sons and two daughters, viz.:
J. T., a minister. Dutee and Henr\', farmers, and Patt\' and
Betsy.
Henry, father of Mr. JosHn, was bo -n Jan. 28, 1788. in Hop-
kinton, R. I. He came from what is now P\ilton county, N.
^^, to what is now North ColHns, in the Summer of 18 1 7, and
purchased two hundred and fift)' acres of hmd on lot thirty,
township seven, range eight. He moved his family the subse-
quent Spring. He had a good education for those days and
kept school. He was elected Justice of the Peace in 1823, and
held the office until his death, Dec. 23, 1827; he was also
elected Supervisor in 1827. He married Ruth Jennings in
1810, who died in 1866, aged seventy-two years. They had five
children :
Mar\' married Thomas Hendr}- ; resides in Canadea, N. Y.
Cornelia married James Paxson ; resides at Richmond, Ill-
Nancy married Whiting Howland, and died in 1843 i^i Wiscon-
sin. Jane married James H. White ; resides at Port Allegany,
Pa.; and
Henry, the subject of this sketch, who was born Nov.
25, 1 8 19, in what is now North Collins, where he has resided
most of the time since. He helped build the mills at Clarks-
burg in 1839, ''^^1^ subsequentl}' followed the occupation of car-
penter fourteen years : now a farmer ; he has been Assessor of
his town eleven years, and Justice of the Peace two terms ; he
was married in 1846 to Emeline Clark. The}' have had si.x
children, viz.:
Helen, born March 20, 185 i ; died July 13, 1852. Hortense
Josephine, born June 20. 1854; married in 1874 to William L.
Elderkin. George Henry, born Aug. 28, 1856. Ruth Geannie,
born Dec. 31, 1858; married in 1881 to W'illiam Golm. Eugene
Monroe, born Dec. 8, i860; died Sept. 3, 1862. Mary Eme-
line, born Aug. 10, 1866.
Charles C. Kirby.
Charles C. Kirby, of Shirley, North Collins, N. Y., was bont
in the Town of Scipio, Cayuga county, N. Y., May 29, 1823
His parents were from Dartmouth, Mass.; his father, Silas.
r.ioGRAi'iiuAi, sKi:rcin:s. 757
Kirby, who died in 1861 at the a^^e of scvcnty-ninc years, was
of Scotch descent, and his mother, Deborah Crapo Kirby, wli<>
died in the year 1866 a^^cd eighty years, was of Kn^rlish descent .
In 1S2S, the family moved to Erie county, and settled m the
Town of Collins (now North Collins), on lot forty-two, town-
ship seven, ran^-e eight, and, in 1835, moved to the village now
called Shirley, and engaged in the business of store and tavern-
keei:)ing.
In 1843, the subject of this sketch commenced for himself
in the mercantile business at Shirley; in 1845, was a partner
with Lemuel M. White.
In 1846, he was married to Patience G. Sisson, daughter ot
Joseph Sisson . Have had four children : Alice Rebecca who
died in 1855 ; Charles Wentworth, Alice Jane and Carrie May.
In 1847, was a partner with Paul H.White, and continued with
him in the mercantilebusiness until 1855. In i845,was appointed
and commissioned by Governor Wright, as Quartermaster of
the One Hundred and Ninety-eighth regiment, N. Y. S. militia,
and served in that capacity for four years. In 1849, was elected
Justice of the Peace, held the office twenty-four years ; was
elected Supervisor of North Collins in 1858, '59 and '60, and
'75 and '-JT^ has -erved as Town Clerk, Overseer of the Poor
and Collector, and as School District Clerk for thirty-four years
in succession, and now holds the office of Notary Public. _ In
1867, was appointed Postmaster at Shirley, and held the office
for thirteen years.
In 1858, Mr. Kirby moved onto his farm and commenced
farming, and has ever since continued in that business. In
1867, he built a cheese factory at Shirley, and engaged in the
manufacture of cheese, after which he owned and occupied a
number of factories in North Collins, Brant and Eden, and still
continues the dairy and cheese-making business.
.Tames Leu«x.
Mr. Lenox's father, (ieorge Lenox, came to Collins from the
North of Ireland, between 1825 and '30. He died in 1871.
Mr. Lenox was born in Collins, April 16, 1834; has always
lived in Collins and North Collins; is a farmer and has been
758 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Assessor in North Collins six years. He lost two brothers in
the late War :
William, a member of the Tenth New York Cavalry, com-
pany D, was shot at Bristow Station, and George, who entered
the service with an infantry regiment from Ohio, and was
wounded and taken prisoner in Sherman's march to the sea;
died of starvation in Libby prison.
Mr. Lenox was married, in 1S54, to Ruth Washburne. They
have three children :
Sarah, born Dec. 8, 1858; married Sumner Taylor; resides
in North Collins. Elwin, born Oct. 14, 1862. Francis, born
Oct. 16, 1866.
E. H. Lawtoii.
Mr. Lawton was born in what is now North Collins, Jan. 31,
1829 : has alwa}'s been a resident of the town and engaged in
farming, and for the past four or five years has been a mer-
chant. He is also Postmaster and Station Agent at Lawton's
Station. He is a son of John Lawton, an early pioneer of
Collins, referred to in another part of tl-is work.
Mr. Lawton was married in 1850 to Lydia M. Sisson, daugh-
ter of W. M. Sisson. They have three children living, viz.:
Clarence F., born Sept. 9, 1853 ; married in 1881 to S. Ella
Sperry. Edwin G., born Aug. 29, 1857; died Juh- 17, 1864.
Willie S., born May 29, i860. Florence, born Jan. 3, 1866.
NiolioUjs LaAVinam.
Nicholas Lawman, son of Baltz and Margaret Lawman, a
native of Prussia, was born .Sept. 23, 1843, '^''"^' came to America
in 1850. Li 1 87 1, he married Frances Dengel, who was born
in PufTalo, Nov. 26, 1854. After marriage he followed farm-
ing for several years, but now runs a meat uiarket at North
Collins. Mr. Lawman is an acti\'e, industrious man, com-
manding the respect of those with whom he associates. In
1872, he was elected Justice of the Peace, which ot^ce he held
for eight years. His opportunities for an early education were
very limited, but by applying" himself diligently to study, he
acquired a good practical education. When twent}'-fi\'e \-ears
of age he attended school at Collins Center and Gowanda, after
lUOCRAIMIICAI. SKKTCIIKS. 759
which he taught school. He enlisted Dec. 26, 1863, under
Captain John H. Eaton, in the Twenty-sexeiith New York Regi-
ment, and was discharged June 22, 1865. He participated in
the battles of the Wilderness, Cold Harbor and the siege of
Petersburg. His grandfather was a soldier under Napoleon,
and witnessed the burning of Moscow. The}- ha\'e four chil-
dren, viz.:
William G., born Oct. 4, 1873. Loui.sa, born No\-. 18. 1876.
Mary J., born Oct. 14, 1878. Fred G., born July 9, 1880.
Xelsoii Paliuor.
Mr. Palmer's grandfather was from England. His father,
William Palmer, came from Danby, Vt., and located on lot ten,
range eight, North Collins, in the Spring of 1815, where he
lived until his death in 1859. He took at first an ar:icle for one
hundred acres, and afterward addeci to it by purchase.
Nelson Palmer was an infant when his father came to Col-
lins. He has lixed in the town most of the time since and has
always been a farmer. He was married in i846to Emily Raid-
win, daughter of Jeremiah Baldwin, one of the first settlers of
I'Vedonia, N. Y. They ha\-e two children, viz.:
Alanson, born April 30, 1848. Julia, born March 5, 1851.
Siuith B. Pratt.
Mr. Pratt's father, John G. Pratt, was born Aug. 2, 1813, in
Macedon, N. Y., and came to Collins when twelve years of age
where he had always resided until his death in March 20, 1869
He was one of Collins hardy and respected pioneers. He was
married in 1835 to Mar)- Bartlett, daughter of Smith Bartlett.
.Smith B. Pratt was born in North Collins, June 6, 1844,
where he has always resided. Is a farmer. He was married in
1868, to Mary Foster. The}' ha\e one child, viz.:
Jesse, born Dec. 19, 1874.
Gilbert Pratt.
Gilbert Pratt, son of Asa and Sarah Pratt, was born May 15,
1834. In 1868 he married Mary Orr, daughter of Leander and
Alvira Orr. He ncnv owns and occupies the farm formerly
owned b\- his father. He had a famil\- of five children, of
760 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
whom two died in infancy, the names of the remaining three
are: W'ilhe, born August I, 1869; Lucy, born Aug. 18, 1874;
George, born July i, 1877.
Samuel W. Pratt.
The Pratt famil\- were among the very earliest settlers' of
Buffalo. Capt. Samuel Pratt and his family having come from
Vermont and settled at Buffalo, then called New Amsterdam,
in 1804. W'hen they arrived in Buffalo, Main street was not
even fenced in. It was filled with stumps and only here and
there on the present site of Buffalo were patches of clearing.
Altogether there was not a dozen houses, and only a few of
these were framed. There was mereh' a path or wagon track
down the river to Black Rock. The terrace was an open spot
covered with green turf, and was a favorite sporting place and
play ground of the Indians. On this spot soon after coming,
he built his log cabin. Captain Pratt and several of his sons
became conversant with the Indian language. The Indians
considered them their true friends and it is said Red Jacket
frequently came to counsel with Pascal P. Pratt, a son of Cap-
tain Pratt. After coming to Buffalo the Pratts became at once
prominently identified with the interests of zhc place and ha\-e
continued so up to the present time; having occupied various
positions of public trust. Hiram Pratt, son of Captain Pratt?
was mayor at one time and Samuel F. Pratt, a grandson of Cap-
tain Pratt, was the first president of the Female Acadeni)'. Ben-
jamin Wells Pratt, son of Captain Pratt, and father of Samuel
\V. Pratt, was born Oct. 8, 1796. in Vermont, and was conse-
quenth' eight }'ears of age when his father with his famih'
mo\-ed to Buffalo. At tlie time Buffalo was burned, he was
at Brattleboro, \'l., pursuing a couse of studies preparatory to
entering college. The embarrassment which the burning of
the embryo city brought upon the Pratt family, obliged him to
give up his cherished plan of self-improvement. He returned
to Buffalo where he married Fann\' Metcher in 1824, the \-ear
following he took up his residence on a farm in Collins, where
he lived till his death, aged se\-ent}--one \-ears. He had five
children \iz. : .Samuel W., married Eunice K. Lord; Fied.
bi()(;rapiiical sketches. 761
married Eliza Stratton, resides at Titusvillc, Pa. ; Esther, mar-
ried George Sherman, resides at Marietta, C). ; Jcrusha, married
Wallace French aiul is now dead; h'ann)-, married Nathan
Sisson, resides at Marietta, O. They were all born in Collins
except Samuel W., the eldest, who was born in Buffalo, Oct. 8
1826, he was married Jan. 5, 1858, and has always been a resi-
dent of Collins. He enlisted in October, 1861, in Co. A. 64th
N. V. v., and served three years. He was wounded May 10,
1864, at the battle of the Wilderness by a shot in the right
thigh, rendering him unfit for further service during the war.
He had six children, viz. : John W., born Nov. 4, 1858, is a
teacher; Frederick L., born April 10, i860, died Feb. 3, 1862;
Robert M., born Dec. 5, 1865; Ettie L., born Feb. 4. 1868;
George E., born Feb. 22, 1871 ; Fannie, born June 30, 1874, dead.
Fillmore Rogers.
Mr. Roger's grandfather, Richard Rogers, came from Ver-
mont about 1825 and located on lot thirty-one. North Collins,
where he resided until his death, about 1850. His son and
father of Fillmore Rogers, Hon. Wilson Rogers, was born in
Vermont in 1813, and came to Collins with the family. He
received a common school education and taught school twenty-
six terms, fourteen of which were in one district, No. 22, North
Collins, known as the Roger school-house. He was supervisor
of his town during the year, and Member of Assembly from
the 5th district during the year 1859. He was also assessor of
internal revenue at the time of his death. Mr. Rogers
was a strong advocate of temperance and took an active part
in movements of that kind. He was married in 1833 to Sally
Ann Avery. They had four sons and one daughter, viz.:
Thomas, who enlisted from Iowa and died near Vicksburg from
exposure; William, was the first one to enlist from North Col-
lins. He enlisted in the 44th N. Y., Ellsworth zouaves, now
resides near Bradford, Pa. ; Avery, died when a child ; Clara,
married Millard Hunter, resides in North Collins. Fillmore
Rogers was born Nov. 22, 1834, on the farm he now owns in
North Collins. Mr. Rogers was engaged in farming thirteen
years in his native town and then entered the mercantile busi-
ness at North Collins in 1869, and has continued it ever since, at
762 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
that place and Shirly — now at Shirly. He was married in
1855 to PLunice Pratt, daughter of Groten Pratt. They have
four children, viz. : Emily A., born Aug. I, 1856, married Charles
Stewart; M)'ron, born Jan. 22, 1858; Jennie AI., born Dec. 2,
1864; Nellie M., born April 2, 1868. . '
Abel P. Sweet.
Abel P. Sweet, son of Samuel C. and Hannah Sweet, was
born Sept. 20, 1833, in North Collins, where he has ever since
resided, now owning and occup}'ing a farm situated two miles
north of New Oregon. In P'eb., 1854, he manied Mary J.
Jefferson, daughter of Hiram and Matilda Jefferson, of Con-
cord. He has a family of five children, viz.:
Ella M., born May 20, 1856; married Jerome Partridge and
resides in Boston, N. Y. Cora A., born Feb. 1 1, 1858 ; married
Pearl Partridge and resides in North Collins. Hattie M., born
Oct. 8, 1863. Arthur VV.. born Dec. 28, 1871. Blanch J., born
I-^eb. II, 1875. Three childred died young.
His father Samuel C. Sweet came from Otsego county, N. Y.,
to North Collins in 18 17, where he resided until his death, May
20, 1863. His mother died May 2, 1871. The grandfather of
Abel was Rufus Sweet. His great grandfather, Job Sweet
lived in Rhode Island, where he acquired the reputation of
being the best bone setter of the state. Mr. Sweet was one of
a family of ten children, as follows:
Gilbert C, born March 15, 1818 ; married Abigail H. Presson.
Sylvester D., born March, 1820; married Julia P^iirbanks and
died in 1876 in Humphrey, Cattaraugus county. Susan,
born 1822 ; married William H. Crandall and died in 1843.
Mary A., born June 8, 1824; unmarried and resides with her
brother Abel. Rufus, born 1826; died young. Eliza M.,
born 1830; married P'ranklin Holton and resides in Evans.
James J., born Aug. 22, 1835 ; married Mary E. Horton and
resides in Boston, N, Y.
R. J. Stewart, M. D.
Dr. Stewart was born in Dundee, Scotland, Jan. 23, 1821.
His father was Scotch and a soldier having served fifty }'ears
in the British ami)'. He held the position of Brevet Major.
inoCKAl'IIICAI. ski: TCI IKS. 763
His mother was of English descent. From Dundee, the Stew-
art family moved to the town of Portsmt)uth, Hampshire,
England, where at sixteen years of age \H:)ung Stewart com-
commenced the study of medicine, with a pri\-ate practitioner.
After studying two and a half years he entered the medical
school of the London hosi)ital, where he remained two and a
half years, taking two full courses of lectures and graduating
in 1844. In Sept., 1845, he landed in the United States and
came to North Collins, then Collins, and located as a practicing
physician of the regular school. He has ever since resided in
North Collins and practiced his profession and is consequently
one of the oldest resident physicians of the town.
Dr. Stewart was married in Collins in 1849 ^o Diana Eggle.
ston. They have two children living, viz.:
Charles, born Sept. 16, 1850; married Emily A. Rogers,
daughter of Filmore Rogers ; is a farmer residing in North
Collins. Emily, born Feb. 22, 1852 ; married Egbert Foster
and resides in North Collins.
Reuben C. Sherman.
Mr. Sherman was born in Taylor's Hollow, town of Collins,
April 24, 1826. Has resided in North Collins most of the time.
Has resided in Evans and Hamburg. Ls a thrifty farmer, and
had previously followed the occupation of carpenter and
joiner. His father, Job Sherman, born in 1793, came from
New Bedford, Mass., in 1831, and located on lot forty-one or
thirty-three, Collins. He died in Michigan in 1867. Mr. Sher-
man was married in March 15, 1854, to Phoebe J. Tucker, born
March 15, 1833; daughter of Elijah Tucker, who was born in
Queensbury, N. Y., in 1807, and came to Collins with his
father, Moses Tucker, in 18 13, and located on lot forty-nine.
Mr. Tucker is one of the oldest living pioneers of Collins. He
was for four years Captain of militia. He had six children,
four of whom are now living, viz.:
Moses Tucker, resides in North Collins. Chloe M. married
George Van Every, and resides in Grand Rapids, Mich. Elijah
P. resides in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Mr. and Mrs. Sherman have six children, all born in North
Collins, viz.:
764 IJIOfJRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Luc}-. born Sept. 26, 1856. Leroy, born March 21. i860.
Elihu, born Sept. 17, 1865. Arthur born April 22, 1868, and
died Dec. 28, 1878. May, born Dec. 25, 1870. AlHe, born
Jan. 20. 1875.
3Irs. Kachol H. Sinitli.
Mrs. Rachel H. Smith, daughter of Daniel and Susanna
Healy, was born Dec. 24, 1815. Her father, Daniel Healy, was
born in 1777 in Connecticut ; lived some time in Rhode Island,
came to Danby, Vt., where he married Lucy Kell}' ; they had
four children :
Joseph, Lydia, Anna and Samuel, of whom only Samuel is
now li\'ing.
After the death of his first wife he married Susanna Spauld-
ing, and soon removed to Eastern New York. They had four
children : Lucy, Rachel, Hannah and Mary, with whom they
came to Collins, then Concord, in the Winter of 1819-20, and
he engaged in tanning, currying and shoemaking, in connection
with farming on sixty acres of wild land. His family, in com-
mon with all new settlers, endured man\' pri\'ations, among
which was scarcit}' of school privileges. Mrs. Smith sa\'s : I
\vas four years of age when we moved into our unfinished
i8.\24 log house; we could look up through the opening left
in the slab roof for the escape of smoke, and see the tree tops,
and for some years mother would not allow us to go out of
sight of the house for fear of bears, which infested the woods
and sometimes destroyed sheep, &c. Of course improvements
were made; the floor, which had lain loose, was fastened down
with wooden pins; a chimney built of stone as far as the first
story, and from that up c^f split hemlock sticks, and plastered
inside with clay ; in time the slab roof was replaced by shin-
gles, and the woods gave way to cleared fields.
The forests also abounded with deer, and the Lidians used to
come and build their rude camps near us, to hunt, and they
often came to ask for salt or some trifle which the\' did not
have. Sometimes they brought whole families, and the Indian
box's would slide down hill in our fields on sleds made o( a
.stri[) of basswood bark turned smooth side down, tapered at
one entl, to which a striuLi' of the bark was attached and held
lUOCRAl'IlK Al, SKi:'l( IIKS. 765
by the bo)- stanclint;- on liis primitix'c sled to form n cur\e.
On these tliey would glide o\'er and throiiL;h the snow till
their track became too slipper}', when they woidd make a new
I'oad.
Daniel and Susanna }{eai\- both died in the earh* i)art of
KS44; he was about sixt)--three and she sixty-two years of age.
(^f the four daughters, Lucy and Hannah died unmarried.
William Smith, husband of Mrs. Rachel H. Smith, and son
of David and I'hebe Smith, was bcirn in Macedon, \\'a\'ne
count}-, X. v., Oct. 31, 1807; he came to North Collins; then
Collins. In 1838 he married Mary Healy, who died in 1841,
leax'ing a son, Robert, who died in 1842.
In March, 1842, he married Rachel Healy; they began
housekeeping in a log house and had a log barn. The}- had
seven children :
Chester, M}-ra, Albert L., Herbert, Chloe, Annie and Susie.
Chester enlisted in Septemb&r, 1862, in Compan}- A , Forty-
fourth New York volunteers, and was killed in the battle of
Gettysburg, Jul}- 2, 1863, and was buried in the National cem-
etery at Gettysburg. Albert L. died in October, 1864. Her-
bert married Rosie Clark; has one son, is a farmer. Myra
married S. Clay Torrance, a farmer; has four children. Chloe
married E. Ellis Twining, a farmer and teacher. Annie mar-
ried Charles J. Ellis, a dentist; has three children. Susie mar-
ried J. Ouinc}- Tucker, a farmer; she died in Januar}-, 1883,
leaving one child. The daughters had all been teachers before
marriage.
William Smith died in March, 1870. He was a farmer, and
his widow, Rachel H. Smith, still occupies the homestead, a
fine farm of about 165 acres.
fToIin Stalicn.
His father, Adam Staffen, emigrated from Sarrlouis, Prussia,
about 1840. He sailed with his family from Havre, France,
and w-as fifty-three days on the vo}'age to New York. He was
among the fir.st Germans to locate in North Collins, and was
-among the foremost to erect the first church at Langford, in
1841. He always lived in North Collins until his death in
.November, 1869. aged sixty-five years. His wife, whose maiden
768
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
elected Supervisor of his town. He was married in 1869 to-
Lorania Goodel, daughter of John Goodel, an early settler of
North Collins, who came in 1820. Mr. Wood has two
daughters :
Mabel, born Oct. 9, 1871 ; W. Lorania, born March 13, 1880^
1 1 IS TORY (M-" SARDINIA. 769
CHAPTER XXI.
SARDINIA— GENERAL HISTORY, ETC.
Among the names prominently identified with the early his-
tory of this town are thoie of George Richmond and Ezra
Nott. The former with a family consisting of a wife and six
children, settled on lots twenty-nine and thirty, near the Cat-
taraugus Creek, in the south-west corner of the present Town
of Sardinia, sometime in the Spring or Summer of 1809, and
the old homctead is to-day still in the possession of a grand-
daughter. While abDut the same time Ezra Nott, a young,
unmarried man took of the Holland Company the east part of
lot eighteen and the west part of lot ten, upon which he com-
menced work that Summer. The following year (18 10) Giles
Briggs and Elihu Rice came from Rhode Island and the former
settled on lot three, the latter on lot two. Briggs was a mar-
ried man and Rice was single. So following our subject up to
the Spring of 18 14, we find in addition to the four settlers and
their families above mentioned, the following settlers located
in the town :
On the east and north, near the Railroad Junction, were Jacob
Wilson. Benjamin W^ilson and Daniel Hall. On the Genesee
road, beside Nott, were Sumner Warren, Henry Godfrey, Mr.
Merriam and Mr. Cartright. And where Sardinia Village is
Abel Abbey had located. On lot thirty-four, or what is now
known as the " Olin place," lived the Wilcox famil)-. On lot
thirty-five or the " Carney place," lived a man by the name of
Woolsey, while at the foot of the hill, on the creek road that
leads from Sardinia to Springville, lived Ezekiel Smith, and
farther down John Johnson, while still farther down on lot
sixty-four were John and Jeremiah Wilcox, two young un.
married men ; next on the same lot Morton Crosby. Then
came " Comodore" Rogers, John Godding, Charles Wells
and Richmonds. West from the latter, on same road,
Dennis Riley and Bethuel Bishop. On lot fifty-seven, about
768
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
elected Supervisor of his to\\n. He was married in 1869 to-
Lorania Goodel, daughter of John Goodel, an early settler of
North Collins, who came in 1820. Mr. Wood has two
daughters :
Mabel, born Oct. 9, 1871 ; W. Lorania, born March 13, 1880^
HISTORY OF SARDINIA. 769
CHAPTER XXI.
SARDINIA-GENERAL HISTORY, ETC.
Among the names prominently identified with the early his-
tory of this town are thoie of George Richmond and Ezra
Nott. The former with a family consisting of a wife and six
children, settled on lots t\venty-nin2 and thirty, near the Cat-
taraugus Creek, in the south-west corner of the present Town
of Sardinia, sometime in the Spring or Summer of 1809, '^'^^-^
the old homctead is to-day still in the possession of a grand-
daughter. Wnile abnit the same time Ezra Nott, a young,
unmarried man took of the Holland Company the east part of
lot eighteen and the west part of lot ten, upon which he com-
menced work that Summer. The following year (18 10) Giles
Briggs and Elihu Rice came from Rhode Island and the former
settled on lot three, the latter on lot two. Briggs was a mar-
ried man and Rice was single. So following our subject up to
the Spring of 18 14, we find in addition to the four settlers and
their families above mentioned, the following settlers located
in the town :
On the east and north, near the Railroad J unction, were Jacob
Wilson, Benjamin Wilson and Daniel Hall. On the Genesee
road, beside Nott, were Sumner Warren, Henry Godfrey, Mr.
Merriam and Mr. Cartright. And where Sardinia Village is
Abel Abbey had located. On lot thirty-four, or what is now
known as the " Olin place," lived the Wilcox family. On lot
thirty-five or the " Carney place," lived a man b}' the name of
Woolse)\ while at the foot of the hill, on the creek road that
leads from Sardinia to Springville, lived Ezekiel Smith, and
farther down John Johnson, while still farther down on lot
sixty-four were John and Jeremiah Wilcox, two young un-
married men ; ne.xt on the same lot Morton Crosby. Then
came " Comodore" Rogers, John Godding, Charles Wells
and Richmonds. West from the latter, on same road,
Dennis Riley and Bethuel Bishop. On lot fifty-seven, about
770 FIRST SETTLERS OF SAKDIXLV.
half a mile north of the " Hake's Bridge," hved the Sears
family and Horace Rider, and on lot forty-t .vo lived Ezekiel
Hardy. There might have bsen others that had settled in the
more remote parts of the town, but the names given are all that
the author has been able to ascertain.
IVAME OF ONE OR MORE OF THE FIRS I SETTLERS ON EACH
OF THE SEVERAL HJTS IN SARDINIA :
T(^WNSHIP SEVEN, RANGE FIVE,
Lot 2, Elihu Rice and Joseph Rice ; lot 3, Giles Briggs and
David Calkins; lot 4, Benjamin Wilson; lot 5, Daniel Hall;
lot 6, Erastus Graves and Hezekiah Colb}' ; lot 7, Varney
Childs ; ; lot 10, Ezra Nott ; lot 11, H. God-
frey, J. Wilson; lot 12, Henry Bovven ; lot 13, Elihu Graves;
lot 14, George Brown; lot 15, Jamjs Bond, Benjamin SI}-; lot
17, Sumner Warren; lot 18, Giles Briggs and others; lot 19,
Merriam and Cartright ; lot 22, Ezekiel Ballard ; lot 23, John
Dake ; lot 25, Sumner Warren; lot 26, Reuben Long; lot 27,
Henry Godfrey ; lot 28, Ephraim Briggs & Sons: lot 29, Ste-
phen Pratt; lot 38. L. B. Keth, E. Graves; lot 31. Thomas
Ryan ; lot 33, Richard Smith, A. Carpenter, S. Carpenter; lot
34, Oliver Wilcox; lot 35, Mr. Woolsey; lot 36, Pollard Stone,
James Goodrich ; lot 37, Mann & Freeman ; lot 38, Andrew
Shedd, Warren Fay, Joseph Gillson ; lot 39, A. Briggs, R. Goff ;
lot 40, Samuel Russell; lot 41, Warren Wilcox ; lot 42, Ezekiel
Hardy; lot 43, Samuel Butler, Josiah Goodrich; lot 44, Flint
T. Keth, Mr. Tuttle ; lot 45, Almon Jewett ; lot 46, A. C.
Tiffany; lot 47, David Bigelow ; lot 48, Obadiah Mathewson ;
lot 49, Isiac Smith ; lot 50, P. Chamberlin, P. Snyder; lot 51,
Samuel Sheppard ; lot 52, Jonathan Thomas, Thomas Ward
Josiah Tiioaipson ; lot 53, Edward Scott ; lot 54, J. Thompson
Martindale ; lot 55, Thomas McGuire, William Loree, R.
Rutledge; lot 59, John Weller, Alvah Wilson: lot 57, Horace
Rider; lot 58. Reuben Rider; lot 59, Richard Sheppard, Thos.
N. Hopkins ; lot 62, E. Scott, lot 63, Roswell Frisbee ; lot 64,
John Wilcox.
EARLY SETTLERS ()F SARDINIA.
78 r
TOWXSHII' SEVEN, RANCiE SL\.
Lot I, Harry Scars; lot 2, Robert Hopkins, J. Wiiks ; lot 5^
P.Pierce; lot 7, J. H. Vosburg, F.Osborne; lot 8, Stephen
Wright; lot 9. Henry Thomas, Daniel Pierce; lot 10, Norman
Bond; lot 11, Nathaniel Brown and brothers; lot 12, Edward
Cram and Mr. Rosebrook^ ; lot 15, John Van Dusen ; lot 17.
Jonas Perhann ; lot 18, Abram Stark's, " Jack " Vaw ; lot 17,
W. P. Smith ; lot 20, James Flemmini;s, Major Wells; lot 22,
Stephen Pratt.
roWXSIIIl' SIX. RAXGE SIX.
Lots 26 and 27. Bethuel Bishop; 28, Dennis Riley; lots 29
and 30, George Richmond ; lot 31, Charles Wells ; lot 32, John
Godding ; lot 34, Nemiah Rogers.
TOWXSHIP SIX, RAXCE IIVE.
Lot 64, Morton Crosby, John Wilcox ; bt 56, John Johnson ;
lot 48, Mr. Bishop; lot 40, R. Smith.
THE NAMES OF THOSE WHO PURCHASED LAND BV COxXTRACT
OF THE HOLLAND COMPANY IN THE TOWN OF SARDINIA—
THE DATE OF PURCHASE, ETC.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN. RANGE FIVE.
Name.
Sumner Warren
William S. Warren..
William S. Warren . .
William and Sumner
Warren
Sumner Warren
William and Sumner
Warren
William and Sumner
Warren
Ira Paine
Ebenezer Warren. . . .
Ezra Nott
Porter Wright.. ,
Timothy Paine. ,
Sumner Warren ,
Daie.
1809, Aug.
1809, Aug.
1809, Aug.
1809, Aug.
1809, Aug.
1809, Aug.
1809, Aug.
18 10, Aug.
1809, Aug.
1809, Aug.
1809, Aug.
1809, Aug.
1809, Aug.
Land.
Acr's
14.
14.
14.
w }4 \ is.
s pt 1 25 .
Is 4 & I 2 .
14. 1 17
14.
14.
14
•4.
13
1 2
Price.
1 80 $360 OQ
325' 568 75
7261 1270 50
441
369
771 75
738 00
15
s j/^ lot 47..
14. w pt 1 19. . .
14. !e pt 1 18 &
w pt 1 10.
14. e % I27...
14. jm pt 1 19. . .
19. |e pt 1 19. . .
5561I 1 12 00
35ij ^14 25
166I 373 50
176 00
259 519 00
216 432 00
189' 378 00
100 200 00
NAMES OK l'i:;^S<)XS HUVINC; LAND
TOWN-SHIP SEVF.X, RANGE FIVE— C< ';///«//.•</.
Name.
Dah:.
Land. Acu's Price
Sumner Warren. .... 1809
Timothy Paine 1809
Sumner Warren 1809
Sumner Warren 1809
Francis Dorchester.. 18 11
Henr)- Godfrey 1 8 11
F'rancis Dorchester.. 181 1
Francis Dorchester. . i ■^ 1 1
Gilbert Waldron 18 11
Michael Angus 1 8 1 i
Gilbert Waldron 181 1
Horace Rider 181 1
Benjamin Pearson. . . 181 1
Benjamin Pearson ... [811
Morton Crosby 181 !
+John Wilcox 181 1
Dennis Riley 181 1
Ik'thuel Bishop i8i i
John Johnson 181 1
Richard Smith 1 1 8 1 3
"Giles Briggs ! ' 813
Richard Smith '18 13
1 8 14
1814
181 5
181 5
1815
1815
1815
1815
1815
1815
Alba Carpenter
Cornelius Sn)-dcr . . . .
Simon Carpenter. . . .
John Wilcox, Jr
Elias Bond
Lyman W'aikins
Ezekiel Hardy
Leonard Brillard ....
Phineas Chamberlain .
Jeremiah Wilcox ...
Reuben Rider ^ ^ ' 5
Pollard Stone 1 8 16
Hiram Wilcox 18 16
Thomas Carney 18 16
Daniel Hall 1816
Daniel Hall 18 16
Ezekiel Ballard 1816
16
14
29
30.
.5- •
3- •
6.
, Aug. 14
, Aug. I
. Aug.
, Aug.
, Apr.
, Apr.
, May
, Mav
, Nov.
, Nov
, Nov.
, Now
, Nov.
, Nov. 22
, Mar. 28
, Mar. 28.
, July 8...
, April 3. .
, April 20,
, Dec. 22, .
, Sept. 23 .
, Oct. 30. .
, Aug. 30.
, Aug. 2 . .
, Jan. 23. .
, Mar. 10.
, Apr. 1 1 .
. Apr. 10 .
, June 12 .
, Dec. 6 . .
. Oct. 17..
, Nov. 9. .
, Oct. 17. .
, Ma\- 7 . .
, Ma>- 7 . .
. Apr. 9 . .
, May 28 .
, May 28 .
, June 6. .
. i half 1 28. .
. n pt 1 25 . . .
. [ 26 .
, \v pt 1 II...
. e half 1 10. .
, e pt 1 II...
, vv pt 1 9 . . . .
-pt I9
MJt 1 6 . . . .
w pt 1 I ■; . . .
^ pt 1 13....
\v pt 1 S7- ■
\v pt 1 27. . .
n pt 1 28. . .
1 64
: pt 1 64. . . .
3t 1 56
Jt 1 48 . . . .
J pt 1 -:,6. . .
n-e pt 1 40. .
pt 1 18.....
s-w pt 1 33 .
pt I33
optl yy...
n-wpt 1 33.
e pt 1 34 . . .
n pt 1 13. . . .
e pt 1 ^y. . .
s pt 1 42 . . .
s pt 1 29. . .
w pt 1 50. . . '
w pt 1 34. . .
eptl 58....
w pt 1 36. . .
w pt 1 41. . .
e pt 1 3 3 . . .
s pt 1 20 . . .
pt 1 20
\v pt 1 56, e
pt 52 &pt
1 20
167
198
317
50
•13
319
177
184
100
100
100
140
108
167
217
108
66
89
TOO
^4
5C
IOC
100
?o6
674
100
170
TOO
TOO
i6g
ICXD
169
looi
100
150
100
100
100;
292 00
346 00
634 oo
100 CO
310 00
S77 00
531
55^
275
^7S
-V5
420 00
297 00
459 00
596 00
286 00
264 00
267 00
300 00
00
00
00
00
00
i>2
^7S
325
00
50
00
00
50
50
669
202
300 00
5 10 00
300 00
325 00
600 00
375 00
^33 75
375 00
400 00
600 00
400 00
400 00
400 CO
f Bought of Mr. Crosby.
Deed.
35011400 00
OF rilK IK )1.I..\.M> (OMI'AW.
TOWNSHIP SrVEN, RANGE ¥lVE—Conthnie,f.
m
N'ami;
Datk.
Land.
Acu's; Pkke.
Ezekicl Ballard. . . .
Kzckicl Ballard \
Samuel Shepherd.. . .
Henr_\- SiU'der
Philip Cram
Suell Butler
John Butler
John W. (ioodrich...
Tcrrence IMcGuire. . .
Terrence McCniire. . .
Josiah Thompson.. . .
Josiah Thomp.son.. . .
Stephen & John Pratt
James Bond
John W'eller
Obediah Matteson. . .
Benjamin Saunders..
Robert Rut ledge. . . .
James Bradshaw
Uavid Bigelow
David Bigelow
Abner Colby
Clark C. Carpenter. . .
Da\id }. Conkling. . .
Roswell G off.. .... ..
Flint T. Keith.
Josiah Goodrich
Alv-ah Wilson
Samuel P'risbee
1829,
1829,
18
18
18
18
iS
18
18
18
18
18;
18
18
18
18
18
18
18
18
18
18
18
|!«
I18
118
:i8
!i8.8.
Jan. 6. . .
Aug. 26.
Nov. iS.
Nov. I I .
Sept. 5. .
Oct. 5.. .
Oct. 5. . .
Aug. 8 . .
Ma)^ 1 . . .
Mays...
Mar. 20.
Oct. 24..
Apr. 2S.
Mar. 5..
Mav 12. .
May 14 .
June 20.
June 16.
Aug. 25.
Nov. 12.
Jan 31..
Nov. t . . .
Oct. 27. .
Nov. 14.
Nov,
Dec.
Dec.
Apr.
Ma\-
24.
'7 •
1 1 .
8 ..
1 . .
Isaac Smith 1818. Ma\- 15 ,
William Loree 1818, Apr. 16 ,
Andrew W. Shedd. . . 11818, June 6..
Warren Fay |i8i8, June 6.
Thomas Ward I1818, Aug. 25
William Howe {1818, Aug. 25
Avery C. Tiffany 181 8, Oct. 3. .
Edward Scott , 1818, Nov. 4.
Stephen Pratt 18 18, Nov. 4.
Benoni Tuttle 18 18, Oct. 19.
Job Thomas, Jr i8r8, Oct. 19.
Thomas Mann ,1818, July 25.
s-e pt 1 2 1..
pt 1 22 . . . .
e pt I 31...
n-\\- pt I 42 .
n-e pt 1 42 .
pt I 4.1
w pt I 43.. .
pt 1 36
s pt 1 56 ■
n pt 1 55. . .
s pt 1 54. . . .
pt 1 5^
n pt 1 29. . .
pts 1 15. ...
pt 1 56 •
pt 1 48
pts 1 3 3 . • • •
pt I 55
s jjt 1 30. . .
n pt 1 47 . . .
n-w pt 1 39 .
pt 16
pt 1 6
pt 1 5 1
s pL 1 39.. .
pt 1 44
e pt 1 43 • • • :
n pt 1 56. . .
n-e & n-w pt
1 (^3
s ptl 49. ..
spt 1 55...
n pt 1 38 . . .
spt 1 3«..
pt 1 52
s pt 1 53. ..
Ipts 1 46. . . .
Ipts 1 62
wpt I35...
e pt 1 44. . .
pt I44
ptl 37....
40
lOOj
I23I
123
100,
lOOi
1 001
120^
120!
125
o -
166
200
100
100
250
100
100
166
147
;6
60:
100
160
30
■35i
146
200;
100'
146;
140,
1 18;
100.
'1/1
200
200
100
119
60
100
160 00
200 00
425 00
522 75
492 00
425 00
425 00
400 00
570 00
570 00
531 25
100 00
747 00
830 00
475 00
00
o
475
'17 .
475 00
475 CO
788
698 25
380 00
300 00
475 00
760 00
250 00
643 63
693 50
950 00
475 00
693 50
630 00
531 00
475 00
555 75
950 CO
950 00
475 00
5''^5 25
300 00
475 00
774
NAMES OF PERSONS BUYING LAND
TOWNSHIP SEVEN. RANGE Yl\Y.— Contit!Ufd.
Name.
Amasa Freeman. . . .
Peter Snyder
Amos Gould
Amos Dan
Job Thomas. Jr. . . .
James Sherwood . . .
Giles Briggs
Francis Eaton
Daniel Ashley
Andrew Crocker. . .
Almon Jewett
Elijah Smith
Reuben Hudson . . .
Jonathan Headley. .
Aquilla Pingry
Andrew Crocker. . .
Horace Rider
Richard Sheppard. .
Peter Hauver
Benjamin Wilson. . .
Allen Briggs
Josiah Goodrich . . . .
Nathaniel Simons. .
Jonathan Thomas. .
Thomas N. Hopkins
David Stickney. . . .
Jonathan Cook
Philemon Pierce . . .
James Marston
George Snyder
Esek Briggs
Esek Briggs
Alanson Rogers. . . .
Charles Sears
Leland Crocker. . . .
Andrew Crocker...
Benoni Hudson ....
Elihu Rice
Pollard Stone
Benjamin Odell. . . .
Date
Land.
8i8
819
819
819
819
819
819
819
820
820
821
825
825
827
828
828
828
828
828
829
829
829
829
829
829
829
829
829
830
830
830
832
830
830
830
831
831
831
831
831
July 25.,
Jan. 3.. ,
Oct. 15. .
June 12
June I . .
April 21 .
Aug. 16.
May 4.. .
Oct. 19. .
Oct. 14..
Oct. 29. .
July;...
Dec. 23..
Jan. 24. .
March 6.
Aug. 26.
Aug. 26.
Sept. 16.
Oct. 29. .
Jan. 6.. .
Jan. 15..
Feb. 9. . .
Feb. 25..
Mar. 10 .
April 8..
June 2 . .
Aug. 20.
Oct. 22. .
Jan 27..
Jan 27. .
Nov. 22.
July 3...
Dec. 7..
Dec. 28..
Dec. 28..
Feb. 26..
May 3..
June 17.
Sept. 10.
Sept. 20.
49
pts 1 37.
e pt 1 59
s pt 1 14
pt 154-.
ptl 51..
Ptl35--
n-w pt 1 lo
& n-e pt 1 1 8
s-w pt 1 9
w pt 1 59
e pt 1 36.
n pt 1-45.
pt I49.
n-e pt 1
n pt 1 6
n-w pt 1
ptl 25
ptl 25
ptl 59
s-e pt 1
pt 1 21
n-e pt
pt 1 20
pt 1 20
w pt 1
pt I59
ptl 38
n pt 1 22
pt 1 58
s-e pt 1
ptl 33
pt 1 47
n pt 1 20.
pt 1 50
s-e pt 1
pt 1 38
ptl 35
s-e pt 1 20
pt I9
s w pt 1 45
n-e & n-w pts
1 21
Acr's
39
51
33
42
Price.
21 I 1002
100
100
100
60
75
109
119
100
192
75
50
100
50
90
100
48
145
25
TOO
100
50
40
47
131
80
TOO
100
78
78
50
81
100
50
100
67
50
69
150
171
2S
475 00
475 OQ
475 oa
285 00
35
6 00
453 00
509 00
475
768
ZZ7 00
212 00
627 00
oa
00
22 ^
S82
00
00
402 oa
192 oa
542 oa
100 oa
400 oa
400 oa
200 oa
160 oa
188 oa
526 oa
320 oa
375 00
400 oo
331 GO
331 oa
200 oa
326 00
400 oo
208 oo
416 oo
270 oo
200 oa
296 oa
525 oa
684 oa
FROM llll': in HI. AM) (OMI'ANV.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, RANGE FIVE— Co>i/i,iuc</.
775
DA I K.
Josepli Gilson
Jonathan Cook
Rufus I lawks
Klias Rogers
Joshua Sl\-
Kbenezer l-arrington .
Moses Wheeler
Moses Wheeler
Perry Hard)-
l)a\id Murra}'
Thomas N. Hopkins.
Stowell Collins
Josiah Andrews
Levinus Cornwell . . .
Horace Clark
Stukeh' Hudson ....
Philip 'Mericle
Robert Hopkins....
Joseph Long
"■'Andrews & Cornwell
Chauncey Hastings. .
Harry Sears
Nathaniel Brown . . . .
Beriah Brown
Simeon Bishop
Henry Thomas
Daniel Pierce
Edward Cram
Jonas Perham ......
Jabez Weeden
George Brown
Stephen Pratt
Robert Hopkins. . . .
Plenry Thomas
Reuben Wright
John M. Bull
Anna Van Dusen...
John M. Bull
i<S3i
Hi'
«3>
B31
832
>^33
H35
«35
«35
835
830
^37
^39
«35
830
8^0
832
^37
^33
^35
^3S
811
8is
815
810
816
816
816
817
819
818
820,
824
82G)
828^
830
830
830
Oct. 5.. .
Nov. II.
Nov. 23 .
Dec. I 5 .
March 5 .
Aug. 29.
Feb. 27. .
Feb 27. .
June 15.
Sept. 5..
June 29.
March 13
Jan. 26. .
Now 10.
Dec 6...
Sept. 22.
P"eb. 22..
Dec. 8. .
Mar. II..
Nov. 27.
Oct. 28..
Nov. 6. .
April 9. .
April 9. .
April 9. .
June c) . .
Aug. i 2 .
Aug. 21 .
June 23.
Jan. 6 . .
Aug. 24.
Oct. lO. .
June 29.
Sept. 9. .
Aug. 30.
Jan. 25. .
P'eb 4. .
Feb 3..
Land.
s-e pt 1 45
!s pt 1 23 .
Ipt 1 2V ■ .
ipt I23. ..
'S-W pt 1 i:
in pt 1 2^.
pt I23. ..
Ipt 1 23. . .
ept I57..
\\n 1 48 . . .
'pt 1 60. . .
pt 1 41 ...
'pt 143- • ■
pt I36...
IS pt 1 54..
n-w pt 1 29
j)t 1 56
w pt 1 58.
pt I44. . .
s-e pt 1 2 1
pt I35...
e pt 1 1 . .
e pt 1 II.
w J)t 1 II.
s pt 1 17..
n pt 1 9 . .
pt I9
e pt 1 12
pt 1 17. .
e i)t 1 9 .
pt 1 I I . .
Is 14 15 22
2:^.. .'.. .
e pt 1 2. .
pt 1 18. . .
s-w pt 1 I.
pt Is 14 15
Ipt 1 15
Ipt 123
'Ack's
ii6i
5c!
50:
5C!
100:
50'
50
50:
5o|
ICO
lOOi
501
100
50
100
56
59
401
67-
160!
looi
IOC
150,
IOO|
lOO;
IOC
7C
0.1
Price.
466 CO
2CO 00
2CO 00
2C/0 00
400 00
225 00
150 CO
2CO 00
200 00
4CO 00
400 00
200 00
607
22 ^
269 00
260 CO
CO
CO
5-/
00
224 00
278 00
204 00
243 CO
480 CO
375 00
375 00
600 00
600 CO
400 00
400 00
500 CO
350 00
3 M CO
1 22c 3929 00
IOC 400 00
50 200 00
5c 200 CO
303} 1 288 00
50' 200 00
IOC 425 CO-
*Deed.
'J']^ DEEDS^GIVEX BY THE HOLLAND COMIWSX .
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, RANGE YW^E— Continued.
Name.
Date.
Land.
Acr's
Price.
John Vosburg
1830, Jan.
26..
pt I23
2 12 oa
Jonas Perham
1 83 1, July
I . .
pt 1 17
116
464 OQ
Joseph Wilkes
1 83 1, June
7--
pt 1 2
SO
200 00
Norman Bond
1 83 1, Apri
I26.
e pt 1 10. . .
200
800 00
Joseph Thurber
1 83 1, Apri
I26.
e pt 1 18...
so
200 00
John Van Pelt
1833, Feb.
26.
1 21
374
1589 OQ
William Smith
1834, Dec.
18.
n-wpt 1 23..
68
270 ca
Mahties Kelsie
1835, July
10..
pt 1 15
SO
200 00
Martin Keller
1835, Oct.
s...
pt 1 16
120
480 OQ
Philemon Pierce
1837, Oct.
8..
e pt 1 5 . . . .
8S
300 OQ
John M. Bull
1837, May
0
s-w pt 1 19..
100
400 OQ
James Flemings
1837, Nov.
i.v
pt 1 20
44
178 00
Major Wells
1837, Nov.
13 •
n-e pt 1 20. .
44
178 00
William Park
1837. Feb.
2L.
n pt I 14 & s
pt 1 15....
200
105 I OQ
Asa Carv
1838, Sept.
1839, Feb.
18
n pt 1 24. . .
pt 1 15 & n
100
405 00
Nathan Follett
2S.
pt 1 22 . . . .
100
600 00
Elijah Wheelock ....
1839, Jan 8...
pt I 12
100
400 00
Truman Starks
1839, Jan. 2. ..
w pt' 1 10. . .
SO
200 00
Lewis Reed
1 84 1, Nov.
I . .
pt 1 20
25
125 oa
NAMES OF PERSONS WHO HAVE TAKEN DEEDS OF THE HOL_
L.^ND COMPANY IN SARDINIA, DATE OF PURCHASE, ETC.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, RANGE SIX.
Lot.
Acres.
4
319 '
s
85
5
64 {
6
319
7
324
8
321
9
170
9
70
9
75
9
75 1
10
200
10
129
Name.
July 18, 1839 .
e pt Dec. 8, 1837 . .
m pt !
July 18, 1839,
July 18, 1839.
July 18, 1839,
s-e pt June 16, 1845 ■
n-e pt.... July 18, 1839,
s-w pt . . . . Mar. i, 1839. •
n-w pt . . . . Feb. i, 1839 • ■
e pt April i, 1839 ..
w pt July 18, 1839..
P. C. Sherman.
Philemon Pierce.
James Edington.
P. C. Sherman.
P. C. Sherman.
P. C. Sherman.
George N. Williams.
P. C. Sherman.
Charles Wilder.
Phineas Scott.
William P. Powers.
P. C. Sherman.
DHKDS (IIVF.N I'.V Till". HOLLAND (OMl'ANV. nJ
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, RANGE %\^—Conlinued.
Lot. Acrks. Suhdivision. Date ok Di:f.I).
Name.
1 1
1 1
12
12
12
13
H
15
15
15
15
i6
i6
17
17
17
i8
i8
i8
i8
i8
19
19
20
20
20
21
22
22
23
23
23
24
24
26
27
27
^7
28
:>8
120 e pt I July 18, 1839..
266 w pt Feb. 28, 1837..
150 cpt Jan. 8. 1839. . .
100 m pt Jan. 7, i8^o .. .
127 \v pt luly iS, 1839. .
381 Alio-. 23, 1838.
^50 s-w pt. . . . June 2. 1S38. .
215 m.\;s-ept. Mar. 31, 1843.
200 s pt Feb. 21. 1831 .
50 s m pt. . . April i, 1839. .
50 m pt Feb. 4. 1830 . .
50 n m pt. . . Mar. 31, 1843 •
155 s pt July 18, 1839..
50 11 pt July 18, 1839..
150 s pt Oct. I, 1838...
116 m pt April i, 1839. .
100 n pt Jan. 18, 1837..
50 e pt Vpril I, 1837. .
54 e m pt . . . July 18, 1839. .
-j-j m pt Oct. I. 1838. . .
100 w m pt. . . Feb. 21, 1838 .
100 w pt. ... July !, 1838.. .
268 n & s-e pt . J uly 1 8, 1 839. .
100 s-w pt Dec 29, 1840 .
44 n-e pt April 2, 1838..
44 n pt ! April 2, 1838.
267 n-w & s pt.s J uly 1 8, 1 839. .
314 April 1, 1839..
25 1 s pt April I, 1839..
100 npt Mar. 31. 1843 .
150 e pt April 1. 1839..
136 .s-w pt July 18, 1839..
68 n-w pt Oct. 20, 1 843 . .
279 s pt July 18. 1839..
100 npt Sept. 18, 1838.
129 w 1 Feb. 18. 1 814..
87 si Oct. 20, 1843..
20 n-e 1 Nov. 12, 1836.
SO n-w 1 Dec. 2 1, 1833
)■] el )une 20, >837.
-j-j w 1 Oct. I, 1838...
P. C. Sherman.
S. S. Fllsworth.
Klijah Wheelock.
Flijah Wheelock.
P. C. Sherman.
Chauncey B. Dunbar,
John Van Pelt.
H. J. Redfield.
William Park.
D. H. Chandler.
Anna Vandusen.
H. J. Redfield.
P. C. Sherman.
P. C. Sherman.
Simeon Cummin<j;s.
William P. Powers.
Ira Reynolds.
William P. Powers.
P. C. Sherman.
Simeon Cummings.
Abraham Starks.
Abraham Van Tuyl.
P. C. Sherman.
William Smith.
Major W^ells.
James Flemming.
P. C. Sherman.
D. H. (handler.
D. H. Chandler.
H. J. Redfield.
William P. Powers.
P. C. Sherman.
Jacob LeRoy.
P. C. Sherman.
Asa Bary.
Almon Fuller.
Jacob LeRoy.
Orin Lewis.
Marinda Bowen.
Fred Richmond.
Simeon Cummings.
778 DEEDS CIVEN BY THE HOLLAND COMPANY
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, RANGE SIX— Contitiuai.
Lot
ACKKS.
29
I26L
30
1 1
31
84
32
79
33
75
34
62
34
39
I
i62
60
67
50
80
2
100
2
171
2
100
w 1
w 1.
w 1,
^\' 1
w 1
\v 1
w 1 . .
e pt . .
n-e pt
m pt .
s-w pt
n-w pt
e pt . .
m pt .
w pt.
Name
May
May
Nov.
June
July
Oct.
Nov.
Oct.
Dec.
July
April
Dec.
Nov.
Feb.
July
26, 1819..
26, 1819. .
i7» 1837.
1 6, 1 845 .
18, 1839. •
1, 1838. . ,
2, 1855..
I, 1838.. ,
16, 1854.,
18, 1839.,
1 I, 1839..
22, 1836 ,
25- 1835
14, 1839.,
18, 1839.,
Simeon Cummings.
George Richmond.
Chauncey Pond,
(jcorge N. Williams
P. C. Sherman.
Simeon Cummings.
Mabel Smith.
Simeon Cummings.
James Hopkins.
P. C. Sherman.
W. P. Powers. •
Reuben Wright.
Robert Hopkins.
Joseph Wilkes.
P. C. Sherman.
TOWNSHH^ SIX, RANGE FIVE.
40
24
48
18
48
39
48
48
.S6
100
^6
35
S6
35
S6
66
64
217
64
1 1 1
I Oct. 3, 1826..
e pt 1 Feb. 4, 1839.
m pt I F"eb. 4, 1839.
w pt j Jan. 18, 1836.
e pt j Dec. 1, 1836 .
e m pt .. . . ! Dec. 22, 1841.
w m pt. . .1 Dec. 22, 1841.
w pt ! Oct. I, 1838..
e pt I Oct. I, 1838..
w pt Dec. 13, 1 85 1.
Archibald Randall.
Parley Crosby.
George Bigelow.
Samuel S. Ellsworth.
John Howard.
Richard C. Johnson.
Joanna Davis.
Simeon Cummings.
Simeon Cummings.
George Richmond.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, RANCiE FIVE.
2
556
3
100
3
119
3
150
A
356
5
351
6
100
6
60
6
7^
6
64
Flihu Rice.
Benjamin Parson.
Samuel Hawkins.
David Calkins.
Benjamin Wilson .
Daniel Hall.
Jonathan Cooke.
Benjamin W'ilson.
Jonathan Cooke.
Pardon C . Sherman
DKKDS CINKN IJV IIIK HOLLAND COMPANY. 779
TOWNSHIP SEVEN. RANGE ¥lVE—Cofiiiniu-J.
Lot. I AcKEs
6 I 50
7
9
9
9
9
o
o
I ' 319
1 I 50
2 370
357
184
69
50
5<^
113
IM
50
50
96
100
70
50
50
50
170
86
100
100
100
200
100
50
81
100
46
30
80
100
Subdivision.
•9
25
'9
75
•9
94
19
94
19
88 i
20
50
20
50
20
40
n pt
Datk o\- Dei:i).
Namk
e pt. . .
-s m pt .
s-w pt .
n-\v pt
e pt ..
w pt . .
e pt. . .
w pt . .
s-e pt .
s-w pt .
m pt . .
n pt. . .
n m pt
s-e pt. .
s-w pt .
s m pt .
n pt. . .
s-e pt. .
s-w pt .
m pt . .
n i)t . . .
O ]Jt . . .
m pt . .
w m pt
w pt . .
.s-e pt .
s-w pt .
m pt . .
s-w pt .
n-w pt .
s-e pt .
s pt . . .
e in pt.
w m pt
w pt. . .
.s-e pt. .
s-w pt .
s-c m . .
A\n\\ 20, 1839
July 18, 1839.
Mar. 17, 1 8 19
]unc 16, 1835
Sept. 10, 1832
Miir. 6, JS35..
April 30, 1825
Nov. 9, 1835 .
Mar. 3, 1817. .
April 11, I ,-^I4
Aug. 14, 1819
Jaif. 15, 1839.
Jan. 13. 1834.
Dec. 2^', 1836
Aug. 10, 1832
Jan. 13, 1834
Jan. I, 1842.
Jan. I, 1842.
Oct. 20, 1843
Jul\' 18, 1839
July 18, 1839.
April 20, 1839.
Oct. 15, 1838. .
Jan. 7, 1839...
Aug. 16, 1 8 19,
April 2],, 1824,
April 23, 1824
Ma\- 18, 1824 .
July
Nov.
Sept.
Aug.
J u n e
Aug.
Sept.
Dec.
Aug.
Jan
April
Mar.
Apr.
5, 1820.. .
10, 1835-,
23. 1813.
16. 1825,
29, 1825.
21, 1833.
21, 1832.
1, 1836..
8, 1837...
15. 1023..
20, 1839.
16. 1839.
10, 1839 •
William V. Powers.
Pardon C. Sherman.
Caleb Nichols.
Joseph Rice.
Horace Clark.
Nelson Hyde.
John Colb}-.
Ezra Nott.
Jacob Wilson.
Jacob W'ilson.
Benjamin Wilson.
Jonathan Cook.
Ezekiel Ballard.
Elias Rogers.
■Lewis Farrington.
Joseph Ballard.
George Bigelow.
Jonathan Cook.
Jacob H.Schermerhorn
Pardon C. Sherman.
Pardon C. Sherman.
William P. Powers.
S. Cummings.
Horace U. Soper.
Allen Green.
Daniel Clarke, Jr.
Horace D, Clark.
Willis W. and Willard
W. Cornwell.
Ezra Nott.
Ezra Nott.
Giles Briggs.
Chancey Hastings.
Daniel Need ham.
Peter Hauver.
Thomas Hopkins.
John B. Hosmer,
Bela H Colegrove.
B. H. Colegrove.
William P Powers.
Bela H. Colegrove.
N. Simons.
78o I)Kp:i)s (;ivex hv iiik hoi. i. and comtaxv.
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, RANGE YWE— Continued.
Lot. Acres Suhdivision. Date ok Deed.
20
20
20
20
21
21
21
21
22
7-7
-J
23
23
23
23
23
25
25
25
25
-D
2D
26
27
27
28
28
28
29
29
29
29
29
30
30
31
33
60
50
50
100
40
100
63
1 1 I
106
100
175
150
46
43
50
50
50
162
162
48
100
49
158
158
216
108
83
«3
167
100
50
50
50
66
ICO
239
350
78
50
s-w pt . . ,
n-c m pt
n-w m . .
n pt . . . .
s-e pt . .
s m pt . . ,
s-\v pt . .
n [)t . . . .
s pt. . . .
m pt ...
n j)t. . . .
s pt, . . .
m pt . . .
n m pt .
e m pt. .
W 111 pt .
n pt. . . .
-s-e pt . .
s-\v pt . .
e m pt. .
n-w m . .
n pt . . . .
e pt . . . .
w pt . . .
e pt . . . .
w" pt . . .
s pt . . . .
m pt . . .
n pt . . . .
m pt . . ,
•'^cPt
n-c pt .
n m pt ,
n-w pt
Oct. 27, 1831 . .
Sept. 5, 1835..
Aui^. 22, 1831 .
July 3. 1832.. .
Nov. 27, 1835.
Jan 7, 1834.. .
July 18, 1839..
April 20, 1839,
Jan. 23. 1839. .
Oct. 22, 18^8. ,
Name.
Dec. 30. 1836. .
April 20, 1839
July 1, 1855 ..
July 1,1855 ...
Feb. 27, 1835. .
Dec. 28, 1838 .
Dec. 28, 1838 .
Oct. 4, 1827. . .
Oct. 5, 1830...
Dec. 16, 1825 .
June 25, 1836.
Aug. 22, 1834.
Feb. 4, 1825 . .
June 5, 1822. .
Oct. 5, 0819 . !
June 14, 1824^
Dec. 18, 1829
May 21, 1835 .
Jan. 1 I, 1825. _
June 26, i835]
April 16, 1839!
Feb. 21, 1837 .
April 20, 1839.
May 28, I834-.
s pt Jan. 12, 1839. .
n pt July 18, 1839. •
July 18, 1839. ■
s-e pt . . . . ; Feb. 6, 1838 . .
n-e pt. . . .1 Jan. 2-, 1836. .
Daniel Hall, 2d.
Josiah Goodrich.
Solomon Burbank.
E. Briggs
W. \V. Cornwell and
Josiah Andrews.
Benjamin Wilson.
Pardon C. Sherman.
William P. Powers.
Orson D. Simonds.
St. Clement's Church
of Wethersfield, Gen-
esee.
Seth Kingsley.
W. P. Powers.
Henry Child, Jr.
O. F. Crocker.
M. R Wheeler.
M. R. Wheeler.
Nelson Richards.
Horace Rider.
Charles Sears.
Horace Rider.
Andrew Crocker.
VVillard W CornwelL
Benjamin Pearson.
Thomas Tillinghast.
Benjamin Pearson.
Albey Briggs.
David Briggs.
Ephraim Briggs,
David Sticknc}', Jr.
E. Briggs.
W. P.>owers.
Stukeley Hudson.
F. B. Marvin
P. C. Sherman.
P. C Sherman.
Jesse Randall.
Charles Sears.
DKKDS CIVKN 1!\' JIIK ilollAXD CnMV.WW 781
TOWNSHIP SEVEN. RANGE Fl\'E—Coii/ijiucc/.
Loi.
ACKKS.
SUHIJIVISION.
Date ok DiiEU.
1
Name.
33
30
n-e ni pt . .
Jan. 28, 1836. .
Chancey Hastings.
33
48
n m pt . . .
June 30, 1841 .
Hiram Hutting.
33
100
s-m pt ....
Alar. 30, 1842 .
Alba Carpenter.
33
50
\v m pt . . .
Oct 24, 1829. .
Isaac Smith.
33
50
s-w i)t ....
Oct. I, 1838.. .
Simeon Cummings.
33
33
n-w m pt .
Feb. 16, 1839. •
B. Hudson
33
33
n-\v pt . ...
Feb. 16, 1839 •
J. \V. Fegles.
34
100
^' pt
Sept. 25, 1832.
M R. 01 in
34
30
m pt
Oct. 4, 1837...
M. R. Olin
34
139
\v pt
Oct. 4, 1837.. .
Barnabas Carney.
35
100
^' pt
Feb. 14, 1839..
Thomas Carney.
35
67
s m pt. . . .
Oct. 28, 1835. .
Chancey Hastings.
35
50
n m pt. . .
Mar. 20, 1823.
First Baptist Society
of Sardinia.
35
75
m pt
Oct. 27, 1834..
Chancey Hastings.
35
100
w pt
Aug 9, 1834..
George Bunn.
36
32
s-e pt
Mar. 14, 1839 .
Flisha Hudson.
36
60
.s-e m pt . . .
Mar. 14, 1839 •
Silvenus W. Hudsc^n.
36
50
n-e pt . . . .
Sept. 24,1 835.
Stephen Wait.
36
50
e m pt . . .
Jan. 9, 1837. . .
Daniel P. Shedd.
36
50
w m pt . . .
Jan 22, 1831 . .
William Putman.
36
50
\v m pt . . .
Nov. 10, 1835 .
Levinus Cornwell.
35
80
\v pt
April 26, 1849.
Ashwell and H. D.
Cornwell.
36
20
s-\\- pt . . . .
Mar. 29, 1856..
H. D. Cornwell.
37
75
s-e pt
Dec. 22, 1830.
Stephen Wait.
37
25
n-e pr . . . .
Nov. 30, 1836 .
A. and Ira Briggs.
37
100
e m pt. . . .
Oct. 5, 1820 . .
Dut}' Briggs.
37
21 1
\\" pt
Oct I, 1S38 . .
Simeon Cummings
38
120
M^t
April 20, 1839.
William P. Powers.
38
.So
w m pt . . .
Oct. I, 1844.. .
Julius R. Fuller.
38
60
e m pt. . . .
Aug. 31, 1832.
A . W. Shedd .
38
100
n m pt . . .
Aug. 31, 1842.
Joseph Ballard.
38
40
n pt
Apr. 20, 1839.
\\'illiam P. Powers.
39
100
s pt
Dec. 23, 1854 .
William Hyde.
39
100
n-e pt . . . .
Apr. 20, 1839.
William P. Powers.
39
147
n-w m pt . .
July 18,1845..
A. VanGuilder.
40
416
July 18, 18^9..
P. C. Sherman.
41
. 50
s-e pt
July 18, 1839..
P. C. Sherman.
41
50
s m pt. . . . 1
Aug. 4. 1852. .
J. H. Ladoit.
41
55
n-e pt . . . .
Jul)- I, 1842. . .
George Bigelow.
41
47
n m i)t . . . :
Nov. 14, 1843 ■
B. Carney.
782
DEEDS CIVEX BY THE HOLLAND COMPANY,
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, RANGE YIVE— Continued.
Lot.
Acres.
Subdivision.
Date of Deed.
Name.
41
150
w pt
Jan. 18, 1836. .
Samuel S. Ellsworth.
42
50
s-e pt
Jan. 24, 1837..
George Snyder.
42
123
n-e pt . . . .
Aug. 29, 1833.
Hor. Rider.
42
50
s-w pt . . . .
Dec. 22, 1836. .
Ezekiel Hard}^
4^
123
n-w pt . . . .
Jan. 24,1835..
Hor. Rider.
43
135
e pt
Oct. I, 1838. . .
Simeon Cummings.
43
100
m pt
Jan. 26, 1837..
Josiah Andrews.
43
100
w pt
Jan. 18, 1838. .
John Butler.
44
119
ept
Dec. 20, 1837.
Joseph Long.
44
60
m pt
Dec. 28. 1838.
Charles Long.
44
150
w pt
Aug. 20, 1829.
Sewell Butler.
45
116
s-e pt
Sept. 6, 1855. .
Josiah Andrews.
45
75
n pt
Mar. 15, 1839.
Almon F. Jewett .
45
150
s-w pt ....
July 18, 1838. .
Pollard Stone.
46
71
s-e pt
July 18, 1839..
P. C. Sherman.
46
60
s-w pt . . . .
Oct. 14, 1837..
Luther Putman.
46
200
n pt
Jan. 12, 1839. •
F . B. Marvin.
46
100
m pt
Oct. 2, 1856.. .
Sewell Butler.
47
100
s pt
April 20, 1839.
William P. Powers.
47
'^3
n-e pt . . . .
Aug. 6, 1840. .
George Bigelow.
47
83
n-w pt ...
June 19, 1849.
Stephen Carney.
48
100
s pt
Nov. 22, 1833.
Obadiah Matteson .
48
100
m pt
¥th. 5, 1849.. .
G. N. Cutler.
48
129
n pt
July 18, 1839..
P. C. Sherman.
49
100
s pt
Jan. 14, 1842. .
George Marsh, Jr.
49
50
s m pt . . .
Oct. I, 1838. . .
Simeon Cummings.
49
118
n-e pt . . . .
July 18, 1839..
P. C. Sherman.
49
40
w m pt . . .
Feb. 19, 1839 •
Jonathan Pingrey.
49
50
n-w pt . . . .
Feb. 19, 1839 •
William Pingre}'.
50
100
e pt
Oct. 4, 1838. . .
Simeon Cummings.
50
50
s m pt. . . .
Nov. 12, 1835 •
Noah Johnson.
50
100
e m pt . . .
April 20. 1839.
VV. P. Powers.
50
58
s-w m pt . .
July 18, 1839..
P. C. Sherman .
50
40
w m pt . . .
Feb. 19, 1839..
William Lafferty.
50
60
w pt
Feb. 19. 1839..
Jacob M. Marston.
51
lOO
e pt
Feb. 14, 1834..
Samuel Sheppard.
51
100
e m pt . . .
Oct. I, 1838. . .1
Simeon Cummings.
51
60
w m i)t . . .
April 28. 1855.
Fred West .
51
50
w m pt . . .
Nov. 22, 1823.
First Congregational
Society of Sardinia.
51
47
w pt
Aug. 29. 1S36.
William Willson.
52
250
e pt
Aug. 24, 1838.
Bela H . Colcgrove.
DKKDS (ilVKX U\ TI IK lloLLAND (OMl'AXY. 783
TOWNSHIP SEVEN, RANGE VIVE— Con/inucii.
Lot.
AcKKS,
5«
SiMsnivisioN
W [Jt
Daik ok Dkko.
Namk.
S2
Sept. 27, 1834.
Josiah Ihompson .
S2
25
w pt
Sept. 28, 1837.
Josiah Thompson .
53
267
M)t
Au<:^. 23, 1838.
C. B. Dunbar.
5^
25
n m })t . . .
Mar. 15, 1839.
John B. Ho.smer.
^^
75
n pt
Nov. 30, 1835.
Edward Scott .
S4
65
M^t
Oct. 27, 1835..
Horace Clark.
S4
160
m pt
Jan. 26, 1839. •
Josiah Andrews.
S4
131
n pt
July 18, 1839..
P . C. Sherman .
ss
146
^Pt
Aug. 23. 1838.
C. B. Dunbar.
^^
220
11 pt
Oct. I, 1838...
Simeon Cummings.
S6
120
s pt
June 16, 1845 .
George N. Williams.
S6
100
m pt
Mar. 21, 1837.
Caleb Butler, Jr.
=;6
146
n pt
Aug. 23, 1838.
C. B. Dunbar.
57
16s
m pt
Julv 18, 18^9..
B.C. Sherman .
57
140
w i)t
Dec. 28, 1837 •
Jonathan Pingrey.
5cS
100
t-- pt
Oct. 7, 1833...
Reuben Rider.
58
60
c m pt . . .
Jan 8, 1834. . .
William Pingrey.
58
'50
m pt
Dec. 28, 1837 .
Dudley Hopkins.
58
^6
w pt
Dec. 8, 1837 . .
Robert Hopkins.
5Q
50
e pt
Sept. 16, 1828.
Richmond Sheppard.
SQ
95
c m pt . . .
Mar. 7. 1834 . .
Richmond Sheppard .
5q
80
s m pt . . .
Mar. 12, 1835 .
D. & J. M. Hopkins.
59
51
n 111 pt . . .
Mar. 12, 1835.
T. N. Hopkins.
5Q
100
w pt
Oct. I. 1838.. .
Simeon Cummings.
60
100
e pt
June 20, 1837.
William Thomas.
60
100
m pt
Dec 28, 1837. .
Nehemiah Hopkins.
60
172
w pt
July 18, 1839..
P. C. Sherman.
61
394
Sept. 15, 1842.
Lansing Tooker.
62
100
c pt
Oct. I, 1838 ..
Simeon Cummings.
62
lOS
Ill pt
Jan. 12, 1839..
F. B. Marvin.
62
184
w pt
July 18, 1839..
P . C . Sherman .
63
209
■M^t
July 18, 1839..
P . C . Sherman .
6^.
2uO
n pt
fan. 12, 1839. •
Fred. B. Marvin.
64
412
e pt
luly 18, 1839..
P . C . Sherman .
64
50
\v pt
June 27, 1857.
Michael Shea.
7^4 RECOLLECTIONS OF SARDINIA.
EARLY REMINLSCEXCES OF SARDINIA, AS RELATED BV THE
LATE GENERAL NOTT, AND GIVEX THE COMPILER BV
MR. S. H. NOTT, A S)N, TOGETHER WITH HIS OWX RE-
COLLECTIONS OF THOSE TIMES.
n the Spring of 1809, the Holland Land company engaged
Uncle Sumner Warren to open a wagon road from the Eastern
limits of the town, beginning on lot three and extending six
miles west, to lot sixty. The survey had been previously made
and marked by blazing the trees along the route. This road
was afterward called "The old Genesee Road," and Uncle's
duty was to cut the timber and clear it off wide enough to
allow a wagon to safely pass along without hindrance from
these obstacles, and no grading was done.
Early in June, 1809, Uncle began his work with a part}- of
four to assist him . The party consisted of Sumner Warren,
Jabez Warren, Asa Warren and myself. Our headquarters
were at Aurora, and Monday morning we left that little ham-
let armed with axes, handspikes and sufificient provisions to
sustain us two weeks. Our tools and commissary were stowed
into a cart improvised out of the forward wheels of a wagon.
Bread and baked pork and beans were to be chiefly our daily
rations, while our shelter was to be improvised wherever night
overtook us.
All being in readiness, Uncle's oxen were hitched to the
cart and we took our way southward ; after the first two miles
we were compelled to cut our way through an unbroken wil-
derness. Uncle would act as pilot ; two of us would handle
the axes, while the other would fetch up the rear with the o.xen
and cart . This would appear to man\- now-a-da)s as almost
an impossibilit}', to undertake to cut their wa\' through the
forests, yet we did and made nearly twelve miles the first day,
camping out that night on lot forty-seven, in the Town of Sar-
dinia, now owned by J. D. Carney, better known as the Cap-
tain Bigelow place. We pitched our tents, the blue heavens
o'er us, and built our camp-fire right where the orchard now
stands, and this was nearly three-quarters of a century ago.
We made our beds upon the ground and passed a very comfort-
able night, for our exertions that day had given us all a keen
RECOI.LKCTIONS oF SARDINIA. 785
relish for rest. The iie.xt morning-, all were up with the sun,
and after a hearty breakfast of bread, pork and beans, we broke
camp and proceeded on our way. About eleven o'clock that
day, we struck the line survey one mile west of Cole^rove's cor-
ners ; there we remained that day, doing our first work. The
ne.xt morning, we supplied ourselves with two days' rations,
and set out for the east end of the line, with the intent of work-
ing westward .
At that day and time of year, we found camp life very agree-
able. The woods abounded in game and the little streams
were filled with the most delicious of all the finn\- tribe — the
speckled trout. The game law was unknown, and wc were
not always compelled to confine ourselves to prepared rations.
We progressed nicely with our work, and the following Sab-
bath was ob.served as a day of rest ; although that night one
of the boys caught a splendid string of trout out of the little
brook that runs across lot three, and we enjoyed them for din-
ner.
On the second Saturday out we all returned to Aurora, to re-
plenish our stock of provisions, which was getting rather low.
The following Monday, all returned with the exception of my-
self. I was taken down with the mumps and tarried at home
until the next Saturday, when I started back for the camp
with fifty pounds of provisions across one shoulder and a six-
teen-pound rifle across the other. I had no difificult}' to find
the camp of the party, but it was unoccupied, and where the
boys had gone I did not know. In looking around 1 found a
piece of birch bark, that had this written across the smooth
surface with a sharpened stick : " Stay here until we return."
I had made up my mind to do as bidden, for I was somewhat
tired, having' traveled nearly twenty miles.
In stepping to the cart my eyes fell upon another piece of
bark with this legend written upon it : " Follow the trail west
until you overtake us." I heeded this and came upon them
just as they had got ready for supper. After doing this meal
ample justice, and being informed that there was a "deer-lick"
on the little brook just west of us, I again shouldered my rifle
and set out for it; I found that the Indians had constructed a
" bough house " or blind, where the hunter could watch the
31
786 RECOLLECTIONS OF SARDINIA.
" lick " and himself not be seen. I took possession, but my
vigil was short and richly rewarded, for just as the sun was
sinking beneath the western horizon I shot the largest buck I
ever saw. It was but a short distance from the camp, and the
report of my rifle brought the rest of my companions to the
rescue, and we had that " monarch of the forest " dressed and
in camp. The next day (Sunday) was spent in "jerking" the
venison, which, happily for us all, would be a change from salt
pork. That day we had a venison pot-pie for dinner. At that
day this kind of game was so abundant and tame in the forests-
that often they would come and feed with our oxen when
turned loose for rest and food at noon time.
Our camp cooking utensils consisted of one bake kettle, one
tea kettle that was used for a two-fold purpose, that of boiling
water and then brewing the tea, and a skillet or frying pan.
Each one was supplied \\'ith a tin cup and plate and knife
and fork. There was no washing dishes, for each one took
care of his own. The following day (Monday) we finished the
job, and then we turned back to where we had made our claims.
On the 27th day of June, 1809, at about 11 o'clock A. M., on
lot nineteen, near the road just south of the house of Newell
Hosmer, I made my first brush heap, and on the same day
Uncle Sumner and the boys, after partaking of dinner, went
east to Rice's Corners, near the brook, and went to chopping
on his claim.
INCIDENTS IN THE WAR OF l8l2.
Father was often called to the " lines," as he termed it. '\ith-
out a moment's' warning. Like Cincinnatus of old, he would
leave the plow standing in the furrow, or the crops of hay and
grain would be left suffering for the Avant of a gleaner. Just
east of the barn there grew six acres of winter wheat, ripe for
the sickle. Upon three successive Saturdays had father come
home to care for those who looked to him for protection, and
to secure the crop tiiat was to bread them through the long,
bleak winter, and as many Sabbaths had he been called back to
the field of duty. Even in those early days the Sabbaths were
observed with Puritan strictness. Religious meetings were held
in the log school house, or, weather permitting, in the woods
RECOLLECTIONS OF SARI)IXL\. 787
just below where the Baptist church now stands. Two ser-
mons each Sabbath were customary, one in the morning and
the other in the afternoon Upon one occasion mother says,
" after the morning sermon she saw all the people wending their
way homeward, and she concluded that the preacher was sick.
Awhile after she, having occasion to go to the door, was greatly
surprised to see the meeting folks reaping the wheat. Soon
one of the reapers visited the house for water, and she re-
quested him to return after performing his intended mission.
In the meantime she secured the fatling of the flock, and when
he presented himself she enjoined secresy and bade him dress
it. This was quickly done, and by the time he had the lamb
prepared she had the old stone o\'en ready to give it a warm
reception. About the time the reapers were gathering the last
sheaves mother visited the field 10 thank the men for their
kindness, and she also requested them to come to the house
as she had a little work to do that required united strength.
This they cheerfully promised. After assembling at the house
mother came to the door and requested them to step just back
of the house. Some seized hand-spikes, while others levied
upon the wood pile for instruments for assistance, and then
went bounding around the corner of the old log house. Imag-
ine their surprise, for instead of some ugly knotted log, mother
had fixed a table beneath some trees, and had as bountiful a
spread of goodies as the land afforded, with the fat lamb in the
center done beautifull}* brown. The cheers from those honest-
hearted men fairly made the dishes on the table tremble as they
gathered around the board. This little incident in after )-ears
Avas the connecting link in procuring my venerable mother her
pension."
On page two hundred and eighty one, of Mr. Johnson's
history, will be found a reference to the battle of Conjockety
Creek. As I have often heard my father relate the scenes
there, I will give them as he related them one night, while we
were boiling sap or making sugar. " In the afternoon we dis-
covered the British coming over to Squaw Island. We antici-
pated their movements, and that afternoon we took up all the
planks (we suppose meaning planks of bridge) and brought
them on this side, cut oak timber and hewed it on two sides,
788 RECOLLECTIONS OF SARDINIA.
then built breast works in front of the string pieces (meaning,
we presume, that the fort was built in front of the bridge, that
they had stripped of planks, and that the fortifications were to
prevent the British from crossing the creek, which the}- had to
do to lay siege to the village — Ed.) higher than our heads.
Turned a wing on each side of the bank of the creek about
breast high. Loop holes were cut that would just admit the
muzzle of a gun, ranging with the stringers, and we could also
bring a cross fire from the wings. After dark our spies dis-
covered the British landing down the ri\'er. Morgan's men
were stationed at the breast works ; I, with my men, about one
hundred — fifty or sixty rods below — guarding the road, we w^ere
in the woods just back from the road. About lo o'clock firing
commenced : could hear the British officer say : ' rush on my
brave boys ; ' could hear one after another tumble into the
water. They imagined they were firing too low, order was
given to elevate their guns. Soon the bullets went whizzing
through the limbs over our heads, they would cut off quite
large limbs. At about ii o'clock. Green, the Yorktown hero,
as he was called, stood by my side with his drum. A stray
buckshot struck me here (pointing to the place where he was
wounded) father carried that shot to his grave, at the same
time another struck the lower hoop of Green's drum, cutting
it nearly in two, and badly shattering the shell. Green was a
volunteer, although he had been in the regular service during
the Revolution, and played upon this drum at the surrender of
Cornvvallis at Yorktown. (This drum came into my possession
nearly fifty years ago, and I have it now just as it came out of
that battle). About 3 o'clock I- received orders to go to Mor-
gan's relief, soon after we got in position the firing ceased. No
negroes were ever blacker than Morgan's men, with the burnt
powder, as we discovered when daylight came. The famous
drummers, the Streeter brothers, John, Tom and Elia?, were
with Morgan during the battle. Between Elias and Morgan
there had been some misunderstanding. After passing that
night Elias stepped up to Morgan, raised his hat with his left
hand as he grasped Morgan with his right, giving it a hearty
shake, saying with much feeling, ' the old sore is all healed
now.' The next morning our breast works were found to be
RECOLLKCTIOXS OF SARDINIA. 789
one mass of lead. The trees back of the battery were all
seared and cut up by the balls. The night was exceedingly
dark."
A FOURTH OF JULY PARTY IX 1811.
THE FIRST OXF I\ SARDINIA OR THE ORKJIXAF TOWX OF
COXCORD, AT RICHMOND'S — GOIX(; WITH OXFX AND
SLEDS — AXOTHER FOURTH OF JULY I'ARl'V SEVENTY
YEARS LATER.
The Richmond famiK- and the Richmond farm and tax'ern
were well known to the settlers hereabouts, but many changes
have taken place and some explanations are necessary. The
Richmond famih' came here from Vermont in 1809, and located
on lots twenty-nine and thirty, township six, range six, which
lots are bounded south by the Cattaraugus creek. Their house
was built of logs and stood down near the creek, and as there
were no saw-mills in this region in 1809, it consequently was
built without lumber. The roof was of bark, and the floor was
split oat of basswood logs and hewed and fitted down. The
old Richmond place is now in the southwest corner of the
town of Sardinia. In 181 1 it was in the town of Willink and
in Niagara county. At that time there were about fifteen fam-
ilies in the present town of Sardinia, located mostly along the
Cattaraugus creek, and on or near the Genesee road, east of
Colgrove's Corners. At that time in the present town of Con-
cord there were about twenty families, located mosth' along
the Cattaraugus, on Townscnd hill, and in Springville. The
number either on the Cattaraugus or on Townsend hill was
greater at that time than it was in the present village corpora-
tion. In the present town of Collins there were then about
fifteen families and they were located mostly at or near Collins
Center, in Zoar, Gowanda, and Taylor Hollow.
A majority of the early settlers were young married people
whose children were few and young, but in the Richmond
family there were grown up sons and daughters. The father's
name w^as George, and he was about forty-five years of age.
The oldest child Frederick was twenty-three or twenty-four
years old — then there was Anna, Betsey, George, Jr., Louisa
and Sallv.
790 RECOLLECTIONS OF SARDINIA.
In 1811 the few roads here were cut out only wide enough
for teams to pass through, and they generally wound hither
and thither wherever they could get along most conveniently,
without regard to lot lines or points of compass. All the
settlers owned and used sleds, for they could make them, them-
selves, and could get through the v/oods easier with them than
with wagons. Only a few of the earliest settlers owned wagons.
They came to this 4th of July party in 181 1, with oxen and
sleds, some of them came at least ten miles. On the 4th of
July, 181 1, Fiddler's Green was unknown to fame and unnamed.
There were no fiddlers here then, and no green — that was be-
fore the event of the boss fiddler, David Leroy. David Ben-
sley, Truman Bensley and Mortimer Arnold had not yet ar-
rived. Tom Jennings, the fiddling shoemaker, had not yet put
in appearance. On the 4th of July, 1811, there was not a grist
mill, nor a saw mill, nor a store, nor a grocery, nor a school-
house, nor a meeting house, nor a lawyer, nor a doctor, nor a
preacher, nor a post-of^ce, nor a mail route, nor a newspaper
taken in the four towns whereof we write. There was only one
paper published west of the Genesee river, and that was a small
sheet at Batavia.
At that 4th of July party in 181 1, there were present besides
the Richmond family, Morton Crosby and wife, Christopher
Douglass and wife, David Shultes and wife, Bethuel Bishop
and wife, John Godding and wife, James Hinman, Sr., and
wife, Elijah Parmenter and wife, Giles Briggs and wife, John
Johnson and wife (from Arcade), Luther Thompson and wife,
Nehemiah Rodgers and wife, Capt. Charles Wells (his family
was not here), George Shultus, unmarried, William Shultus,
young bachelor, Dennis Riley, young bachelor, two other mar-
ried couples from a distance, names not remembered, John
Wilcox, a large boy or young man, and Miss Lovina Johnson.
The fiddler on that occasion was John Haskell, a brother of
Jonathan Townsend's first wife. He had arrived from Massa-
chusetts that Spring and was rusticating on Townsend Hill.
John was patriotic and liberal, and held himself in readiness at
all times when called upon, to " lay down the shovel and de hoe,
and take up the fiddle and de bow," and go and play for a 4th
of Jul)- part}' for a moderate compensation. '" '^' ''■'
RECOLLECTIONS OF SARUINLA. 79I
Some may feel disposed to doubt whether all the persons
named above would attend a 4th of July dance, but the fact
that they were there is obtained from an eye witness, and
while it is not claimed that they all danced, yet under the cir-
cumstances it was the most natural and reasonable thint^ in the
world for them to wish to assemble together on tiiat national
holiday and visit and have a good social time. Some of them
lived miles away from any neighbors, in the lonely forest where
for days, and perhaps weeks they saw no persons except mem-
bers of their own household. And there were then no religious
meetings, and no political meetings and no public gathering
of any kind, except log raising, and no newspapers to read.
Let us in imagination move back the hands of time just
seventy years, and remand the countr)- and the people here,,
back to their then condition. We are supposed to be young
men and stopping here. The morning of the 4th of July, 181 1,
has come. We have heard of the party down at Richmond's
and have concluded to attend. We have no horses and we
start on foot, through the woods, up the East Hill and on to
where Harrison Pingry now lives ; there is the first house and
James Hinman lives there His wife is ready and he is hitch-
ing up his cattle to go. We pass on through the forest and the
next house we come to is Bethuel Bishop's, located on the top
of the "breakers" where a few apple trees still stand, halfway
between the railroad and the wagon road, (railroads have not
been invented yet, but all the roads hereabouts are narrow-
gauge). Mr. Bishop and his wife are going to walk down. We
pass down the breakers, down the hill, out onto the flats, and
then near the banks of the " raging Cattaraugus," we arrive at
Richmond's house and tavern. Capt. Charles Wells lives next
east of Richmond's, John Godding on the next lot east of him,
and Commodore Rogers on the next lot further east. They
live near by and all walked down. John Johnson comes down
from Arcade with his oxen ; Giles Briggs from Rice's Corners,
in the east part of Sardinia, and another couple living further
east came down with their steers and sled ; David Shultus and
Christopher Douglass came up from near the Shultus bridge
(that is to be); Elijah Parmenter comes up seven miles from
792 RFXOLLECTIONS OF SARDINIA.
down towards Frye's ; Morton Crosby comes down from his
place a mile or two above. Some of them were acquainted with
each other " down east " and they meet each other with cordial
and heart-felt greetings.
About 4 o'clock P. M., they form on for a dance. The}' do
not dance round dances, but form in lines and " face their
partners." They do not dance the Spanish dance, nor the
Maznrka, nor the Schottische, nor the Zingarilla, nor any other
of those dances with jaw-breaking names, but they dance those
good old-fashioned down-country figures, such as the Monnie
Musk, Opera Reel, Crooked S, &c. They have no "calling,"
but " dance to the music." John Haskell has tuned up his
fiddle and " rosined the bow." All is ready and the Opera Reel
is the dance — the music strikes ?// and they strike /;/, the first
couple pass down the outside and back again, then join hands
and lead the center and back again, cast off next couple and
right and left first four, first couple balance and swing partners.
The first couple is Geo. Richmond, Sen. and wife ; he is older
than the others but dances well. That couple that comes to
the head is Morton Crosby and wife ; he is a strong and pow-
erful man but dances well. Now comes to the head George
Shultus ; he is tall and slini and not as heavy as the others, but
dances prett\' well. Now look at that couple see how lightly
they move, how supple they are, that is young Dennis Riley
and his partner is Anna Richmond ; Dennis is as limber as an
eel and Anna dances as nice as any ''school marm." Now look,
see, that small, nervous man that comes to the front now, is
Christopher Douglas ; watch him, he is excited, see him shave
it down, see him put in the double-shuffle. Look at those two
large boys, or young men over there ; see them watch the
dancers ; see how eager they look, and how anxious to have a
hand (or foot) in the dance. One of them is George Rich-
mond, Jr,, (not 0//?- George, but his father), and the other one is
John Wilcox. That small, eleven-year-old bo}- is Pearl Crosby,
and that little nine-year-old girl is Lucy Crosb\-, and mentally
she is taking notes, and they will be printed seventy years
afterwards. Over yonder sits Capt. Charles Wells, Mr. Hin-
man, Mr. Bishop, Mr. Parmenter and others, and converse of
the past and the prospects of the future. And thus while some
RFXOLLECTIONS OF SARDIXFA. 793
of them dance, others converse and visit, and <^// stay and enjoy
themselves till " daylight doth appear." All of that goodly
company that attended that Fourth of July party that Rich-
mond had in i8ii, have undoubtedly passed away, except the
two children mentioned above. Most of them lived and died
in this vicinity. Some of them were afterwards promoted to
responsible positions.
John Haskell, the pioneer fiddler of those parts, afterwards
lived in Collins a few years and from there went west where he
died. Dennis Riley was a Captain and served on the Niagara
frontier in the war of 1812-15 ; he moved away after a few
years. Morton Crosby served in that war, and afterwards held
the office of Justice of the Peace and Supervisor. Frederick
Richmond served in that war, was an officer, and was wounded,
afterwards was a Justice of the Peace, Supervisor and Brigadier-
General. Christopher Douglas was the first Justice of the
Peace hereabouts, and was side Judge and sat on the bench
when the " three Thayers" were tried for murder in Buffalo in
1825; he moved west nearly fifty years ago; twenty-three
years ago he was farming and keeping hotel in Wisconsin.
Seventy years after there was another Fourth of July party
in Sardinia.
First. This last party was not held at the house of George
Richmond on the Cattaraugus creek, but at the house of
George Andrews in Sardinia village.
Second. The first dance was in the lower and only story of a
lo'T-house with puncheon floor and bark roof. The last dance
was in the third story of a framed house with matched pine
floor and Mansard roof.
Third. They went to the first party through the forest, on
foot or on ox sleds. They went to the last party in buggies,
carriages and railroad cars.
Fourth. The musicians at the first party was oncX^zw Yankee,
sitting in the corner by the big Dutch fire-place. At the last
party there were six Germans, both fat and lean, sitting in a
row on the elevated platform.
Fifth. At the first party the music was made with a single
794 soldiers' record.
fiddle. At the last party they had first fiddle, second fiddle,
cornet, clarionet, trombone and bass viol.
Sixth. At the first party only eight or ten couples could
dance at a time, and only a dozen couples did dance at all.
At the last party ten times that number could dance at a time,
and more than two hundred and twenty-five c/zV/ dance in all.
Seventh. At the first part}- the attendants were mostly
youngerly married people. At the last part}' the}' were mostly
young and unmarried.
Eighth. At the first part} they danced old-fashioned dances
only, without calling. At the last party they had calling and
danced old-fashioned figures, quadrilles, fancy dances, etc.
Ninth. The bill of fare at the first party has not come down
to us, and of that we are not prepared to speak. But at the
last party the refreshments were excellent and abundant; and
were prepared and served in a proper and satisfactory manner.
Tenth. Seventy years hence there will undoubtedly again be
a Fourth of July party in Sardinia, but at whose house it will
be, or who will make the music, or who w ill participate in the
dance, or who will be there to report, this deponent sayeth not.
SARDINIA SOLDIERS' RECORD.
When disunion threatened the supremacy of the "old flag,"
'• Flag of the free hearts, hope and liome.
By angel hands to valor given" —
Sardinia sent out a goodly number of her sons to protect the
welfare of the nation. She was represented in twenty-eight
different regiments, although over one-third (33) of her soldiers
were in Companies C, F and D, of the i i6th New York Volun-
teers, The service which this regiment performed is perhaps
sufficiently familiar to the reader to need no relating here.
Many other regiments in which Sardinia was represented
also took an active part in the Rebellion.
The following list was compiled from a record in the Town
Clerk's office, prepared in 1865, for the bureau of military
record :
soldiers' record. 795
Note. — A star placed opposite a name indicates death in the service, and the person's name
will be fo.nd at the ilose in a list of the dead.
Andrews, Judson, i i6th N. Y. V., Co. C.
Baker, Joshua, Serg't, i loth N. V. V., Co. F.
Baker, Amander, 8th N. Y. Cav.
Baker, RusselL 5th N. Y. V.
Baker, David, drummer, i6oth N. Y. V.
*Beasor, Peter, 21st N. Y. V.
*Bond, Harrison, i i6th N. Y. V., Co. F.
Clark, Edwin, loth N. Y. Cav.
Case, John, 140th N. Y. V.
Crocker, Thomas B., 44th N. Y. V., Co. H.
Champiin, James H., Cor., 44th N. Y. V., Co. H.
Clair, Conrad, ii6th N. Y. V., Co. C.
*Childs, Henry, 94th N. Y. Inf.
"Crosby, Morton, 24th N. Y. Battery.
■"Crosby, David, ii6th N. Y. V., Co.F.
Davis, Byron, i i6th N. Y. V., Co. F.
Davis, LeRoy \V., ii6th N. Y. V.
Davis, Cyrus, 9th N. Y. Cav.
Davis, ,
Eddy, William, 14th N. Y. Heavy Artillery.
Eddy, Veloral, Cor., 44th N. Y. V.
Eddy, A. C, 44th N. Y. V.
Eddengton, Charles, ii6th N. Y. V., Co. C.
Ellis, Richard,
Freeman, Samuel, 78th N. Y. V.
Furman Silas, 169th Pa. Inf., Co. C.
*Furman, Ebenezer, ii6th N. Y. V., Co. C.
Fuller, James D., i i6th N. Y. V., Co, C.
Goodspeed, George C.
Gill, Wallace, Serg't., 44th N. Y. V., Co. H.
*Gill, Carlton. 90th N. Y. Inf.
Guyger, Ignots, ii6th N. Y. V., Co. I.
Hopkins, Emory C, ii6th N. Y. V., Co. F.
Hooker, Charles, i i6th N. Y. V., Co. F.
Hover. Jonathan, i88th N. Y. V.
James, Edwin, ii6th N. Y. V., Co. C.
Joslyn, Frederick, ii6th N. Y. V., Co. C.
796 soldiers" record.
Joslyn, Willis VV.. 104th N. V. V.. Co. C.
*Judd, George H., 4th N. V. V.
Kingsle)-. Jacob, 78th N. Y. V.
King, Philemon, ii6th N. Y. V., Co, F.
King, Chauncey, icoth N. Y. V., Co. A.
Nichols, Ira, ii6th N. Y. V., Co. F.
*Newton, Charles E.. 105th N. Y. V.
Nichols, Reuben, "Scott's 900th'" Cav.
Orr, George W., musician, 44th N. Y. V., Co. H.
Owens, David, ii6th N. Y. V., Co. C.
Pingrey, Edwin R., Ii6th N. Y. V., Co. C.
Pingrey, Robert H., ii6th N. Y. V., Co. F.
Pollitt, William, ii6th N. Y. V., Co. I.
Reynolds, Madison, Ser. ii6th N. Y. V., Co. F.
-"Rogers, Harry, 11 6th N.Y.V.,Co.F.
Runyan, Elbert, 11 6th N.Y.V., Co.F\
Stokes, James N., 185th N.Y.V., Co.H.
Stokes, Chauncey G., 187th N.Y.V., Co.E.
'-^Shultes, Stephen D., 54th N.Y Cav.
Sillenay James, 1 1 6th N.Y.V., Co.C.
Starkweather, Wallace, looth N.Y.V., Co. A.
Thomas, C. H., 5th N.Y.V. Cav.
*Thomas, Santford, 11 6th N.Y.V., Co. I.
Thomas, Andrew J., i i6th N. Y. V., Co. F.
Titus, Thomas J., 78th N. Y V., Co. G.
Van Slyke, "William, Lieut. 11 6th N. Y. V., Co.C.
Wilkes, Abram, 121st N. Y. V.
Wiser, John, ii6th N. Y. V., Co. C.
White, Dennis, i i6th N. Y. V., Co. C.
Wilber, Ebcnezer, 72d N. Y.V.
Wilber, Clark, looth N. Y. V.
Weatherlow, John, 28th N.Y.V., Co. I.
White, Theodore, looth N.Y.V., Co. A.
Weatherlow, John F., 28th N. Y. V., Co. P\
Zimmer, Peter, i 15th N. Y. V., Co. C.
SOLDIKKS KKCOKI) — ISAl'lIST ClirKCII. 797
LIST OF 'riiosr: who \\va<k kii.i.kd or dtkd in thk skrnick
Beasor, Peter, died in Sardinia, March 20, I S64.
Bond Harrison, died in hospital near Port Hudson, La.
Childs, Henr\-, killed Dec. I3tli, 1862, at l^attleof Fredericks-
burg^.
Crosby, Morton, died of starvation in .\nderson\ille prison,
July 14, 1864.
Crosby, David, died at Chicago, 111., July 10, 1864.
Firman, Ebenezer, died at F^ortress Monroe, Va., Dec. 4,
1862.
Gill, Carlton, killed Oct. 19, 1864, at the Battle of Cedar
Creek.
Judd, Cieorge H., died in Virginia, April 9, 1865.
Newton, Charles E., killed Aug. 30, 1862.
Rogers, Harry, died in Sardinia. Nov. 5, 1863.
Shultes. Stephen D., died at Macon, Ga., April 3, 1863.
Thomas, Santford, killed at Battle of W'hite Stone Plains,
La.
FIRST HAI'TIST CHURCH OF SARDINIA.
The society was organized March I, 1820, with twenty con-
stituent members. Meetings were held at different places
until 1829, when the present church edifice was built ; it was
dedicated Jan. 27, 1830; Rev. Elisha Tucker preached the
dedicatory sermon.
Stukley Hudson and Henr}- Bowen were tlie first deacons of
the society.
Revs. C)'rus Andrews, Mr. Blake and Thomas Baker preaclied
to the church until an engagement with regular pastors, as fol-
lows :
Whitman Metcalf, from 1825 to '33 ; Alfred Hand)- '33 to
'36; Anson Tucker, '36 to '^y ; Whitman Metcalf, '38 to '41 ;
Elbert W. Clarke, '41 to '45 ; Walter W. Brooks, '46 to 49;
R. P. Lamb, '50 to '53 ; O. J. Sprague, '53 to '55 : Ebenezer J.
Scott, '55 to 57; Walter G. Dye, '58 to '62; Clinton Colgrove,
'62 to '65 ; Joy Huntington, '65 to '67; E. L. Bejiedict, '68 to
'69; A. S. Kneeland, '70 to '74; D. Morse, '75 to '76; J. S.
Everingham, '76 to 78; E. C. Piamilton, '79 to '80 ; S. M.
Wheeler, '80 to '81 ; E. Burroughs, '81 to '83.
798 BENEFICIARY SOCIETIES.
BENEFICIARY ORDERS.
Sardinia has two beneficiary secret orders, as follows :
A. O. U. W., SARDINIA LODGE, NO. 238.
Organized May 10, 1879, with about twenty-five charter
members. The original officers were :
J. A McPhee, P. M. W.; M. A. Hopkins, M. W.; E. A.
Newton, G. F.; Clark Crosby, O.; Seward Sears, Recorder; D.
C. Williams, Fin.; Eugene Long, Receiver; W. Prester, G.; G.
E. Wood, I. W.; R. D. House, O. W.
Present membership, twenty-seven.
E. A. U., SARDINIA UNION, NO. 42.
Instituted Jan. 20, 1880, with twenty-five charter members.
The original officers were :
S. D. Kingsley, President ; George W. Strong, Vice-Presi-
dent ; M. W. Lankton, Sec: Russell Wells, Acct.; A. J. Adams^
Chan.; George P. Martin, Advocate; A. D. Dennison, Aux.;
O. P. Goodspeed, Treas.. Melvin Eastland, Chap.; W. B. An-
drews, Warden ; Samuel Lord, Sen.; Morris Goodrich, Watch-
man ;^Thomas Andrews, Conductor; Newel Osmar, Asst. Con-
ductor.
Present membership, 106.
SARDINIA.
LIST OF PERSONS WHO HAVE HELD TOWN OFFICE FROM THE
ORGANIZATION OF THE TOWN IN 1 82 1 UP
TO THE PRESENT.
182I.
Supervisor — Elihu Rice.
Town Clerk — Daniel Needham .
Assessors — Daniel Hall, John M, Adams, Morton Crosby.
Highway Commissioners — Giles Briggs, Benjamin Sanders,
Horace Rider.
Collector — Oliver Wilcox.
1822.
Supervisor — Benoni Tuttle.
Town Clerk — Ezra Nott.
'lOWN OKMCKKS. . 799
Assessors — Morton Crosb\', Willis W. Cornwall, Benjamin
Sanders.
High\va\' Commissioners — J. Lock, Horace Rider, David
Bigelow.
Collector — Jonathan Cot)k.
1823.
Super\Msor — Morton Crosby.
Town Clerk — Bela H. Coli^rovc.
Assessors — Daniel Hall, Frederick Richmond, Josiah Good-
rich.
Hii^hway Commissioners — Andrew VV. Shedd, Samuel Searles,
Benoni Hudson, Jr.
Collector — Jonathan Cook.
1 824.
Supervisor — Horace Clark.
Town Clerk — Daniel Needham.
Assessors — Daniel Hall, Willis W. Cornwall, Thomas N. Hop-
kins.
Commissioners of Highways — Ezra .Smith, Reuben Rider,
Richard Smith.
Collector — Jonathan Cook.
1825.
Supervisor— Bela H. Colgrove.
Town Clerk — Horace Clark.
Assessors — Daniel Hall, Dudley Clark, Thomas Hopkins.
Commissioners of Highways — Stephen Wait, David Bige-
low, Jabez Wecden.
Collector — Jonathan Cook.
1826.
Supervisor — Horace Clark.
Town Clerk — Daniel Needham.
Assessors — Benjamin Sanders, Frederick Richmond, Daniel
Hall.
Commissioners of Highways — Flint T. Keith, Stephen Waite,
Reuben Rider.
Collector — Jonathan Cook.
800 TOWN OFFICERS.
1827.
Supervisor — Horace Clark.
Town Clerk — Daniel Needham.
Assessors — Daniel Hall, Lemuel Leland, Benjamin Sanders.
Commissioners of Highways — Frederick Richmond, Flint T.
Keith.
Collector — Jonathan Cook.
1828.
Supervisor — Horace Clark.
Town Clerk — Daniel Needham.
Assessors — Lemuel Leland, Daniel Hall, Benjamin Saunders.
Commissioners of Highways — Edward Cram, Reuben Rider,
George S. Collins.
Collector — Jonathan Cook.
1829.
Supervisor — Horace Clark.
Town Clerk — Daniel Needham.
Assessors — Daniel Hall, Lemuel Leland, Benjamin Sanders.
Commissioners of Highways — Chauncey Pond, George Col-
lins, Suel Butler.
Collector — Jonathan Cook.
1830.
Supervisor — Horace Clark.
Town Clerk — Daniel Needham.
Justice of the Peace — Benjamin Sanders.
Assessors — Benjamin Sanders, Daniel Hall, Lemuel Leland.
Commissioners of Highways — Samuel Butler, George S. Col-
lins, Robert Hopkins.
Collector — Jonathan Cook.
1831.
Supervisor — George S. Collins.
Town Clerk — Henry Bowen.
Justice of the Peace — Frederick Richmond.
Assessors — Daniel Hall, Benjamin Sanders, Lemuel Leland.
TOWN OFIICKKS. 8oi
Commissioners of Ilii4li\vays — Klias Rodgcrs, Alba Briggs,
Robert Hopkins.
Collector- Duty Hudson.
1832.
Super\isor — George S. Collins.
Town Clerk — Henr)' Bowen.
Assessors — Jonathan Cook, Benjamin B. Jewett, Fred Rich-
mond.
Commissioners of Highways — Stephen Wait, Alba Carpen-
ter, Ezra Rodgers.
Justice of the Peace — Horace Clark.
Collector — Ezekiel Ballard.
1833-
Supervisor — Henry Bowen.
Town Clerk — George S. Collins.
Justice of the Peace — Thomas Collins.
Assessors — Jonathan Cook, Suel Butler, Mathew R. Olin.
Commissioners of Highways — Benoni Hudson, Reuben
Rider, Clark Nichols.
Collector — Ezekiel Ballard.
1834.
Supervisor — Henry Bowen.
Town Clerk — George S. Collins.
Justice of the Peace — Benjamin Sanders.
Assessors — Jonathan Cook, Mathew R. Olin, Suel Butler.
Commissioners of Highways — Reuben Rider, Benoni Hud-
son, Clark Nichols.
Collector— Ezekiel Ballard.
1835-
Supervisor — Henry Bowen.
Town Clerk — George S. Collins.
Justices of the Peace (to fill vacancy) — Daniel Stickney, Jr.,
Orrin Lewis.
Assessors — Suel Butler, Mathew R. Olin, Philip Miricle.
802 TOWN OFFICERS.
Commissioners of Highwaj-s— Daniel Hall, Clark Nicho Is
Reuben Rider.
Collector — James Cohvell.
1836.
Supervisor — Mathew R. Olin.
Town Clerk — George S. Collins.
Justices of the Peace — David Stickney, Frederick Crary.
Assessors — Suel Butler, Reuben Rider, Elias Rodgers.
Commissioners of Highways — D.ivid Hall, John Wilson,
John Howard.
Collector — James Cohvell.
1837.
Supervisor — Mathew R. Olin.
Town Clerk— -George S. Collins.
Justice of the Peace — Thomas Collins.
Assessors — Suel Butler, Elias Rogers, Reuben Rider.
Commissioners of Highwa}-s — Henry Bowen, Z. VV. F"uller,
John Howard.
Collector — James Cohvell.
1838.
Supervisor — Elihu Rice.
Town Clerk — Daniel P. Shedd.
Assessors — Elias Rogers. Benjamin Sanders, Robert Hopkins.
Commissioners of Highways — Horace Rider, William Pin-
grey, George Decker.
Collector — Alfred Briggs.
'fc)t>'
1839-
Supervisor — George Bigelow.
Town Clerk — Henry Bowen.
Justices of the Peace — PVed Ci'ary, Elias Rogers.
Assessors — David Hall, Andrew W. Shedd, Mathew R. Olin.
Commissioners of Highways — John W. Forgles, John Wilson,
George Richmond, Jr.
Collector — Horace Bailey.
TOWN OFFICERS. 805
1 840.
Supervisor — Bela H. Colgrove.
Town Clerk — Zaccheus W. Fuller.
Justice of the Peace — ^David Stickney.
Assessors — Klihu Rice, Fred Richmond, Benjamin Saunders,
Commissioners of Highways — Horace Rider, Seth Kings-
ley, George Decker.
Collector — Benjamin Johnson.
1841.
Supervisor — Bela H. Colgrove.
Town Clerk — Z. W. Fuller.
Justice of the Peace — Obediah J. Green.
Assessors— Seth Pomeroy, Roswell Frisby, Fred Richmond.
Commissioners of Highways — Horace Rider, George Decker,.
Seth Kingsley.
Collector — Benjamin Johnson.
1842.
Supervisor — Fred Richmond.
Town Clerk — Z. W. Fuller.
Justices of the Peace — David Stickney, Jr., to fill vacancy,
Moses R. Wheeler.
Assessors — Roswell Frisbee, Stephen Wait, Thomas Hopkins.
Commissioners of Highways — Eli Long, Josiah Andrews
Chancy C. Furman.
Collector — Hiram Crosb)\
1843.
Supervisor — George Bigelow.
Town Clerk— Z. W. Fuller.
Justice of the Peace — Fred Crary.
Assessors — Daniel Hall, Mathew R. Olin, Dudley Hopkins.
Commissioners of Highways — Joseph J. Hakes, Eli Long,
Suel Butler.
Collector — Hiram Crosby.
1844.
Supervisor — Fred Richmond.
Town Clerk — A. C. Needham.
804 TOWN OFFICERS.
Justice of the Peace — A. C. Needham.
Assessors — Roswell Frisbee, William Pingre)', Samuel
Weatheiiow.
Commissioners of High\\a}-s — J. J. Hakes, Charles Morse,
Thomas Hopkins.
Collector —Alfred Briggs.
Town Superintendent of Common Schools —Reynolds Til-
linghast.
1845-
Supervisor — -Bela H. Colgrove.
Town Clerk — Joseph Candee.
Justice of the Peace — O. J. Green.
Assessors — Roswell Frisbee, Horace Rider, Robert Hopkins.
Commissioners of Highways — Orson D. Simons, Charles
Morse, Joseph J. Hakes.
Collector — Nehcmiah Hopkins.
Superintendent of Common Schools -R. Tillinghast.
1846.
Supervisor — B. H. Colgrove.
Town Clerk — Joseph Candee.
Justice of the Peace— Amasa Porter.
Assessors — Nathan S. Parks, Robert Hopkins, Caleb Cutter.
Commissioners of Highways— O. D. Simons, Anson D. Sib-
ley, Joseph J. Hakes.
Collector — Ira Briggs.
Superintendent of Common Schools — R. Tillinghast.
1847.
Supervisor — Thomas Hopkins.
Town Clerk — Joseph Candee.
Justices of the Peace — To fill vacanc}', Alfred Briggs ; long
term, Chauncey Pond.
Assessors — Horace Rider, James Hopkins.
Commissioner of Highways — Warren Andrews.
Collector — Charles Long.
Superintendent of Common Schools — Edwin Kingsley.
'1()W\ OFFICKKS. 805
1848.
"Supervisor— Thomas Ho[)kins.
Town Clerk— Joseph Candee.
Justices of the Peace— H. Crosby, Benjamin Johnson.
Assessors — N. S. Parks, James Hopkins. RHhu Rice.
Hii^hway Commissioners — Anson 1). Sibley, Hiram Crosby,
Stephen Carney.
Collector — W'ilber Tillin^hast.
1849.
Supervisor — Joseph Candee.
Town Clerk — Welcome Andrews.
Justice of tile Peace —Roderick Simons.
Assessor — -James Hopkins.
Commissioner of Hit^hways — Hiram Crosby.
Collector — N. Hopkins.
Superintendent (^f Common Schools — none elected.
1850.
Supervisor — Henry Bowen.
Town Clerk — Andrew J. Adams.
Justice of the Peace — Seth Kingsley.
Assessor — Elihu Rice (three years).
Commissioner of Highways- -Stephen Carney (three years).
Collector — Phineas Golden.
Superintendent of Common Schools- -Alfred R. Bowen
(two years).
1851.
Supervisor — Joseph Candee.
Town Clerk — A. J. Adam.s.
Justice of the Peace — O. J. Green.
Assessor — Abram South.
Commissioner of Highways — Philemon Pierce.
Collector — Orson D. Simons.
Superintendent of Common Schools — none elected.
1852.
Supervisor — Joseph Candee.
Town Clerk — Clinton Col<rrove.
8o6 TOWi\ OFFICERS.
Justice of the Peace — Benjamin Johnson.
Assessor — George Marsh.
Commissioner of Highways — Hiram Crosby.
Superintendent of Common Schools — Alfred Bovven.
Collector — Phineas L. Golden.
1853-
Supervisor — Mitchel R. Loveland.
Town Clerk — O. P. Goodspeed.
Justice of the Peace — Roderick Simons.
Assessor — Ira Cook.
Commissioner of Highways — Royal Green.
Collector — P. L. Golden.
Superintendent of Common Schools — Cyrus Rice.
1854.
Supervisor — B. H. Colgrove.
Town Clerk — Daniel K. Whitaker.
Justice of the Peace — Amasa Porter,
Assessor — Franklin W. Wheelock.
Commissioner of Highways — Hazon Childs.
Collector — Lewis Hall.
Superintendent of Common Schools —none elected.
1855.
Supervisor — Seymour P. Hastings.
Town Clerk — William W. Loveland.
Justice — O. J. Green.
Assessor — George Marsh.
Commissioners of Highways — Hiram Crosby.
Collector — O. D. Simons.
Superintendant of Common Schools — J. F. Jackman.
1856.
Supervisor — M. R. Loveland.
Town Clerk — Clinton Colgrove.
Justice — Charles E. McCoy.
Assessor — Alfred Briggs.
Commissioner of Highways — A. D. Sibley.
Collector — P. L. Golden.
TOWN OFirCERS. 807
1857.
Supervisor — James Hopkins.
Town Clerk — Reuben Andrews.
Justice — Roderick Simons.
Assessor — F. W. VVheelock.
Commissioner of Highways — William Hall.
Collector — Jonathan Cook.
185S.
Supervisor^James Hopkins.
Town Clerk — Reuben Andrews.
Justice of the Peace — Seth Kingsley.
Assessor— B. Carne)'.
Commissioner of Highways — Ethan Olin.
Collector — Charles Rosier.
1859.
Supervisor — George Bigelow.
Town Clerk— R. Andrews.
Justice of the Peace — Stephen Shutts.
Assessor — Warren Andrews.
Commissioner of Highways — F. K. Davis.
Collector — David Butler.
i860.
Supervisor — George Bigelow.
Town Clerk — H. W. Simons.
Justice of the Peace — Benjamin Johnson.
Assessor — F. W'heelock.
Commissioner of Highwa}'s — No election.
Collector— George Andrews,
1861.
Supervisor — James Rider.
Town Clerk — H. W. Simons.
Justice of the Peace — S. Hobart.
Assessor — WMlliam Hopkins.
Commissioner of Highways — H. Bigelow.
Collector — Madison Reynolds.
8o8 TOWN OFFICERS.
1862.
Supervisor — James Rider.
Town Clerk — Jacob Weatherlow.
Justice of the Peace — Seth Kingsley.
Assessor — W. B. Andrews.
Commissioner of Highways — L. Briggs.
Collector — Charles Spencer.
1S63.
Supervisor — Welcome Andrews.
Town Clerk — J. H. Golden.
Justice of the Peace — O. P. Goodspeed,
Assessor — R. W. Vandusen.
Commissioner of Highways — O. D. Simons.
Collector — James B. Andrews.
1864.
Supervisor — W. Andrews.
Town Clerk — J. W. Weatherlow.
Justice of the Peace — John Reed.
Assessor — William Hopkins.
Commissioner of Highways — James Colwell.
Collector — Addison Wheelock.
1865.
Supervisor — W. Andrews.
Town Clerk — J. W. Weatherlow.
Justice of the Peace — S. Hobart.
Assessor — W. B. Andrews.
Commissioner of Highways — E. H. Stickney.
Collector — J. J. Colwell.
1866.
Supervisor — George Bigelow. •
Town Clerk— J. W. Wetherlow.
Justice of the Peace — S. D. Kingsley.
Assessors — R. W. Vandusen.
Commissioner of Highways — Alfred Rice.
Collector — R. Cutler.
TOWN oi"i<ri:rs. 809
1 867.
Supervisor — Gcoi\i;e Bigclow.
Town Clerk — Charles; C. Proctor.
Justice of the Peace — G. Bri<^^,s, to fill \'acanc}- ; William 11.
Cheeseman, long term.
Assessor — William Hopkins.
Commissioner of Highways— Alonzo G. Reynolds.
■ Collector — W. Graves.
1868.
Supervisor — W. Andrews.
Town Clerk — C. C. Proctor.
Justice of the Peace— G. Briggs.
Assessor — H. W'. Phelps.
Commissioner of Highways — N. Hosmer.
Collector — -W. Graves.
1869.
Supervisor — W. Andrews.
Town Clerk — C. C. Proctor.
Justice of the Peace — A. D. Sibley.
Assessor — A. Cornwell.
Commissioner of Highways- Alfred Rice.
Collector— H. Butler.
1870.
Supervisor — G. C. Martin, resigned; George Bigelow ap-
pointed to fill vacancy.
Town Clerk — J. Wetherlow.
Justice of the Peace— S. D. Kingsley.
Assessor — Jerome Rider.
Commissioner of Highways— Alfred Rice.
Collector — Edwin Carney.
1871.
Supervisor — Roderick Simons.
Town Clerk — M. Smith.
Justice of the Peace — James Rider to fill \acancy : G. Briggs
Ion*: term.
llO TOWN OFFICERS.
Assessor — Hiram Crosby.
Commissioner of Highways— Avery Briggs.
Collector — George Andrews.
1872.
Supervisor — Roderick Simons.
Town Clerk — J. Wetherlow.
Justice of the Peace — L. D. Smith.
Assessor — Asher Cornwell.
Commissioner of Highways — Peter Zimmer.
Collector — E. M. Sherman.
1873-
Supervisor — George Andrews.
Town Clerk — Marland Smith.
Justice of the Peace — L. D. Smith.
Assessor — Edwin Ward.
Commissioner of Highways — B. L. Johnson.
Collector — Clark Rider.
1874.
Supervisor — George Andrews.
Town Clerk— M. Smith.
Justice of the Peace — William Eastman.
Assessor — Clark Rider.
Commissioner of Highways — Eli Stone.
Collector--- P. Andrews.
1875-
Supervisor — Addison Wheelock.
Town Clerk — O. A. Tillinghast.
Justice of the Peace — R. Kingsley.
Assessor —Charles Russell.
Commissioner of Highways — D. S. Shedd.
Collector— Elbert Holmes.
1876.
Supervisor — A. Wheelock.
Town Clerk— A. W. Colgrove.
Justice of the Peace — Sidney D. Kingsley.
TOWN OFITCKKS. 8 1 I
Assessor — Samuel H. Howell.
Commissioner of Highways — Hiram Crosby.
■Collector — Charles D. Hopkins.
1877.
Supervisor — Hiram D. Cornwell.
Town Clerk — O. P. (joodspeed.
Justice of the Peace — A. Cutler.
Assessor — Joseph Gearfield.
Commissioner of Highways — Charles Long.
Collector— Albert Hall,
1878.
Supervisor — H. D. Cornwall.
Town Clerk — M. F. Hopkins.
Justice of the Peace — E. M. Sherman.
Assessor — H. A. Russell,
Commissioner of Highways — Luther Briggs.
Collector — Willarci Brink.
1879.
Supervisor — A. Wheelock.
Town Clerk — M, F. Hopkins.
Justice of the Peace— E. Ward.
Assessor — A. Hall.
Commissioner of Highways — C. Starkweather.
Collector— C. M. Rider.
1880.
Supervisor — None elected.
Town Clerk— M. Smith.
Justice of the Peace — S. I). Kingsley,
Assessor — Joseph Gearfield.
Commissioner of Highways — Alden Crosby.
Collector— Silas Smith.
1 88 1.
Supervisor — Luther Briggs.
Town Clerk — C. E. Bigelow.
Justice of the Peace — Asher Cutler.
8l2
THE TAX PAVERS.
Assessor — Aaron Carney.
Commissioner of Highways — Alden Crosby.
Collector — Ambrose L. Young.
1882.
Supervisor— Luther Briggs.
Town Clerk — Judson Andrews.
1883.
Supervisor —Charles M. Rider.
NAMES OF TAXABLE INHABITANTS.
Names of
Taxable Inhabitants.
Andrews, Josiah
Andrews, Josiah
Andrews, Josiah
Andrews, Josiah
Andrews, Josiah
Andrews, Josiah
Andrews, Josiah
Andrews, Robert (personal
Amidon, Simeon
Amidon, Simeon
Andrews & Cornwell
Butler, Sewel
Butler, John
Blakeley, David
Blakele}', David
Briggs, Esek
Briggs, Esek
Briggs, Esek
Briggs, David
Briggs, Gardner
Briggs, Allen
Briggs, Allen
Ballard, Joseph
Ballard, Misael
Ballard, Misael
27
26
43
45
20
43
15
17
44
43
20
20
28
29
55
28
37
28
37
38
12
6
216
47
65
116
59
89
100
48
49
16
205
97
21
50
81
50
72
80
TOO
81
25
97
97
84
$1646
432
285
434
236
500
560
500
232
22 1
500
1135
588
89
200
636
175
313
665
535
646
; 100
I 458
I 752
! 43"^
$17 78
4 <S(S
3 08
- r- T
2 55
5 40
6 08
5 40
2 50
2 39
5 40
13 34
6 35
96
2 16
6 87
I 8q
3 38
7 18
5 71
6 97
I 08
4 95
8 12
4 73
TIIK TAX I'AVERS.
TAXABLE INHABITANTS— Ct^wZ/wKe-^/.
813
Nami:s of
TaXAULK iMIAlilTANTS.
tn
0
J
C
0
0
7)
3
T!
'Xi
>
-yi
0
en
c
5
C
u
rt
0
0
(C
0
0
1— i
H
ca
<
H
Ballard. Misael
Bowen, Henry
Bo wen, Henry
Rovven, Henry
Bigelow, George
Bigelow, George (personal).
Bosworth, John
Bosworth, R. S
Bowen, Nathaniel
Blakelex', Stephen
Blakeley, David
Ballou, Levitt
Brewster, William
Barns, Hannah
Curtis, Joseph
Cutting, Hiram
Cornwell, Levinus
Carney, Elisha
Carney, Barnabas
Carney, Barnabas
Carney, Barnabas
Carpenter, Alba
Crosby, Parley
Crosby, Hiram
Crosby, Hiram
Crosby, San ford
Crosby, Charlotte
Colwell, James
Chamberlain, Phineas
Crocker, Andrew
Crary, Frederick
Crary, Frederick
Clark, Horace
Clark, Horace
Clark, H. & D
Child, Jacob
Child, Samuel
14
7
12
7
13
7
21
26
7
7
18
7
19
27
7
6
9
18
7
7
17
29
7
6
49
56
7
6
y:>
7
25
7
35
7
34
7
42
7
41
7
33
48
33
7
6
I
7
I
35
7
6
10
7
50
7
25
28
7
6
20
6
54
7
17
7
17
7
7
7
7
/
50
97
49
40
1 1
5
30
5
178 i
6
18
6
70
6
87
6
115
6
i
s
28
5
60
5
70
5
46
5
99
5
137
5
15
5
45
5
49
5
13
6
18
6
30
6
38
6
32
6
99
D
49
5
80
6
7*
6
I
5
62
5
50
D
3
5
30
5
24
; 150
752
379
175
275!
350!
365
1035
72
310
436
520
20
84
410
509
360
545
775
75
250
310
150
80
149
165
170
531
246
495
405
20
348
340
40
100
82
I 62
8 12
4 09
I 89
6 75
94
18
78
35
70
62
91
4 43
5 40
3 89
5 88
8 37
81
2 70
3 35
I 62
86
I 58
I 78
1 84
5 7Z
2 65
5 34
4 37
22
3 76
3 67
43
I 08
89
Si4
THE TAX PAVERS.
TAXABLE INHABITANTS— C^w/Zm?/^./.
Names of
Taxable Inhabitants.
•^
Colby, Winthrop ' 7
Colby, Giles , 7
Child, Hazen i 15
Crocker, Oscar F 15
Crawford, Franklin 23
Colby, Marvin 23
Child, Henry 23
Child, Henry 15
Conner, John 13
Conner, John 21
Carpenter, Lorenzo P 17
Carpenter, Lorenzo P 26
Colby, Ezekiel 23
Cornwell, Willis VV 17
Cornwell, Willis W 36
Collins, Thomas 17
Carney, Stephen 47
Carney, Stephen 36
Cheney, 48
Cutler, G. N 56
Cutler, Caleb 56
Colgrove, Bela H 52
Col<^rove, l-5ela H 3
Corbin, Hiram 22
Cotrel, John 22
Capwell, John G 20
Cook, Jonathan 4
Cook, Jonathan 6
Cook, Jonathan ' 43
Cook Jonathan 44
Cook, Jonathan 45
Dustin, Moses 7
Dake, John 23
Dawley, Albert 13
Dimmons, Truman 47
Davis, Manley 12
Davis, Jerome 57
c
0 1
nl 1
3 '
^■■'
^
en
__
QJ
rt
U
0
<
H
7
5
90
7
5
40
7
5
25
7
5
93
7
5
35
7
5
48
7
5
7
7
r
8
7
5
4 1
7
5
20 1
7
5
i
7
5
3
4
7
5
48
7
5
57
7
5
20
7
5
.•5
7
5
150
7
20
7
5
98
7
5
98
7
5
98
7
5
250
7
5
3
6
7
27
6
7
98
7
5
59
7
5
98
7
5
6r
7
4
97
7
4
50
7
4
130
7
5
65
7
5
41
6
7
74
7
5
60
6
7
30
7
5
49
5 285
135
75
350
140
217
58
28
16
60
80
140
217
427
100
1 10
745
100
309
304
492
1215
375
1 1 1
349
414
788
370
366
150
625
225
153
222
190
90
157
\ 3 07
I 45
81
3 78
1 51
2 35
63
30
17
63
86
1 51
2 35
4 67
I 08
I 19
8 04
I 08
3 34
3 28
5 31
13 12
4 05
I 20
3 77
4 47
8 51
4 00
3 95
1 62
6 75
2 43
1 65
2 40
2 05
97
I 70
THK TAX I'AVKRS.
TAXABLE INHABITANTS— C';///;//^v/.
815
Names of
Taxaiu.e Inhauitanis.
Edington, James. . . .
Eldridge, William . . .
EldridL,^e, H olden. . . .
Eldridge, H olden. . . .
Ellis, Francis
Ferrin. Francis
Frisbee, Roswell....
Ferrin, Francis
Ferrin, Francis
Firman, C. C
Firman, George
Firman, George
Fairchild, Horace. . . .
Farington, S. D
Farington, S. D
Freeman, Amasa. . . .
Fegies, John W
Ganfield, Isaac
Gibson, Parley
Gibson, Parley
Green & Candee . . .
Green & Candee ....
Green & Candee ....
Gleason, Cyrenus. . .
Goodspeed, Oliver. .
Goodrich, Josiah . . .
Goodspeed, Oliver. .
Goodemoote, John .
Goodemoote, Harr\'
Goodspeed, Prince. .
Gates, Labac
Graves, Erastus
Hickes, Chancey. . . .
Hardy, Ezekiel
Hardy, Perry E
Hardy, Perry E
Hopkins, Robert . . .
=^
3
47
55
47
29
13
22
13
13
14
22
1 1
19
6
14
37
2
59
20
21 i
17 j
18 ;
26 I
is!
'7 !
20 ;
9 1
26 I
28 I
25 '
30
30
26
42
50
49
/
6 I
6 i
6
6
6
6
6
6
6 i
7 I
7
7
7 I
7 I
6
6
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
6
6
7
6
7
6
7
7
7
7
/
5
5
5
6
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
5
5
5
r
5
7
7
r-
5
5
5
5
5
5
6
6
6
5
5
5
5
5
6
^
50 'S
48
49
49
74
24
47
229
80
30
38
80
84
25
147
6
25
21
78
8
, 1
17
87
49
100
96
9
50
75
30
40
59
49
106
150
154
157
'57
100
222
676
166
687
255
105
114
240
422
75
638
150
90
74
264
22c
275
200
850
263
454
340
560
303
100
365
262
155
256
181
186
730
I 62
I 66
I 70
I 70
1 08
2 40
7 30
1 79
7 41
2 75
I 13
1 23
2 59
4 56
81
6 89
1 62
97
80
2 85
2 43
2 97
2 16
9 18
2 86
4 90
3 67
6 05
3 27
1 08
3 94
2 83
1 67
2 76
1 95
2 00
7 88
8i6
THE TAX PAYERS,
TAXABLE INU ABIT ANTS— Coniinued.
Names of
Taxable iNHAiiiTANTs.
1 o
,
1 '-'
o
o
ni
c
^
C-.
rt
•a
^
W
in
>
c«
0
o
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u
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27
59
6o
59
56
5
1 1
Hopkins, Robert , 58
Hopkins, Dudley
Hurd, Burlin
Hopkins, James M
Hopkins, Nehemiah
Hopkins, Thomas N.. . .
Hopkins, Thomas j 19
Hopkins, Thomas | 43
Hill, Laura
Hall, Daniel
Hall. Daniel.., -.
Hall, William 6
Hall, William i 14
Holmes, Thomas 10
Hastings, Chancey 18
Hastings, Chancey ' 35
Hastings, Chancey | 35
Hastings, Chancey { 17
Hudson, William ^6
Hudson, Silas W | ^6
Hubbard, Frederick 26
Hosmer, John B 19
Hosmer, John B | 53
Hopkins, Hannah | 26
Hauver, Peter j 28
Hauver, Peter I 37
Hauver, Peter 36
Hauver, Philip > 37
Hudson, H euben | 29
Hyde, William 1 38
Hudson, Samuel 20
Hardy, Stephen 46
Johnson, Benjamin 55
Jewett, Almond V 45
Johnson, Mordecai 56
J ohnson, Richard : 56
Jones, Daniel C , 18
7
t
5 i
7
■^
6
6 !
7
5 i
7
5 !
7
5
7
5
7
5 i
7
5
7
5 i
7
5
7
5
7
5
7
r*
0
I
5
7
5
7
5
7
5 i
7
5
7
5
7
5
7
5
7
5
7
5
7 ^
5
7
5
7
5
7
5
/
^
56
126
100
130
172
50
76
50
116
345
55
48
48
53
60
75
i
4
32
60
94i
59
J.
4
80
49
50
23
60
98
50
55
116
70
36
JO
5
$ 264
$ 2 85
600
6 45
613
6 46
600
6 48
676
7 30
290
3 13
475
5 13
220
2 38
464
5 07
2465
27 70
355
3 «3
290
3 13
208
2 25
463
5 00
1 105
15 72
465
5 02
340
3 67
50
54
i3«
I 49
280
3 02
40
43
550
5 99
266
2 87
40
43
610
6 59
270
2 92
220
2 38
107
I 16
370
447
260
220
514
410
133
152
75
4 00
4 83
2 81
2 38
5 55
4 43
I 43
I 64
81
11 li; TAX TAVKKS.
817
TAXABLE INHABITANTS— rV/iZ/M/^iY/.
Namks ok
Taxahle Inhabitants.
Kietsby, Martin . . . .
Kietslcy, Andrew . .
Kinder, Jacob
Kingsly, Fanny
Kin^^sley, Seth
Kietli, Luke
Kimball, John . . . • .
Lafferty, Daniel. . . .
Long, Eli
Long Eli
Ledoit, James
Long, Joseph
Long, Joseph
Long, Charles
Long, Reuben
Long, Reuben
Longmaid, William.
Morse, Charles. . . .
Morse, Charles
Madison, Obediah.. .
McCoy, John
Madison, George. . . .
McKeen, David . . . .
Marston, James
Marston, James C. . .
Mar.ston, Levi
Marsii, George
Marsh, George, Jr. . .
Nott, Ezra
Nott, Ezra
Needham, Daniel. . .
Nichols, Clark
Nichols. Clark
Nichols, Caleb
Nichols, Caleb
Nichols, Amos
Norton, Ichabod . . .
32
15
15
16
23
22
30
7
-> -»
JO
25
18
48
26
44
36
26
^6
23
48
21
61
17
50
50
49
49
10
18
18
:>
9
10
27
10
c
0
cfl
tn
^
a.
'Z
J=
c
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c
«5
as
><
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0
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H
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i-
7
6
49
162
I 75
7
6
40
120
I 30
7
6
48
222
2 40
7
5
48
261
2 82
7
5
170
905
9 77
7
S
50
175
I 89
7
5
73
322
3 48
7
5
39
234
2 74
7
5
1
4
'•5
I ,24
7
5
1
4
'13
I 24
6
S
86
355
3 83
7
5
29
260
2 81
7
5
119
590
6 37
7
5
50
230
2 48
7
5
60
5>o
5 51
7
5
SO
225
2 43
7
5
If
60
65
7
6
98
472
5 10
7
6
50
150
I 62
7
S
95
460
4 97
7
6
72
246
2 65
7
6
50
155
I 67
7
5
ii
4.
100
1 08
7
5
48
250
2 70
7
S
1 1
100
1 08
7
5
59
256
2 76
7
5
36
189
2 04
7
89
411
4 44
7
3
113
868
9 38
7
5
46
230
2 48
7
.S
94
709
7 62
7
5
1 12
876
9 37
7
5
96
384
4 '4
7
5
180
1255
13 55
7
S
31
164
I 77
7
5
95
640
6 91
7
6
49
188
2 03
8i8
THE TAX r.VVERS.
TAXABLE INHABITANTS— Continued.
Names of
Taxable Inhabitants.
«)
o
J
C
o
o
as
£
Q,
H
c^
v
.
>
tn
so
c
«;
ni
O
o
Oj
u
O
J
H
i:*^
<
H
Norton, Joseph i
Olin, Mathew R
Olin, Mathew R
Pierce, Philemon
Peckham, Audley
Feasor, Adam
Feasor, Adam
Feasor, Peter
Feasor, Christian
Feasor, Christian
Park, William
Park, William
Park, William, (personal). . .
Fomeroy, Seth
Plucker, Daniel
Flucker, Levi
Parmenter, Amos B
Porter, Amasa
Putnam, William
Putnam. William
Feavee, Israel
Pond, Chauncey
Pond, Chauncey
Pingry, Eleanor
Fingry, \\' illiam
Pingry, Aquilla
Parker, L. W. & S. Barton.
Putnam, Williard
Runion, Drucilla
Russell, Mr
Rogers, Elias
Rouse, Simeon
Rice, Joseph
Rice, Joseph
Rice, Elihu
Rice, Elihu
Russell, William
lO
7
6
34
7
5
33
7
5
5
7
6
S
7
6 i
24
7
6
i6
7
6
24
7
6 i
24
7
6
24
7
5
15
7
6
14
7
6
13
7
5
15
7
5
15
7
5
15
7
5
15
7
5
i8
7
5
i6
7
5
25
7
5
SI
6
6
9
7
6
57
7
5
5«
7
5
49
7
5
I?
7
6
41
7
5
48
6
5
40
7
5
13
7
5
10
7
5
2
7
5
9
/
5
2
7
5
42
7
4
54
7
6
99
126
32
98
50
32
74
32
32
62
99
99
45
42
44
52
15
60
50
1
4
69
70
138
78
48
50
59 i
180 !
100
98
4
200
67
295
20
150
S 416
7998
185
259
150
II I
222
1 1 1
1 1 1
186
566
332
100
2;2
126
132
176
95
485
350
60
386
245
523
538
242
200
i75
900
300
628
120
1620
400
1920
100
7CO
iS 4 49
j 8 62
'• I 99
2 88
I 62
1 20
2 40
I 20
1 20
2 00
6 II
3 58
1 08
2 72
1 36
I 42
I 90
1 02
5 23
3 78
65
4 16
2 64
5 65
5 81
2 61
2 16
I 89
9 72
3 24
6 78
I 30
17 50
4 32
20 04
I 08
7 56
THK TAX I'AVKKS.
TAXABLE INHABITANTS -Contitnud.
819
Names of
Taxaulk Iniiabhants.
Reed, Lewis .
Reed, Daniel
Randal, James
Rider, Reuben
Rider, Horace
Rider. Horace
Rider, Horace
Richmond, Frederick
Richmond, George.. .
Richmond, George.. .
Richmond, George.. .
Reed, William 20
20
20
12
58
42
25
18
29
30
27
64
Rogers, Philena 33
Rogers, Alanson 5°
Rogers, Alanson 49
Reynolds, Ira ^7
Randal. Jesse 33
Randal, Lewis 40
Rosier, Alonzo 5^
Rosier, Charles 57
Sears, Charles 25
Smith, Isaac 33
Smith, Richard 33
Snyder, George 4^
Snyder, George 42
Snyder, Peter 5^
Starks, Abraham '8
Simons, Roderick | 53
Simons, Orson D | 3
Simons, Jonathan 1 H
Simons, Jonathan 23
Scott. John 1 15
Streeter, Elias 23
Simons, Nathaniel i 20
Simons, Nathaniel j 53
Shedd, Daniel ? j 9^
Strong, Henry ' '7
o
H
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
6
6
6
6
6
7
7
7
7
6
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
/
7
7
c
0
_^
a
— '
«
r--
in
4J
"rt
es
U
0
Oi
<
^
6
6
6
6
5
5
5
5
6
6
6
5
6
5
5
6
5
6
6
6
5
5
5
5
5
5
6
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
3/ v?
25 i
25 ;
30 I
99 I
244
232 I
5
123 I
53
58 i
50 i
50
98
29 I
96 j
64
21
70
70
149
39
28
55
34 !
59
148
50
49
50
2^
50
3
38
50.
21;
1 1 1
75
70
90
660
1 140
1542
150
695
610
335
240
150
442
101
484
383
200
265
255
lOCO
3 CO
175
235
220
177
742
2 CO
369
175
40
/ ^
150
250
2CO
50
1600
I 20
Si
76
97
0 13
I '> 1\
1- 0'
16 65
I 62
7 50
6 59
3 61
2 59
I 62
4 77
I 09
r Ty
:> --
4 13
2 16
2 86
2 75
10 80
3 24
I 89
2 53
2 38
I 91
8 01
2 16
3 99
) 89
43
I 89
I 62
2 70
2 16
1 '/
54
17 28
820
THE TAX PAVERS.
TAXABLE I NHABITANTS— C^«//«w^^.
Names of
Taxable Inhabitants.
Strong, Henry
Strong, Henry
Shedd, Andrew W
Shedd, Benjamin
Stickney, David
Speas, Henry
Spencer, Asaph
Spencer, Asaph
Stafford, Stuckley
Scott, Ed\yard
Scott, Edward
Shepherd, Richard
Shepherd, Samuel
Stone, FrankHn
Smith, Wilham P
Smith, William P
Sibley, Anson D
Thompson, Josiah
Thomas, William
Thomas, William
Tillinghast, Gideon W. . . .
Thompson, Andrew
Tillinghast, B. W
Thurber, Allen
Thurber, Seymour
Thomas, Joseph
Thomas, James
Vandusen, John
Vandusen, John
Wilson, Benjamin. Jr
W'ilson, Benjamin, Jr
Wilson, Benjamin, Jr
Wilson, Benjamin Jr
Wilson, Benjamin, Jr., per
sonalty
Wilson, Benjamin, Jr
lo
35
38
39
29
24
20
24
53
62
59
51
55
19
27
H
52
60
51
47
14
26
32
17
15
8
4
12
1 1
1 1
C
0
ctf
D
rt
>
bO
<i)
rt
u
u
0
""
<
H
7
5
7
5
7
5
7
5
7
5
7
6
7
6
7
6
7
6
7
5
7
5
7
5
7
5
7
5
7
6
7
6
7
6
7
5
7
5
7
5
7
5
7
5
7
5
6
6
8
6
19
14
100
6U
58'
157
30
88
40
50
75
98
94
97
148
99
60
50
76
100
60
25
48
152
73
49
16
10
98
100
250
167
100
55
44
160
550
360
213
1075
100
452
120
150
360
314
441
453
682
380
235
185
334
350
270
1 10
178
1032
315
21 1
130
50
423
300
1815
1115
430
355
700
^00
1 73
5 94
3 89
2 30
1 1 61
I 08
4 88
I 30
1 62
3 89
3 39
4 76
4 89
7 36
4 10
2 53
2 00
3 60
3 78
2 92
I 19
1 92
11 15
3 40
2 28
I 40
54
4 57
3 24
19 60
12 04
4 64
3 83
7 56
3 24
Till". TAX PAVERS.
TAXABLE INHABITANTS-C^«^/««'''^'-
821
Namus of
TaXAIU.K INIIAIUTANTS.
Wetherlow, Samuel | 1 i
Wetherlow, S., personalty
Wood, Monroe. . . ^
Wood. Benjamin G
White William
Wetherbow, Peter E
Wilson, Philester | o
West, Isaac
5 ^11
3«
39
39
Wetherbow, Milo
Wheeler, M. R
W^heeler, M. R.
Wetherbow, J. W
Winchel, Jacob
Wilkes, John
Wilder, Charles
Wright, Reuben
Wilkes, Joseph
Wilkes, Joseph
Wilkes, Rufus
Wilcox, Charles
Worthington, Squire
Wilson. Stephen
Wilson, John
Wlielock, P:iijah
Whiting, Joseph H
Wilson, William
Wait, Stephen
Zimmer, Daniel
Zimmer, Peter
Boyd, James and Harlow.
Boyd, James and Harlow.
Burbank, Fbcnezer
Burt, R. S
Bond, Eleanor
C , Charlotte
15
23
23
23
22
10
9
I
I
56
16
16
12
1 1
51
51
16
24
I I
19
3«
20
I
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
Cornwell 3"
Simmons. R(Klerick I7
5
5
5
5
5
S
5
5
5
5
5
5
6
6
6
6
6
6
5
6
6
6
6
5
5
6
6
5
5
5
5
5
6
5
60 I
68 !
68 '
108 j
50 ;
10 1
97 1
50 I
190
98
30 1
73
49 '
114 j
2
98 I
55
56 I
119
47
248
265
; 47
100
• 25
25
73
24
38
50
27
130
3/8
272 1
14 82
lOOj
240
3 59
248
2 68
248 '
2 68
510
5 51
250
2 48
215
2 32
150
I 62
500 i
5 40
230 1
2 48
610
6 59
743 j
4 10
150
I 62
362 :
3 91
261
2 82
591
6 38
75
81
334
3 60
307
3 3^
203
2 19
446
4 81
218
2 36
1092
II 80
938
10 13
25H
2 79
465
5 02
75
86
80
86
628
6 78
108
I 16
177
I 91
300
3 24
25
27
128
I 38
600
6 48
100
I 68
822
THE TAX PAYERS.
NON-RESIDENT TAXABLE INHABITANTS.
Non-Resident,
North side
South-east part. .
South-west corner
North side
East middle part .
North part
North
North middle part
South-west corner,
Lot
North middle. . . .
Part lot
West part
North middle part
North part
North side
West middle part ,
West part lot ... .
West part
North part
West part
South-west part . .
Lot
South-west part . .
North-east part . . .
West middle lot . .
Lot
Lot
West part lot . . . .
Middle part lot. . ,
Lot
Lot
West part
East part
Part
West middle part .
South part
14
H
21
21
29
30
31
37
38
40
46
38
52
53
54
48
59
60
57
61
62
63
64
39
39
I
3
4
5
5
6
71
81
81
91
10
1 1
50
$ 150
$ I 62
25
75
81
62
186
2 00
173
519
5 61
50
150
I 62
21 I
633
6 83
350
1850
II 34
59
177
I 91
i3«
414
4 47
316
948
10 24
100
300
3 24
58
174
I 88
25
75
81
1 12
336
3 62
120
360
3 89
100
300
3 24
75
22c
2 43
100
300
3 24
170
510
5 40
344
1032
II 15
290
870
9 40
309
927
19 01
411
1233
13 32
130
310
4 21
100
300
3 24
120
360
3 89
325
975
10 53
334
1005
10 85
50
150
I 62
70
210
2 27
331
993
10 72
321
963
10 40
116
348
3 76
116
348
3 76
170
510
5 51
ISO
450
4 86
120
360
3 89
TIIK TAX TAVKKS. 823
NON-RESIDENT TAXABLE INHABITANTS— C^«//«m/</.
Non-Rksident.
South-west part 12
South-east part 14
South-east part 16
Middle part j 17
North part I 19
South-west part ! 20
South-west part I 23
South-west part ■ 24
62 1$ 186 ']$ 2 00
80 ! 240 I 2 59
97 1 291 3 14
100 300 3 24
180 540 5 83
150 450 i 4 86
158 I 474 i 5 12
50 ! 150 j I 62
114565 I157 19
BI0(;RAPHV of dr. B. H. COLGROVE and INCIDENTS RELATING
TO THE HISTORY OF SARDINIA, COMPILED FROM DISCON-
NECTED EXTRACTS FROM THE DOCTOR'S DIARY.
"According to the record preserved in my father's family
bible, and copied into my own, I was born in Coventry. R. I.,
April 2, 1797.
'' My parents were farmers, and after I attained a proper
age my Summers, till I reached the age of sixteen or seven-
teen, were occupied in the employments usual on a farm, and
my Winters in a good district school. I remember, however,
to have engaged to teach a Winter school at the rather early
age of fifteen years, for which I was judged qualified by pass-
ing that ordeal— an examination before the Trustees by the
School Inspector. My father permitted me to use the money
earned by teaching in the Winter to defray my expenses in the
ensuing Fall at an academy. In addition to my common
school education, this gave me the benefit of something like a
year of academic study. My first efforts in school teaching
were in a district comprising within its boundaries several of
the best and wealthiest inhabitants of my native town. My
wages were about twelve dollars a month — very few teachers
824 RECOLLECTIONS OF SARDINIA.
received more at that time. I was able to so acquit myself
that I was engaged for the next Winter in the same place. with
an addition of two or three dollars a month to my wages.
At the age of fifty-fi\-e years and five months I resolve to
keep a diary; wonder if I shall keep m\- resolution! I regret
now that I did not begin when young to keep a record of daily
occurrences through a period of nearly three score years, many
of which are doubtless obliterated from the mind by time's in-
cessant and resistless current. Methinks these would now pos-
sess much of interest to myself if not to others.
A few manuscript fragments left by my venerable mother
have for me thrilling interest. How these relics of maternal
piety, now scarcely legible, carry me back to the scenes of my
infancy and boyhood, where she taught me to lisp my earliest
prayer as I knelt beside her old arm chair ; and I love to in-
dulge the thought that the spirit of my sainted mother has
ever hovered about my pathway through life, and been God's
agent in preserving my life in seasons of imminent peril. Am
I to believe that maternal love, which has no parallel on earth,
is annihilated at the spirit's transition from earth to heaven ?
My mother's maiden name was Nancy H. Corwin ; she was the
second wife of my father, and I her only child ; she was a most
amiable and pious woman ; She came to the care of five moth-
erless children of my father by his first wife, whose ages ranged
from two to eight or nine years. I can ne\'er think without
deep emotion of the wise counsels, the deep and intense ma-
ternal affection and solicitude with which my most excellent
mother assiduously sought to impress on my young mind
moral and religious truth, and e.xcite in me noble aspirations
for honorable distinction in the world.
My father was a good man ; was for many }'ears Justice of
the Peace, and my youthful impression of him was that he was
not so decidedly pious as was my mother. My father died in
1811, a little before I was twenty years old. 'Sly mother died
some three years after. " " " * "^ -
Archibald Grififith, of Concord, who has recently ver\' gener-
ously endowed the Springville academy, by which it has
acquired the name of Griffith Institute, was a companion of
RKCOI.I.KCTIONS OK SARDINIA. 825
my schc)ol-b()}' days, aiul was a nati\'c of Foster, a town adjoin-
ing Coventi}-.
About 1 8 16 I commenced to learn the medical profession in
the office of Dr. Thomas Hubbard, of Pomphret, Conn. Dr.
H. at that time was at the head of the profession in all that
region of countr)', especiall\' as a surgeon. He was one of the
noblest specimens of manhood, ph)\sically as well as mentally,
that I remember ever to have seen. In the latter period of his
life he receixed the appointment of Professor of Surgery in
Yale college, where he died about 1840. I had a fellow-student
in his office, George McClellan, father of the present Gen.
George B. McClellan. and with him was a member of the med-
ical class in the University of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia in
the session of 18 18-19. ^ received tlie degree of Doctor of
Medicine the Spring following from the College of Physicians
and Surgeons in the Cit}' of New York : a cop\- of my diploma,
which was in Latin, was recorded in the County Clerk's office
in Buffalo by Jacob A. Barker, Clerk. I attended two courses
of medical lectures, one at Philadelj^hia in 1818-19, and New
Haven, 18 17-18. The old Universit)^ of Pennsylvania at this
period was regarded as the fountain head of American medical
literature. M}- fellow-student. McClellan. grew to be a \'ery
distinguished surgeo n ; wrote a book on surgery, but died be-
fore he finished it, leaving behind a name and fame surpassed
b}' few in the profession. His success was the result of indom-
itable perseverance and a most happy power to surmount and
remove obstacles. I remember and record with pleasure many
acts of personal kindness and courtesy from McClellan while
we were fellow students at Philadelphia.
I came to this town (Sardinia) Jul\' 3, 1820, at the instance
principally of my friends, Elihu and Joseph Rice and Henry
Bowen ; we had been neighbors in Rhode Island. Joseph Rice
and I emigrated at the same time, and for several days we tra\--
eled in company on our journey hither, he with a pair of
horses, wagon-load of goods and wife, and I with a single horse
and buggy and no wife. The country was very new, the first
settlement being made about 1810; the roads bad, houses
mosth' log cabins and the prospect, as I first thought, rather
826 RECOLLECTIONS OF SARDINL\.
cheerless as a location for a doctor. The news that a new doc-
tor was expected had spread somewhat extensively, and on the
4th, Independence Day, I had a call or two. My first patient
was a son of Ezekiel Smith ; he had fever, and was in charge
of Dr. Varney Ingals, of Springville, then called " Fiddlers'
Green." The doctor and myself disagreed as to the treat-
ment. He was giving him tonics. I thought he ought to be
bled and have a cathartic. The consequence was that the
patient was entrusted exclusively to me; he soon recovered.
My calls multiplied rapidly and within a few years my circle
embraced a territory about thirty miles in diameter, with occa.
sional trips into Northern Pennsylvania, a distance of seventy-
five miles. It required almost herculean strength to meet with
anything like decent promptness the incessant demands of pro-
fessional labor, and for much of the time the use of two or
three horses.
I had the good fortune to buy a black horse brought from
Otsego county by Mr. Horace Rider, called the " Captain," a
most extraordinary animal. For speed, capacity of endurance
and uninterrupted health and intelligence I have never seen
his equal. He was, beside being my family horse, the compan-
ion of my professional travels for about twenty years, and for
his fidelity as my servant deserves a better monument than this
hasty tribute to his memory. He died on the farm at the
advanced age of near thirty years after serving as m)' locomotive
for the distance in the aggregate of some 150,000 miles." * *
I think I must have treated during the almost fifty years that
I have practiced, some twenty-five or thirty cases of fractured
skull ; many of them as bad as was Wetherel ; all but two or
three of which recovered. I must have amputated as many
arms and legs, with nearly the same success.
By an imperfect list which I preserved for a good while I
must have aided professionally at the birth of over three thous-
and children. Among the number was one case of four living
children at one birth. Neither of the infants had sufficient
vitality to live. "'•" "^' *
In my professional and formal intercourse with m}- medical
brethren I ever aimed to preserve the Esprit dc corps of the
profession. That I sometimes gave offense I fear and now
RKrOLI.F.CTIOXS OV SARDIMA. ^^7
regret. Some of the warmest and most enduring personal
friendship grew up between myself and some of my medical
brethren. A nobler man than Dr. Carlos Kmmons I never
knew. From our respective locations we were necessarily
rivals for patronage, yet for forty long years not a jealous or
unkind thought ever marred an uninterrupted and fraternal ex-
change of kind offices, and I can never, while life lasts, cease to
remember with the deepest emotion his tntc; faithful and
unfaltering support through evil as well as good report.
1 bought the farm where I have since resided of Mr. Andrew
Crockerrin 182 1. There were on it at that time two log
buildings— one a dwelling house near where my son Clinton
now lives, the other a joiner shop near where my office is, The
latter was for sometime on Sundays the Baptist meeting-house,
in which Deacon Stephen Pratt, Deacon Colby and Elder Ham-
mond used to preach. About 1823 or 1824. I built a small one.
and-a-half story house where the shop stood.
I was married to Elvira Ives Oct. 26, 1825, and commenced
house-keeping soon in that house. There my two eldest
children, Clinton and Eliza, were born. About 1827 or '28 I
had made the acquaintance of Doctors Marshall and Trow-
bridge, of Buffalo, and they invited me to a partnership with
them in the village of Buffalo. We signed the articles and I
moved to that place and commenced business with themunder
auspicious prospects. But after about six or eight months-
residence there my companion with failing health and depressed
spirits preferred to return to our country home, and the arrange,
mentson which I had staked high hopes of distinction were
abandoned by the mutual consent of the parties.
About this time I was twice a candidate for the office of
Member of Assembly and fortunately, as 1 now think, was
defeated at both trials. My f^rst competitor was Calvin Fil-
more, my second Reuben B. Hancock. I felt myself suffi-
ciently complimented in receiving every vote in my own town
and large majorities in three adjoining towns where I was best
known.' In 1841 I was elected to that office and have served
the town as Supervisor for some six years. And in my poor
way filled the office of Associate Judge for several years ; yet my
political honors and preferments furnish me little satisfaction
828 RECOLLECTIONS OF SARDLMA.
in review, having never felt myself at home in any station or
employment, save the practice of my profession. Those who
are yet alive — ^alas, how few — by whose sick couch I have stood
or sat and watched o'ut the weary hours of painful nights in
humble but earnest and anxious efforts to mitigate and assuage
their sufferings, will bear testimony to my fidelity and good
intentions, and with them I am content to leave it. "" - *
I think my conclusion to settle in Sardinia for life was not
fully attained for the first twenty years' residence there. I felt
conscioi^s, whether justly or otherwise, that I stood at the head
of my profession in a quite large district of country. I was
aware that I was depriving myself and a rising family of the
advantages of more refined society in a larger place. But a
better-hearted community of plain country farmers could not
be desired and I always felt that I shared largely, perhaps too
largely, their confidence and respect. Many of my patrons
were emigrants from the same town where I was born and I
cannot refrain from recording some names here, where many will
soon, with my own, be in oblivion: as Elihu Rice, Joseph Rice,
Henry Bowen, Benoni Hudson and his sons Ephraim, Benoni,
Samuel and Giles. Giles Briggs, whose eldest son now dead,
was the first male child born in the Town of Sardinia. E.
Briggs and his sons, David, Ezekiel, Allen, Ira and Alba ; Reu-
ben Nichols and his sons Caleb, Amos and Clark ; Obadiah
Madison, Thomas Tillinghast and his sons Gideon, Reynolds,
William and Thomas; Edward Scott, Stephen Wait, Benjamin
Wood, Benjamin Johnson, Robert and Josiah Andrews: these
where all from Rhode Island, and though now mostly dead,
have left descendants who make a large element of the present
population of Sardinia. A few of these were here before I
came and all soon after.
Other names of my early associates and patrons crowd on
my mind as I pass. Among them are Jacob W^ilson, Daniel
Hall, Benjamin Wilson, John Colby, Reuben Long and Ezra
Nott, who is said to liave struck about the first blow in this
part of the town. Horace Rider and Reuben Rider, also Peter
Sears, Ezekiel Smith — my first patron — Thomas Hopkins,
Robert Hopkins, W. and S. Cornwell, Horace and Dudley
Clark, John Hosmer, Andrew Crocker — of \\hom I bought my
RECOLLKCTIONS OF SARDINIA. 829
homestead — Natlianiel Simons, Capt. Samuel Shepherd, Suel
and John Butler, with larj^e families ; Da\id Stickney, Daniel
Needham, Jonathan Cook, Francis Katon, Roswell Goodrich
and his son Josiah; D. Shcdd, D. Hopkins, Mathew R. Olin,
Christopher Brown, George Brown, and others whom I might
name. I remember them all with respectful gratitude and
interest.
Dr. Colgrove's wife died Sept. 20, 1852, aged fort)'-five years.
Dr. Colgrove died March 19, 1874, aged seventy-seven years.
. One case is so remarkable of the Doctor's skill, we publish it
in detail. Col. Josiah Emory, father of Josiah Efriory, Esq.,
of Aurora, in descending from a hay mow in his barn, early
one morning, came upon the handle of a hay-fork that stood
nearly perpendicular. The Colonel was a heavy man, and his
weight drove the fork-handle nearly a foot into his body,
through the perineum, rupturing his bladder, and on being
withdrawn it left in his bladder a piece of his pantaloons an
inch and a half in diameter. The Doctor did not reach the
patient until some twelve hours after his receiving the injury,
and not until after the case had been abandoned by Dr. Chapin,
of Buffalo, as hopeless. The wound of the perineum, through
which the urine had been passed for several hours, was so
firmly closed now by the increasing swelling of the part, as to
be impervious to an instrument without great pain, and he
could void no urine by the urethra. Against the remonstrances
of Dr. Chapin, Dr. Colgrove passed a catheter into the blad-
der, through the natural passage, which allowed over a quart
of bloody urine to escape and gave the patient instant relief.
This inspired the Doctor with hope, and by using this instru-
ment, some two weeks and keeping the bladder empt)', the
torn edges healed and in the course of a few months a perfect
cure was accomplished. But as strange as anything connected
with this case, was the passage of the piece of woolen cloth,
a thread or two at a time, through the urethra while the patient
was urinating. Colonel Emory lived near unto half a century
after this experience.
Stateineut of Andrew W. Shedd, of Sardinia.
In the Spring of 18 18, in company with Warner Fay and
Joseph Gilson, I started from Albany on foot, with packs on
830 RECOLLECTIONS OE SARDINIA.
our backs, for some part 'of what was then termed the " West."
Chautauqua was the principal point we had in view.
When we got as far as Sardinia, we stopped at the log hotel
kept by David Calkins. While here, the settlers persuaded us
to inspect the land in the vicinity, with a view to locating.
Among them was Deacon Pratt, a Surveyor, who li\ed where
E. Stickney now lives. He took us on lot thirt\--eight, where
I now live. We there took an article of the lot. Fay taking
the south part, one hundred and twenty acres ; Gilson the
north part, one hundred and forty acres, and I the middle part,
one hundred and forty acres.
We built us a small log house, about ten by twelve feet, and
covered it with bark and cut a hole through the west side for a
window. We had no glass, but used a board when we wished
to keep the storm out ; had no chimney only a " Dutch back,"
and a hole through the roof to emit the smoke ; made a
floor of basswood plank, split out and hewed a little to level
and smooth them. Our bedstead was the floor, which held a
straw bed — I slept the fore side, Gilson the backside, and Fay
in the middle.
After completing our cabin, we began to consider where our
provisions \\ere coming from. We finally got General Nott's
oxen, and Mr. Calkins' cart, and I went to Aurora in search of
provisions ; finding none, I went on to Buffalo — found but lit-
tle there ; was directed to a man named Folsom as the only
one likely to have any on hand. I purchased some beef and
pork of Mr. Folsom, which I put in a barrel and bound onto
the ex. of the cart, there being no box on it. I came home via
the beach of the lake, Hamburg and Aurora. I stayed one
night in Hamburg — fourth of July — and could hear the cannon
in Buffalo ; the ne.xt night in Holland, at Mr. Humphrey's,
father of James Humphrey, Esq., of Buffalo ; the ne.xt day I
reached home, having been gone si.x days. I was tired and
discouraged, and told the boys they could have all the meat
but I was going to some other parts.
In the Fall Fay and I went to Middlebury, in what is now
Wyoming county, and engaged in teaching. Fay going into an
adjoining town, and I remaining at Middlebury, where I taught
three terms: two Winters and one Summer. Gilson remained
BIOCRArilKAI. SKKTCHES. 83I
at the shantN- whilst we were gone. Fay and I returned the
next Summer after the close of our Summer terms of school.
1 was taken sick with typhus fever at Deacon Pratfs, and was
attended bv Drs. Prindle of Sardinia and Frank of Warsaw ;
recoverino'late in the 1-aIl. I returned to my school at Middle-
The next Sprim;, 1 returned to my farm in Sardinia, where I
have since resided. Gilson went to Adrian, ^lich.; Fay settled
at Pavilion, Genesee county, and became wealthy.
Previous to going to Michigan, Gilson went to Genesee on
purpose to get, and did get, a quantity of apple seeds and we
planted a nursery-many of the orchards in the neighborhood
were from that nursery.
Andrew AVilkins Shedcl.
Mr. Shedd was a son of David and Sarah Putnam Shedd.
His father was a soldier of the Revolution, and took part at
the Battle of Saratoga. An uncle on his mother's side— Put-
nam—was also a soldier of the Revolution, and was at the
Battle of Bennington, Vt.
Mr. Shedd was born Dec. 23, 1791. i" the Town of Ballston,
Saratoga county, N. Y., and came to Sardinia in 1818. He
was married Dec. 11, 1820, to Lydia E. Harris, who was born
m Trenton, N. Y., June 14, 1/99; died April 27, 1820. They
had a family of eight children, who were all born m Sar-
dinia : r \ -1 Q
Warren F., born Nov. 6, 1821 ; twice married, first, April lb,
1848, to Emily Wilcox ; second, to Mary Fuller, Sept.. 1855.
Sarah E., born Dec. 29, 1822 ; resides in Sardinia.
Mary E., born April 11, 1824; married Rodney S. Nichols,
Oct. I, 1850; died at Millport, Pa., Aug. 11, 1871.
Eunice I., born Aug. 14, 1826; married R. S. Hudson, Oct.
14, 1850 ; lives at the West with a second husband.
Ira P., born Feb. 19, 1829; died April i, 1846.
Daniel I., born Dec. 20, 1831; married Octavia S. Hyde,
Aug. 19, 1866 ; resides on the homestead . his wife died April
I, 1872.
Lyman H., born Oct. i, 1833 ; married Lucretia Rice, Jan.
27, 1856; resides at Yorkshire.
8^2 HKXiRAPllICAL SKETCHES.
Emily A., born Sept. 30, 1838 ; married Thomas J. Titus,
Feb. 7, 1867; died Dec, 1876; Mr. Titus died Sept. 17. 1880
Isaac Siiiitli.
Isaac .Smith was born in the Town of Litchfield, Herkimer
county, N. V., March 2~, iyg6; removed with his parents,
Ezekiel and Hannah Smith, to the Town of Concord, Erie
county, N. Y., in the month of February, 1813. The family
located at the foot of the hill, where the road leading" to Sar-
dinia village branches off from the main Cattaraugus Creek
road, in what is now the Town of Sardinia.
Mr. Smith was married March, 182 1, to Miss Phila Palmer,
and located on a farm one and a half miles south-west of Sar-
dinia village, where he died Nov. II, 1876, and was buried in
the Sardinia cemetery. Mrs. Phila Smith, his wife, was born in
Canada, near Montreal, Jan. 20, 1803 ; resides at her home in
Sardinia, where she has lived nearly sixty years. The family
consists of :
Mrs. Sarah U. Davis, born Sept. 27, 1823; married D. J.
Davis Feb. 18, 1847 ' '"'o^^ resides at Yorkshire, Cattaraugus
county, N. Y. She has one daughter, Mrs. L. B. Nichols, of
Springville, N. Y.
Maland Smith, born F"eb. 28, 1826; married May 28. 1853,
to Miss Zilpha Loomis . now resides at Sardinia, Erie county,
N. Y.
Emeline Smith, born June 26, 1831 ; unmarried ; resides in
Sardinia.
Loren D. Smith, born July 2, 1834 ; married July 2, 1866, to
Miss Emma L. Curtiss ; resides at the old homestead in Sar-
dinia.
David D. Smith born March 5, 1841 ; married June 27, 1877,
to Miss Libbie S. Daly ; resides at Yorkshire, Cattaraugus
county, N. Y.
Sketch of the IJie of Mrs. Phila Smith.
Mrs. Phila Smith, the subject of this sketch, was born Jan.
20, 1803, near Montreal, in what is now the Province of Que-
bec, Canada. Her father and mother, Darius and Elizabeth
Palmer, came from Coeymans, N. Y., by the way of Albany,
HlOCkAl'IIIC.Vr. SKKTCIIKS. 833
where the\' li\cd sexeral \'ears. to Montreal about the year
i(Soo. Locatin<4- on a farm near the latter place the)- li\ecl there
till the war of 181 2 broke out. when their quiet home was ilis-
turbed b}' the excitement, expectation, fear and sus])ense inci-
dent thereto. The territor\- of Canada borderini^- 011 the States
which was popuhirl\- known as the "lines," was filled with
British soldiers, and became the scene of much individual suf-
fering. Mr. Palmer was ])ressed into the 13ritish service, but
being a New ^^)rker by birth, he left his post and came back
to his famil)'. He was arrested and taken back to camp, but
eluding the vigilance of his guard, he again reached home in
safety, and taking his wife and famil)- he secured a canoe and
they smuggled themselves across the river St. Lawrence.
Phila, then a girl of nine )'ears. recollects well the trials of that
dark, cold and cheerless night of Autumn when the famil)-
were taken from their home, hurriedly placed in a boat and
pushed out on the dark, rushing w-aters of the St. Law-rence.
Getting swamped in the bull-rushes that lined the stream, the
boat was pulled a little out of the current ; the children laid
down in the bottom and co\-ered with a bundle of straw to
sleep, while the watchers waited the morning light to show
them their whereabouts. Poinding the)- had drifted in the
darkness on one of the man)- islands that fill the ri\-er at this
p(Mnt, the)- pushed on across the stream and landed in safet)-.
An unbroken wilderness confronted them, but the father with
his children to care for and a wife to protect, toiled on. Hun-
ger .stared him in the face, but a big .stout heart supplied the
place of provisions. At last a log house was found in which
several families of refugees like his own had taken shelter.
After staying in this log house a while, the famih' moved into
a log school house in which a short time before the teacher,
surrounded by his little flock, had been shot down by British
bullets. P'rom this school house the family removed to Dan-
b)', Rutland count)-, Vt.
In the year 1817, as nearly as Mrs. Smith can recollect, Mr.
Palmer came with his family, in company with a famil)- by the
name of Williams, to the Tow-n of Concord, Erie county, N.
Y. Besides his own family was the wife of Stephen Williams,
who had, with her husband, removed to the town of Concord
834 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
some years before, and had made the journey back to Vermont^
a distance of over four hundred miles, on horseback. Mr. John
WilHams and two hired men by the names of Sillsbury and
PhiUps, John Scott and Justus Scott, father of the Hon.
Allen Scott, of Cattaraugus county, also came at the same
time. Two ox teams brought the families and goods, and they
were on the road four weeks. It was late in the Fall, the roads
were rough and rooty, and the girls, Phila and her sister Linda,
walked a large part of the way. A herd of cows and sheep
were driven along at the same time. Stephen Williams had
preceded them and settled on the Cattaraugus flats, below
what is now the Village of Springville, in the Town of Con-
cord, where he had erected a log-house. This place was the
destination of the travelers, wearied with their long journey.
Mr. Palmer worked for the Williamses one year to pay them
for moving his family and goods. Phila Palmer, then about
fourteen years of age, as a member of the family, endured all
the hardships and privations incident to pioneer life, such as
living in houses without floor or chimney, with no chairs, tables
,or bedsteads except such as could be fashioned from logs with-
out the aid of saw or chisel ; with no clothing except what was
made from cloth spun, wove, colored and made ready for use
by the aid of the rudest utensils ; with no food except such as
might be called native to the country, and prepared in the most
economical way and with no means of tilling the soil except
with wooden plows and drags of the same material.
At the age of eighteen Miss Palmer was married to Isaac
Smith, Horace Clark ofificiating in the ceremony, he being Jus-
tice of the Peace. Mr. Smith then lived on a farm now owned
by George Marsh, but soon after purchased a part of what is
now known as the Smith farm, one and one-half miles south-
west of Sardinia village, in the Town of Sardinia, where Mrs.
Smith now resides. Mr. Smith, her husband, died Nov. ii,
1876, in his eighty-first year.
The family, consisting of three boys and two girls, are all
living, and hold the property which was purchased by their
father, the title coming direct from the Holland Land com-
pany, and has not since been transferred.
15IO<iRArHUAI, SKETCUKS. 835
Darius Palmer, whose name occurs on the original subscrip-
tion list for buildiiii^- the Sprin^-ville Academy, and Elizabeth
I'almer, Mrs. Smith's father and mother, lie in the Sprint^ville
cemetery, and also a sister, Mrs. Polly Matthewson.
A brother, Isaac Palmer, is buried in a cemetery north of
Sprin<^\^ille.
One older sister, Mrs. Belinda Wilcox, still survives, and is a
resident of E\ans\ille, Wis.
Statement of Cyrus Rice, Esq.
Klihu Rice came to the Holland Purchase in compan\' with
Giles Brii^tj^s. The\' were nati\-es of Coventry, Rhode Island,
but prexious to locating- in Sardinia, then Willink, Niagara
county, they had passed several years in Cazenovia, N. Y.
Elihu Rice bought lot two, township seven, range five, extend-
ing south from the old Genesee road to Cattaraugus creek, con-
taining 556 acres. He afterwards sold 256 acres of the south
part to his brother Joseph, upon which he erected the widely-
known " Cherry Tavern," in that year of important events, 1825.
Elihu Rice, prexious to the opening of Hastings' store at
Sardinia, dealt considerably in cotton goods, black salt and
potash. He married Elizabeth B. Nott, of Canandaigua, Dec.
1S16, and soon began keeping-house. The journey from Can-
andaigua was made on horseback. It would be a fatiguing
journey for a couple now, but it was not thought much of
then. The original house has been repaired, but not as exten-
sively as the " old logical knife," for the cellar of 1816 still
remains.
Dr. Priiulle made his home there, as did Dr. Colgrove after-
Avard. While residing at this house, the Doctor successfully
treated those cases which gave him an enviable reputation as
a surgeon. As the rain falls on the just and the unjust, so the
old house has sheltered divines, honorables and scamps.
Elihu Rice held a commission in the army in 1812, and was
on the lines with the militia. He was in no battle, but had
some narrow escapes. Once when on service in a row-boat, he
had just left the oar for the relief to take his place, when a
cannon ball from the enemy took off the relief's head. He
Avas in command of the .scjuad at Schlosser when the sentinel
836 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
was killed. He held the office of Brigade Inspector in the
Fifty-fourth Brigade, and was widely known as Major Rice.
He took an interest in public affairs, was always in the advance
in the issues of the day, and his influence was always exerted
in favor of justice, without regard to expediency. He was
rigid in his views, yet his children know nothing of him of
which to be ashamed. He died on tli>e farm where he first
bought, and it still remains in the hands of his descendants.
The favorite book of his wife was the Bible. Her greatest
earthly interest was her children, and those she knew to be
needy were never turned empty away. Mr. Rice was identified
with several societies, notably the temperance society, joining
the first one organised in his vicinity and remaining faithful to
his pledge through life. He was also a pioneer in the anti-
slavery movement, and long before the Rebellion, predicted
that the slave-holders, by their aggressions, would bring on a
war which would end in the overthrow of slavery.
rice's corners.
Giles Briggs started a tavern on the north side of the road,
near the southwest corner of lot three. He was one of those
jolly, genial men, fond of sport and good horses. The tavern
was built of logs, and had two rooms below, a stone chimney
in the middle, with a wide, open fire-place for each room, and a
pantry or bar on one side of the chimney. In 18 14, Giles
Briggs gave place to David Calkins, who was afterward the
trusty miller in Bump's mill, afterward known as Hurd\'ille,
near Arcade station. He was for several years Justice of the
Peace in the Town of China.
About the year 18 1 8, Samuel Hawkins and his father came
into possession, with a small lot of goods, and engaged Capt.
Andrew Crocker to put up the upright of the building for a
store and tavern. It is now the farm-house of the Nichols
estate. They did not complete the building. In 1820, Mr.
Hawkins and wife deeded the farm to Reuben Nichols, late of
Rhode Island, and in 1821 Nichols gave his son Clark 119 acres.
After the transfer to Nichols, Deacon Stukely Hudson took
possession of the tavern until he moved to his farm, opposite
Andrew Shedd. About 1821 or 1822, he put up a cooper shop
nK^C.KArilUAl. SKETCHES. 837
and for several )-cars did ciuitc a business in supplying ashcries
with potash barrels.
After the Deacon left, the lo--house was never a-am used as
'' Reuben Nichols was a widower; his son Clark was single.
Geonxe Brown and family occupied the house a short tinne with
them" and then moved on to a place about a mile south of
Protection. David Stickney, a man of varied abilities, being a
pettifo-crer, horse-dealer and musician; moved in with his wife
•md tw^daughters. Mrs. Stickney kept the house untd Clark
Nichols married Miss Howell, in 1826. A frame house was
erected about this time and the old log-house, after being a
tarrying-place for transient families for a time, entirely disap-
peared. . • n D
Reuben Nichols received a pension for services m the Revo-
lution He enjoved relating amusing anecdotes and had a
remarkable memory of events. He and his son Clark, by
industry and economy, increased their landed possessions to
about four hundred acres, most of which is still m the pos-
session of their descendants. Clark Nichols was an intelligent
and energetic farmer, with exact business habits. He died at
about eighty years of age.
Amon- the events that deserve notice at the log-tavern, was
the birth'of Wray Briggs, in 1811, the f^rst white child born in
the Town of Sardinia.
There also was the birth-place of Hannah Calkins, a very
estimable ladv, now the wife of Dr. Henry Shepard, of Iowa.
There too, Rebecca and Mary Brown, girls then in their
teens 'boast of taking as much comfort as if they had lived in a
palace, in dressing up and walking out with and taking care of
Uvo very small children that belonged over the way. There
General Nott, when Justice of the Peace, united Jehial Backus
and Nancy Stickney in marriage, and there the children of the
neighborhood enjoyed themselves turning the quill-wheel and
win'ding the bobbins for Susan Colby and Mrs. How, a couple
of weavers on hand-looms.
THE LOG SCHOOL-HOUSE.
In the Spring of 1818, "Uncle Daniel Hall," the man that
whipped to death with beech sticks the wolf he had caught in a
838 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
trap, started out one morning with axe and square and other
tools, to put up a school-house. He was joined by enough of
the neighbors to cut the logs and put up the body of a log-
house, about twenty-four by t\vent\'-six feet, the same day.
The site selected was about one hundred and eight rods north
of Rice's corners and near the north-west corner of the Nichols'
farm and just south of the second pond-hole north of the cor-
ners. The door and entry were on the south side, near the
east end. A large stone chimney was next, fronting west, and
in the north-east corner was a closet for the children's dinners,
hats and over-clothes. The other sides had each a small win-
dow and a shelf for writing and holding books and slates, and
for scholars to lean against, and a stout hemlock slab on legs
served for seats. Three smaller slabs near the center of the
room nearly completed the outfit.
On one of the lower benches were cut drawings for three-
men-Morris, fox and geese, checkers, &c. Of course these
games afforded amusement and disciplined the mind to con-
centration of thought ; but the fact is undeniable that the
children that took most interest in games took the least interest
in books. Under the floor was a hole three or four feet square
where unruly children were sometimes dropped by taking up a
short board. The terrors of darkness, or internal spunk some
times made it a difficult matter to keep the child's head below
the floor. It once required the weight of the teacher and two
of the largest girls to keep a girl, ElviraCook, from putting her
head through the floor. That was an episode that relieved the
school-room of monotony while it lasted. That girl afterwards
made the trip across the continent without the aid of railroads
and made crack-shots with a revolver. She became the wife of
Capt. U. P. Munro.
The old school-house was sometimes used as a temporary res-
idence by families seeking homes; some one of whom doubt-
less, dug the hole under the floor, in which to store vegetables.
A levy was made upon the pond for amusement both in Sum-
mer and Winter. To wade in the water and climb the trees,
some of which still remain, to hunt for bird's nests, to stone
frogs, and catch blood-suckers and let them suck the blood
from the foot until they became bloated and sluggish, were
r.IOGRArillCAL SKETCHES.
839
some of the sports of the Summer. Sliding- on the ,ce n
w" ter was a favorite pastime, though not a boy n. schoo had
'air of skates. The nearest appr<,ach to them was a hand-
slid One-old-cat. two-old-eat, base-ball, with stumps for bases
were favorite sports. Sometimes when the teacher was absen
for dinner (the teacher boarded around,, the benches would be
pJt out of the way, and some ,.rl with a good yo>ce would s.ng
1- Monnie Musk," "Molly put the Kettle on 'Lake Ene or
" The Girl I Left Behind Me," the sets would form and shake
out reels, jigs and French fours, with enthusiastic if not with
graceful mcn-ements. Anna Hall or her sister Sally, Caroline
and Tane Eaton furnished the music.
In the Summer season, the Indians from near Buffalo, m
their travels to Canadea, Allegany county, would pass the
school house in squads of from two or three to forty Of
course they were a terror to the children, and the female teach-
ers always seemed to breathe easier after they had passed
Our school book, " The American Preceptor," gave account of
Indian atrocity and the prowess of Mrs. Dustan in braining
her captors when they were asleep, and of the man who, when
attacked by the Indians, fought them from his house, while his
family sought shelter elsewhere, and when they came too close
mounted his horse with the intention of taking one of his
children and escaping, but could make no choice so stayed
with them and defended them. all. The Indians seldom carried
anything except a rifle and tomahawk. The squaws often
carried a large pack on their backs, or a papoose lashed o a
board with all but the little fellow's head and neck covered by
the blanket. This gave the little follow the appearance o
standing up in his mother's blanket, with a good view of all
that passed. Every stout, burly, copper-faced old fellow was
believed by the children to be the old Chief, Shongo. He and
his band used to make a halt near the site of the Cherry 1 avern,
both before and after it was built. One of the teachers once
told us " There goes the old white woman." She was .not as
stout-built as the squaws, but carried a pack. Her face^ was
well-bronzed, but had none of the Indian features. This was
the cause of the teacher's recognizing her. After school the
scholars had the satisfaction of learning that the teacher was
840 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
right, as the band stopped at the Cherry Tavern, and it was
reported as an important event that the " old white woman "
was along.
The old school house was used for prayer and conference
meetings, and some of the best ministerial talent of that time
was reverently listened to there b)- crowded congregations.
Among the preachers were Elder Harmon, of Aurora, Elder
Carr, of Boston, Elder Baker, Elder Andrus. Elder Pratt, Elder
Metcalf, Eliab Going and Deacon Colb)', of the Baptist church,
and Priest, Ingals and L}-man of the Presbyterian church.
Methodist prayer and conference meetings were held there at
an early day. Old Father Mann, the shouter, with his staff,
would make it a ^\•ide-awake time ; nor would P'ather Benoni
Hudson, Alba Briggs or Stephen W'aite allow a meeting to
grow dull. They were men of irreproachable character, and
exerted a salutary influence.
Miss Betsy Doane is said to have taught the first school in
the log school house. Miss Eunice Shedd, now Mrs. Hubbard
of Arcade, taught several terms. She was a seamstress and
was a very useful member of society. Miss Miranda Powell,
now Mrs. Charles Sears, taught during one summer ; also Miss
Charlotte Nott, sister of Gen. Ezra Nott, and Widow Case, a
member of the Humphrey family of Humphrey Hollow, in the
Town of Sheldon, and Miss Lucy Bigelow, now Widow Carney.
She was the last female that taught in the log house. Elihu
Rice was the first male teacher and taught two Winter terms.
The next teacher was Pardon Jewell, of Franklinville, then Isaac
Humphrey, afterward Associate Judge of Erie county. Andrew
Shedd taught two Winters, Dr. Shedd one Winter, then Dr.
Berymin Osgood, afterward Judge of Probate in St. Joseph
county, Michigan. John Lancton followed. He had formerly
attended the school several terms as pupil. He afterward
became Elder Lancton of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Lot eleven was taken up by one of the Warrens, Henry
Godfrey, who married a daughter of Col. Jabez W'arren, built a
log house near the south- .vest corner of the lot, just west of
the burying-ground, and north of the tansy bed in the road.
By the way, it may be safely said that every tansy bed marks
the place of a pioneer's cabin. Tans\' bitters was the early
lilOCRAl'lIirAL SKKTCIIKS. H^
settler's panacea, but the temperance reform drove from the
cabin the essential ingredient, and "patent medicine" f^ndmg
it vacant has taken possession to stay. It was in the log house
put up by Cxodfrc)- that Major Rice and (iiles Hriggs spent
their first night on their arrival in town in 1810.
In 181 1, Jacob Wilson, who was familiarly known as Uncle
Jacob, bought the claim on lot eleven and built the inevitable
log hut of Uiat dav by the road near the pine tree that now
stands in front of John Weatherlow's house. The log house
gave way to the red frame house about 1823.
Mr. VVilson possessed those characteristics so essential to a
successful farmer. He died on his farm in 1832
To show the scarcity of money in those days, I will relate an
incident. Mr. Wilson one year raised four hundred bushels of
grain of various kinds, for which he received but thirty cents in
money, and that was from a traveler who stopped, took dinner,
fed hi's horse, and paid thirty cents for a bag of oats to take
with him.
(3ne of the first enterprises undertaken on " Hardpan or
West hill, was to bargain with Uncle Jacob for the forward
wheels of a wagon, to be converted into the rolling stock of a
cart, which afterwards became famous as the nine partner cart.
Flint Keith, Sewell Butler, John Butler, Allan Stevens, Samuel
Shepard, Jonathan Thomas, Joseph Thomas, Thomas Ward
and David Conklin agreed to cut the timber on an acre of land
ready for logging for the wheels, which they did, and returned
home five miles the same day. When one of the stockholders
had used the cart, he left it in the road for any other one to
hitch to.
In the year 1824, Mr. Wilson executed a deed to the mhabi-
tants of the Town of Sardinia of two acres of land as a com-
mon place to inter the dead, which is the present burying-
ground.
Lewis Wilson sold the farm to Samuel Weatherlow in 1834,
and it has since been known as the Weatherlow farm. Lewis
Wilson also sold to Weatherlow fifty acres of the north part of
lot three, which is now in the possession of his daughter, the
widow Simons.
It was about 1824, that Leacon John Colby shot the two
^42 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
year-old bear that John Houvee, who worked for Wilson, chased
from the ground now occupied by Newton's hop yard, up a
tree north of Newton's house. John had never seen a bear,
and made considerable sport by telling the Deacon he had run
a wolf up a tree. It took three balls from the Deacon's rifle to
induce his bearship to leave the tree. A portion of the meat
was given to the neighbors. It was sweet and acceptable, but
what was smoked in the Deacon's log house stone chimney
was delicious.
Francis Eaton came in possession of the east 1 13 acres of lot
ten in 181 1. Eaton was stalwart in form and had great muscu-
lar power, and was very energetic. He was a carpenter and put
up many of the farm houses and barns that were built in the
east part of the town previous to 1824. He took pride in hav-
ing every part of the frame work an exact fit, and the hand
that did not work to the line would hear the gruff voice of the
"General" (a nick-name) without delay. Ponderous rocks at
the corners and points of greatest pressure, formed the under-
pining. Walls for underpining were hardly thought of in
those days, but timbers ten b}^ twelve, or twelve by twelve, or
twelve by fourteen, were not unusual, as the fram.es still stand-
ing attest. The sills were usually put in place in the forenoon
or the day before the raising. Men were invited for miles
around, for the heavy timbers used required a corresponding
amount of bone and muscle, and all responded to the call, for
each in turn might require help. When the timbers for the
bents were put in place, the " General " called for the pikes to
be put in place ; next for two sturdy, careful hands, with iron
bars or levers, to hold the foot of the posts. " Now men to
your places." Hold! Hold I some called out, bring <mi that
bottle. The bottle or its partner, the jug. full of vim and snap,
passes from hand to hand and lip to lip. New determination
lights each eye and telegraphs each muscle to be read}-, and
the " General " inquires, " Are you all ready?" Then comes
the caution, " There are not men enough at that corner."
When the men are fairh- distributed, the word is given, " All
lift together. Yo, heave I Yo, heave I " What animation
thrills each nerve when those tones peal forth from an old com-
mander. Yo, heave I If helj) is plent\- the bent rises at the
liiocKAi'iFicAi. ski: rciFKS. 843
words, Vo, hccue I " Man youv pikes I"' It moves up and
soon is heard the command, " Set her up I " and, " Pikes on the
other side!" The bent is soon in its jilace and stay-kithed.
Now the ^irts are placed for the next bent, the next bent is
put up, and the le\-el-headed young men climb the posts, mount
the beams, enter the girts, dri\-(.' the pins, and the body is soon
put together. Next putting up the phites require attention.
Coolness and daring command a premium. While some can
walk a stick eight inches square, high in the air, other's heads
will swim at the same height, on a platform four feet wide.
The latter are of use below in getting rafters, braces, pins and
plank read}- to go uj) when needed. When the rafters are on
and the raising done, then the building had to be named. The
bottle went up to those above, who ranged themselves on a
plate, if there was a ridge-pole, and there was one with nerve
enough to stand on that, the frame was named from it ; if not,
it was named from the plate. When each had tried the bottle,
the namer would repeat (or something like it), " Harry's
delight I framed in two weeks and raised before night." Then
a general " Hurrah " would follow while the bottle was hurled
high in the air, and all retired to luncheon, which co isisted of
bread or white biscuit and butter, cheese, doughnuts and sev-
eral varieties of sweet cake, pies and baked beans, all seasoned
with as man}' jokes as the compan}- could supply, and washed
down with water, tea, or home-made beer. After lunch, if
there was time, the \-ounger and more athletic would pla\' base-
ball, while the older men would discuss crop prospects, logging
bees and the news of the da)'.
When Buffalo was burned, Eaton has the credit of running
home in three hcnirs, and alarming the settlers along the,route,
with the cry that the Indians were coming and they must
leave. Arriving at home he hastened to Captain Nott's. The
Captain had gone to Rushford. Eaton took the Captain's ox-
team and sled, the Captain's wife, his own wife and three or
four small children, and started toward Rushford. Others fol-
lowed. When near Rowleys mills, Arcade, they met Captain
Nott on his return, who inquired what it all meant. Eaton
related his story but the Captain was incredulous as to the
danger. " Well," said Eaton. " What are \-ou uoino- to do?'»
844 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
*' I shall take my family and go home, you can do what you
like with yours." About, face, was the order, and the first
night of the fugitives was spent at home. For a day or two
families from beyond Holland, came hurrying to escape, but
soon the alarm passed away and they returned to their homes.
Eaton, the stalwart carpenter, turned his place over to Dea-
con John Colby, in 1815 or !8i6, and moved on to Hemlock
Hill, one mile east of Sardinia village. His grown-up children
are: Jehial, Elihu, Curtis, John P., Roswell, Jane, Emily and
Harriet.
Deacon Colby was a strong-built man, a good marksman and
skillful hunter.
He once shot a buck on Nichols' flats, not a half mile from
the corners ; the deer fell, the Deacon ran up to cut his throat
when the deer rose and put in a remonstrance with hoofs and
horns, and tore ever}' vestige of clothing from the Deacon before
he could cut the deer's throat. After that encounter he always
re-loaded his rifle before approaching a fallen deer.
NOTES.
Major Rice and Giles Briggs were the first settlers on the
corners. The Major said repeatedly that there were but three
families in what is now Sardinia, when he and Briggs arrived,
viz: The Richmond famil)-, Sumner Warren's and Henry
Godfrey's. Eaton, in company with Benjamin Wilson and
Daniel Hall, came into town in 18 10, before purchasing.
In the Fall of 1832 or 1833, Jacob Wilson, the son of Lewis
Wilson, a boy about ten years of age, had his skull broken in
and his brains kicked out by a horse that he had just taken the
halter "from and was picked up for dead. Dr. Colgrove took
out several pieces of skull from the brain and worked out the
loose brain, and healed up the wound. The boy lived to be a
man and moved west. This occurred on the farm now owned
by John Weatherlovv. Elisha Pomeroy was the victim of a
similar accident and the doctor was equally successful in his
treatment of the case.
msiNKSS AM) MANUl-ACl irRIXd INTKRKSTS. 845
RELATING TO TIIK BUSINESS AND MANUFAC-
TURING PLACES OF SARDINIA.
The first place opened for public patronage in the Town of
Sardinia was the tavern of George Richmond, Sr., on the Cat-
taraugus creek in 1809. Giles Hriggs opened a tavern the next
year at Rice's Corners, antl in i<S2i he kept a tavern near Col-
grove's Corners. It was at this tavern that the first town meet-
ing in Sardinia was held, in 1821. John and Jeremiah Wilcox
kept tavern in 1815. on the Cattaraugus creek, three quarters
of a mile east of '' Hakes' bridge " Joseph Rice kept tavern
at an early day near Rice's Corners." It was widely known as
the " Cherry tavern," on account of numerous cherry trees
growing near by. Norman Bond also kept a tavern at an early
day on lot ten on the middle road. Parley Crosby kept a
tavern on the Cattaraugus Creek road, some two miles and a
half west and south-west of Sardinia \illage, called the "Sar-
dinia Valley house ;" for that time, it was quite imposing, be-
ing a frame building, two stories high, and finished with a coat
of white paint ; the old building still stands, a silent memento
of departed days.
.Vt quite an early da)' a second tavern was opened on the old
Richmond homestead iarm at the foot of the hill, and it was
occupied by different ones and run for se\'eral years. The
original log tavern built by George Richmond, did not
stand on the site of the hotel that is still standing; that was
built by his son George, but its location was near the banks of
the creek, on the old State road leading from Buffalo to Olean.
Some of the most interesting reminiscences of early days in
Sardinia might be related in connection with these primitive
log taverns.
In 1824 a hotel was built on the present site of Andrews'
hotel, by Chauncey Hastings. P^-om that time and for many
years the little Hamlet was known as " Hastings." He con-
ducted it for a time and then was succeeded by his son, C. J.
Hastings, and then it was rented to Stephen Holmes, to be
succeeded by Royal Green. Then the property was transferred
by sale to Roderick Simons, who for a time rented it to George
Goodspeed : then Nelson Twist became the owner. The next
846 GRIST MITJ^S AND SAW MILLS.
proprietor was Delias Childs, who sold it to George Andrews^
the present proprietor in 1869. In 1881 Mr. Andrews enlarged
and remodeled it, and made it one of the finest hostelries out-
side of Buffalo.
(JRIST MILLS.
For many years after the first settlement of this town, Sar-
dinia was without a grist mill, and the pioneers had to trans-
port their grists either to Yorkshire or Arcade. The first grist
mill was built by the Cornwell brothers about . It was
sold to Charles Long about 1858. Long conducted it some
eleven years and then sold out to Nicholas Bolander, who ran
it about the same length of time and then transferred it to two
of his sons.
Another mill was built in the town ; its location was on the
little brook that runs through the old Richmond farm on the
Cattaraugus flats.
SAW MILLS.
The first saw mill in the town was built by Sumner Warren,,
about 1812. It stood a little above the present site, now occu-
pied b\' Simons' mill. In 181 3 this mill was transferred to
Abel Abbey.
Another mill was built about 1828 on the same stream, about
half a mile above by a man by the name of Bo^worth.
Another mill was built at a very early day in the western
portion of the town by Elder Stephen Pratt. Its location was
on the head waters of the Cazenovia creek, a short distance
above Charles Spencer's steam mill on the same stream.
A saw mill was also run in connection with the grist mill on
the Richmond place.
Horace Rider built a mill on the same stream on which the
pioneer mill stood. Its location was near the residence of
James Hopkins.
Dr. Colgrove and Josiah Andrews built a mill just north of
Colgrove Corners, near the road leading north.
Two mills were located on the " Reynolds brook " at cpiite
an early day; one stood just abo\'e and the other, some dis-
tan ce below the present road \\ here it crosses the stream.
Mi:iv( IIAXrs AND TKADRRS. 847
mi:k(Iiants and traders.
A few of the early pioneers brou<rht some dry goods to the
settlement, such as cloth, etc., from the east that were sold out
to their nciijhbors, thousj^h they did not make a business as
•dealers. Horace and Dudley Clark came in tlic fall of i(Si6;
sold goods some about 1 81 7. Built a distillery and an ashery,
and in a year or two the}' failed in business. Chancy Hast-
ings was the first regular merchant. He came from Aurora,
bringing a small stock of goods, in 1822. He was a single
man and commenced business in the dwelling house of Willis
Cornwell, where he boarded.
In 1824, he built a tavern and store, which he run in connec-
tion for several years.
The store now occupied b}- M. \\\ Lancton was built by
Horace Bailey in 1845. The store now occupied by George
W. Cook was built by Chancy Hastings in 1852,
At Colgrove's Corners, Dr. B. H. Colgrove opened the first
store. He was succeeded in the following order, viz : Monroe
& Jackson, Steats & Monroe, Needham & Cook, Ray Briggs,
M. R. Loveland, H. Bailey, S. Holmes, J. Andrews, S. Holmes
and J. Andrews.
The tannery was first built by Willis W. Cornwell.
About fifty years ago James Colwell carried on a foundry
for a short time.
The woolen factory was built about 1840 by Nelson Nourse ;
he sold out soon after to Gleason & Loveland, who enlarged it
as it now is. About 1867, they sold to Messrs. William Pollet,
James Rider & George Andrews. They were succeeded by
William Pollett, followed by John O. Riley, the present pro-
prietor.
The carriage shop at the " Upper Corners "' was built b}' A.
J. Adams in 1843.
BUSINESS DIRECTORY OK SARDINIA EOR 1883.
HOTELS.
George Andrews, at Sardinia Village ; John Russell, at Pro-
tection; H. C. Tanner, at Protection ; Hiram Savage, at Chafee.
84H MERCHANTS AND TRADERS.
PHYSICIANS.
M. Pitcher, D. Severeign, J. Schwab.
MERCHANTS.
George W. Cook, dry goods and groceries; M. W . Lankton,
dry goods and groceries ; W. B. Andrews, groceries ; O. P.
Goodspeed, groceries; George Mills, drugs and groceries;
Judson Andrews, groceries; Arnold Emerson, hardware ; E. M.
Sherman, general store at Chafee ; Hinks & W'oodworth, gen-
eral store at Protection; M. \V. Lankton, furniture.
MILLINERS.
Miss E. Xorris, Miss Cynthia Olin.
MANUFAC'IORIES AND MILLS.
John O. Riley, woolen factory; George P. Martin, tanner}- :
J ulian Simons, saw-mill and bending works; S. D. Kingsly>
carding works and tub factory ; A. J. Adams, carriage factoiy ;
George Strong, carriage factory ; S. R. Smith &Co., six cheese
factories; Julian Simons, cheese factory ; B. Ferrington, can-
ning factory at Protection ; N. Bolander, grist mill ; Charles
Spencer, steam saw-miil ; Bement, steam saw-mill ; John
Goodemote, saw-milk
BLACKSMITHS.
A. J. McArthur, Henry Stokes, W. Robinson, James Mulvey,.
at Chaffee, Fitzpatrick Brothers, Prattham.
SALOONS.
Hopkins & Holmes, billiard saloon ; E. Goodrich, saloon.
In reviewing the old town book of Sardinia of an earh' date,
we find a few records that may be of interest to the present
generation. In 1822, the town voted to pay a bounty of $5
on ever)- full-grown wolf and one dollar and fifty cents on
every whelp caught and killed within the bounds of the town ;
and it was then resolved that yoked hogs should be free com-
moners, and the same year it was voted to pay Giles Briggs for
RECOLLECTIONS OF SARDINIA. 849
four gallons of whisky, for the use of said town. Now this
paragraph needs explanations for we would not have the reader
suppose that the Town of Sardinia was addicted to its cups in
its youth. It was the custom when a new road was to be
opened to make a " road bee," and invite them far and near,
and the whisky was handed around as a tonic to the road build-
ers. In 1828, the bounty on wolves was raised to $10 for every
full-grown wolf caught and killed within the bounds of said
town, provided the wolf killed " was brought bodily, hide and
hair, before the Supervisor of said town."
For the first few years after the town Avas organized the town
meetings were held at the house of Giles Briggs. Said house
was located on the Welcome Andrews place, just west of Col-
grov^e's Corners. In 1828, it was voted that the next annual
town meeting should be held at the house of Chancy Hast-
ings. In 1839 ^'""^^ 1840, the place of holding said meetings
was changed to the house of Joseph Rice. In 1841 and 1842
it was again changed to the house of Norman Bond on the
middle road. Then in 1843 to the house of Erastus Wright ;
1844, ^t the house of Rufus Wilkes; 1845, at the old Sardinia
Valley House, on the creek kept by Pearly Crosby. Since that
time, or for nearly fort}' years, the place of holding the town
meetine has been at Sardinia village.
Tlie Aiulrews Family.
EIOGRArillCAL SKETCIIKS. 85 I
CHAPTER XXII.
FAMILY HISTORIES OF THE TOWN OF SARDINIA.
Josiah AiidrcAVS.
Josiah .'Vndrcws was boni in Coventry, R. I., July (S, 1 7<S'6. He
was a son of George and Ruth Vaughn Andrews. In 1824, he
came to the town of Sardinia, which was ever afterwards his
home. He was a man of energy and perseverance, and at one
time one of the largest land owners and heaviest tax-pa}'ers in
the town. He reared a family of eleven children, nine sons
and two daughters — all living and all respected for their sterling
qualities. The nine sons are all residents of Sardinia. Mr.
Andrews lived to span over ninety years, dying Nov. 21, 1876.
His venerable widow reached nearly the same age, dying May
17, 1883, aged ninety years. The names of their children are :
Charlotte, Welcome, Warren B., Pardon, Reuben, Rebecca,
Alfred, Thomas, George, Judson and James B. Rebecca mar-
ried A. Bunce, and lives in Versailles. Charlotte married and
lives in Illinois.
Welcome Aiidrow.s.
Welcome Andrews, son of Josiah Andrews \\ as born April
I, 1 8 16, in Coventry, R. I., and came to Sardinia ^\•ith his
parents in 1824. He has been twice married : First to Esther
Hopkins, who was born April 8, 1822, and died June 21, 1843.
His second wife was Patience Weber, who was born Jan. 12,
1826. Mr. Andrew\s was elected Supervisor of Sardinia for
the years 1863, '64, '65, 68 antl '69. He also served as Captain
of a militia compan\' in the old training tlays. B}- occupation
he is a farmer.
FAMILY KKCORl).
May. born Ma)' 26, 1845. Ruth, born Nov. 5, 185 1; died
Jan. 30, 1876. Esther A. born Aj)ril 17, 1854: died Jul\' 16,
852
BIOGRAPlIICAl- SKETCHES.
1875. Amy H., born Dec. 9, 1856. Olney W., born Dec. 21,
1857 ; married Libbie Steele in 1881 ; lives in Sardinia and is a
farmer. Charles B., born Nov. 9, 1S61. Joshua, born Aug. 26,
1863. Robert R., April 10, 1865. Welcome, Jr., Nov. 13, 1867.
Warren B. Andrews.
Warren B.Andrews was born in Coventry, R. I., June 19.
1 8 19, came to Sardinia in 1824. His occupation is that of
farmer and merchant. When a young man, he taught school
several terms. He was married, March 19, 1848, to Louise
Nichols, who was born in Sardinia, Dec. 2^, 1823. They have
had three children :
Harriet E., born June 13, 1849; married Frank P.Churchill,
June 7, 1868; died in Buffalo, Sept. 23, 1872. Laura Ann,
born Aug. 6, 1852 ; died Nov. 17, 1866. Lottie, born March
28, 1862.
Reuben Andrews.
Mr. Andrews was born in Coventry, Kent county, R. L,
March 12, 1824. The same year, his father, Josiah Andrews,
moved with his family to Sardinia. Mr. Andrews has always
been a resident of Sardinia. Ls a farmer. Was married in
1855, to Julia Olin. They have no children.
Pardon Andrews.
Pardon Andrews, son of Josiah and Amy Andrews, was born
in Rhode Island. October, 1822. When two years old, his
parents removed to the Town of Sardinia, where he has since
resided, being engaged in farming. May 27, 1849, he married
Eliza Wilkes, daughter of John and Abigail Wilkes, of Sar-
dinia. Their children are as follows :
Florence A., born July 15, 1853, and died May 31, 1873.
James,, born April 13, 1855 ; married Gertrude Conant, and re-
sides in Holland, Erie county, N. Y. Minnie E., born (3ct. 14,
1862, and married May 31, 1882, to Henry Bolender, and lives
in Yorkshire, N. Y.
Alfred Andrew^s.
Alfred Andrews was born at Sardinia, March 9, 1827. Oct.
19, 185 I, he married Octavia Briggs, who was born in Sardinia,
Jan. 25, 1830. They have three children:
V.IOC.RAI'HICAL SKETCIIKS. 853
Alice O., born July 10, 1854. Ida A., born Nov. 27, 1862,
died Dec. i, 1862. Judson W., born Feb. 5, 1863.
Mr. Andrews is a prosperous farmer, and lives in the Town
of Sardinia.
Thomas Andrews.
Mr. Andrews was born Aug. i. 1828, in Sardinia, where he
has always resided ; occupation, farming. He was married in
1852 to Emma Olin. daughter of Matthew R. Olin. Mrs. An-
drews died Aug. 4, 1869, aged forty years. Mr. Andrews has
no children.
George Andrews.
George Andrews was born in Sardinia, Dec. 4, 1829. His
occupation has been that of farmer and hotel keeper ; he also
formerly dealt in stock considerably for a number of years ;
he took possession of the old Hastings hotel at Sardinia vil-
lage June 23, 1869. He kept it till 1881, when he rebuilt and
greatly enlarged and beautified and changed the appearance of
the old hotel. He has several times held town offices and rep-
resented the town of Sardinia on the Board of Supervisors in
1873 and 1874.
Mr. Andrews was married June 22, 1851, to Electa Rider,
who was born March 8, 1832. They have two sons :
Robert J., born in Sardinia April 25, 1853; married in 1878
to Ella Briggs, and resides at Audubon, Minn. Edmond, born
Feb. 24, 1862 ; married Clara Briggs.
Judson Andrews
Mr. Andrews, son of Josiah Andrews, was born in Sardinia,
where he has always been a resident, His occupation has been
farming and mercantile pursuits ; he is at present engaged in
trade at the " Upper Corners," Sardinia.
Mr. Andrews served three years in the late Rebellion. He
enlisted Aug. 11, 1862, in the One Hundred and Sixteenth
New York volunteers. By general orders from the war depart-
ment he was transferred in September. 1863. to the Veteran
Reserve Corps, where he was Corporal. He received his dis-
charge at Fortress Monroe Sept. 2, 1865.
854 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
James 15. Andrews.
James B. Andrews was born in Sardinia, N. Y. He has al
ways been a farmer and a resident of his native town. He
purchased his present farm, known as the Colgrove place, May
3, 1879. He was married May 19, 1861. to Cordeha Casey,
who was born Feb. 6, 1841, in Sheldon, N. Y. They have one
child :
Maud, born Nov. 23, 1866 ; lives in Sardinia.
Since the above was written Mrs. Andrews has died ; her
death occurred Feb. 27, 1883 ; her age was forty-two years.
Robert Andrews.
Robert Andrews, brother of Josiah Andrews, was born Nov.
26, 1782, in Rhode Island ; came to Sardinia in 1824. In about
three years he returned to Rhode Island. Married Eunice
Weber and returned to Sardinia where he lived until his death
at seventy-five years of age. His wife died Oct. 30, 1867,
aged sixty-nine years.
Mr. Andrews was a farmer and owned the farm now owned
by his nephew, Welcome Andrews. They had no children.
Robert J. Andrews.
Robert J. Andrews, son of George Andrews, was born in
Sardinia, April 24, 1852. He attended school at Arcade and
Aurora and in 1869 he went to Audubon, Minn., where he en-
gaged in farming and teaching. He was married in Decem er
1878 to Ella Briggs. They have one son.
David Bigelow.
An old and respected pioneer who died in Sardinia August,
1839. ^^^^s born in the ever-to-be-rcmcmbered year " 1776," on
June 6th. At an early day he came to the Town of Avon, Liv-
ingston county, N. Y., and in 18 17 he removed with his family
to the Town of Sardinia where the remainder of his life was
passed in clearing up and helping to make the Town of Sar-
dinia what it is to-day. He settled on lot forty-seven and
improved a large farm which to-day is in possession of a
daughter, Mrs. Lucy Carne}'. Mr. Bigelow was a soldier on
the lines in the war of 18 12 and 181 5, participated in many of
r.iodKAriiicAL SKETCHES, 855
the eventful aiul thrilling scenes and was an e)'e-\vitness to the
burning of Buffalo. Soon after attaining the years of manhood
he was united in marriage to Miss Anna Cone, born in Con-
necticut in 1781, who bore him nine children, viz:
Sally, born in 1799, died, 1801 ; George, born Sept. 30, iBoi ;
Eliza, born March, 1804, married Isaac Calkins in 1820 and
died in Aurora in 1870. Maria, born June 30, 1806 and lives
in Mayville. Lucy, born Feb. 10, 1809, married in 1 840 to
Stephen Carney, who was killed by the falling of a tree, April
29, 1866. Mrs. Carney lives with a son on the old home-
stead first taken by her father of the Holland Compan}'. Electa,
born Nov. 14, 181 1, married Morgan Jillson and died in Ma-
chias in i860. Saxton, born Jan. 3, 1814, married Mary Pratt,
who died in 1867 ; second, to a lady in Chicago. Mr. Bigelow
died in 1871. For many years he followed the lakes and rose
to the command of a vessel. At the time of his death he was
connected with the Chicago Water Works. Helon, born May
6, 1817, married Harriet Woods and died in Sardinia in 1865-
Reynolds, born May 5, 1822, married Harriet Darling and lives
in Nebraska. Mr. Bigelow\ the father, died in Sardinia Aug,
18, 1839. Mrs. Bigelow survived him many years, dying May
2, 1857.
George Bigelow,
Son of David, was born in Connecticut Sept. 30, 1801, and was
married to Miss Martha Titus Aug. 13, 1826. She was born
March 16, 1809, in Vermont and is still living in Sardinia, Mr.
Bigelow was a man of marked indixidual character: he was
prominent in all town affairs ; took an active interest in agri-
culture and was a very successful business man, devoting a
great portion of his life to mercantile pursuits. For se\"eral
years he represented his town upon the Board of Superxisors.
Family record: Maria A., born Feb. 21, 1827; married Ira
A. Cook and lives in Sardinia. Elvira, born Sept. 20, 1828;
married in 1850 to Clinton Colgrove ; died at Fredonia in 1881.
Helen C, born Dec. 16, 1834; married Alfred Gill; died Oct.
25, 1854. Anna Mar\-, born May 24, 1837; married A. Blake
and lives in Olean. David Martin, born March 7, 1840; died
June 6, 1842. Elizabeth Olive, born Nov. 22, 1843; married
Henry C. Shed ; diedd April 26, 1873. Charles Clifford, born
856 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Oct. 28, 1847. Alice A., born Sept. 17, 1850; married Julian
Simons. Mr. George Bigelow died April 28, 1875.
Baker Family.
Samuel Baker, grandfather of David M. Baker, was born
May 16, 1730, in the Town of North Yarmouth, Cumberland
county, Me. He was married Dec. 8, 1756, to Eleanor Blan-
chard, who was born Jan. 16, 1737. They had nine children.
Col. Samuel Baker, Jr., father of David M., was a soldier of
the Revolution, and received for his services a pension and
seventy-fiv^e acres of land in Yarmouth, Me., his native place.
He added to this by purchasing adjoining land : enough to
make a farm of two hundred acres, which he occupied till his
death, Aug. 13, 1826. He was married July 30, 1789, to Mary
Mason, who was born Aug. 23, 1769, and died June 26, 1857.
Colonel Baker's brother Amasa was also a soldier of the Revo-
lution, being a captain of a light infantry company. Colonel
Baker had a family of thirteen children.
David M. Baker, son of Colonel Samuel Baker, was born at
Yarmouth, Me. Married in 1820, to Miranda N. Dupy, of
Greenwich, Washington county, N. Y. He moved his family
to Cattaraugus county in 1843, to Springville in 1846, and to
Sardinia in 1859; 'i"* 1863, he settled on the west part of lot
eleven, township seven, range six, a farm of two hundred acres,
which he now occupies.
Mr. Baker and three of his sons served three years in the
Union Army during the Rebellion, and although in many
battles, not one of them was wounded or even marked.
David M. Baker's family record: John M., married Jan. 20,
1868, Laura Smith; resides in New York City. Joshua D.,
resides in Arizona. Mary, married to William W^hite, July 4,
1871 ; resides in Zoar. Maurice married Sarah Sibley, June 28,
1871 ; resides in East Concord. D. A., married De Etta Whee-
lock, March 26, 1866; resides in Nebraska. Russell married Ro.
sella Vosburg, March 4, 1875; resides in Bradford, Pa. Jennie
married Almar White, March 4, 1875 ; resides in Zoar. Samuel
resides in Sardinia. Henry died in Arizona, in 1877. Allen
died an infant. Frank married Eva France, Jan. 3, 1881 ; re-
sides in Sardinia. Ella married Henry M. France March 20,
1879.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 857
Joshua 1>. Baker.
Joshua D. Baker served as a soldier in the One Hundred and
Sixteenth regiment three years during the late Rebellion. He
was in several battles and was a Sergeant when he came home.
He went to Texas and then to Arizona. He returned in the
Winter of i<S8o-8i, and bought a farm of two hundred acres in
Sardinia for his parents and the family, on which they now
reside. He then returned to Arizc^ia, where he now is.
Willurd Brink.
Mr. Brink's father, Anthony Brink, was born in New Jersey,
June 5, 18 1 2. He married Sophrona Aldrich, who was born in
1814, in what is now Wayne county, N. Y.; Town of Arcadia-
They came from Orleans county to Aurora, Erie county, in
1847 or '48, and to Golden in ^^57' where Mr. Brink died in
1869. Mrs. Brink is now living.
Their children were : Isaiah died young. William married
Harriet Crump : lives in Golden. Willard. Luraine married
Davis Greene ; lives in Aurora. Glark married Sarah Savage .
lives in Sardinia. Mary married Peter Zimmer; lives in Spring-
ville. Orrin ; Austin. Eliza married George Gregson. Myron
married Ella Gould. Carrie married Charles Olin. Anna mar-
ried George Odell.
Willard Brink was born Aug. 13, 1840, in Phelps, Ontario
county, N. Y. He was married in 1863, in Palmyra, Wayne
county, N. Y., to Alberteen Miller. They have one daughter,
Cora.
Mr. Brink enlisted April 25, 1861, in company I, Seventeenth
New York volunteers ; mustered out of service June 10, 1863.
He participated in the battles of the Peninsular campaign up
to the close of his service — First Bull Run, Seven Pines, etc.
Mr. Brink has been a resident of Sardinia since 1866, and has
served as Commissioner of Highways and Collector in that
town.
.Teftersoii Ij. Childs.
Jefferson L. Childs, son of Samuel and Olin Childs, was born
Jan. 7, 1849, '" ^^^^ Town of Sardinia, where he has always
858 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
resided, being engaged in buying cattle. Oct. 22, 1868, he mar-
ried Malinda Odell. He has a family of three children, viz.:
Alta L., born May 7, 1869. Flora, born March 4, 1875.
Hattie E., born Dec. 12, 1880.
Mr. Childs had two brothers in the Rebellion — Myron and
Decatur, both of whom were taken prisoners at Nashville, Tenn.,
and Myron died in Andersonville prison.
His father Samuel was born in Aurora, Nov. 3, 1841, and
died in Sardinia, Jan. 29, 1866. His grandfather, Henry
Childs, a native of Vermont, attained the remarkable age of
ninety-eight years, six months and sixteen days, and lived with
his wife seventy-one years.
Hiram D. Coriiwell.
Mr. Cornwell's father, Levinus Cornwell, was a son of Ben-
jamin and Hester Carrington Cornwell. He was born in Con-
necticut in November, 1791 ; moved first to Cortland county,
N. Y.; then to Springvillein 1822, and to Sardinia in 1830, onto
lot thirt}^-six, township 7, range 5. Mr. Cornwell was a tan-
ner currier and shoemaker, but he gave up those professions
after moving on to the farm, to which he gave exclusive atten-
tion up to his death, Nov. 3, 1878.
He was married to Lois Wheat, A\ho was born Nov. 28,
1794, at Whitehall, Washington, county, N. Y., and died in
Sardinia, May 5, 1871. They had four children:
Asher, born Dec. 22, 1820; married Delilah Stone; is a
farmer and lives in Holland.
Levinus, born Sept. 4, 1822; married Charlotte Soule ; is a
practitioner of medicine at Alden, Erie county, N. Y., and has
been Supervisor of Alden. Miles C, born in Sardinia Jan. 12,
1 83 1 ; has been married three times — first to Harrier Weeden ;
second to Mary Weeden ; third to Dorcus Doty. He is a
wagon maker and lives at Randolph, N. Y.
Hiram Cornwell was born at Springville, N. Y., Dec. 12,
1823, and came to Sardinia in 1830, where he has since lived.
He is a farmer ; was married in 1855 to Martha J. Weather-
low, who was born Dec. 8, 1822, at Waterloo, N. Y. They
have seven children, viz.:
Lois v., Charles H., S. Alida, Nellie M., Willis L., Ernest
J. and Marion E.
HIOr.RAPHICAL SKKTCIIES.
859
Mr. Cornwell attended school at Aurora under Principal
Barney three terms, about I<S40. He taut^ht school five or six
Winters, three terms of which were in the town of Holland.
Mr. Cornwell has been Supcri'isor of Sardinia two terms.
Hiram Crosby.
Mr. Crosby was born March 30, 18 14, in Sardinia, where he
has always resided ; his occupation is farming. He has been.
Assessor and Commissioner of Highways in Sardinia. He was
married Dec. 22, 1837, to Susan Jackman, who was born Dec.
9, 18 18. They have had twelve children, viz.:
Levi, born Nov. 8, 1837; married Mary Anderson; re-
sides in Wisconsin. Aldcn, born Feb. 26, 1839; married
FIREPLACE IN BRICK CHIMNEY.
Mary Johnson; resides in Sardinia. Morton, borri March 30,
1841 ; died July 14, 1864, in Andersonville prison. Jeremiah,
born March 27, 1843; ^^^^^ ^^'ly -- 1845. David, born Nov.
17, 1846; died July 10, 1864, in Chicago; he was a soldier in
the Rebellion. Emily N., born June 26, 1849; married Duane
Fuller; resides in Concord. Lucy M., born April 6, 185 1 ;
died March 28, 1853. Albert, born June 28, 1853; married
Ella Smith ; resides in Concord. Clark F., born May 3, 1855.
86o BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Millard F., born Jan. 5, 1857. Alice A., born July 9, ICS59;
married Alva King. Hiram E., born Feb. 28, 1863.
Morton C'rosby.
Morton Crosby was born in November, 1776; came from
Herkimer county, N. Y., to Sardinia in 181 1 ; was by occupa-
tion a farmer; he died in Sardinia, April i, 1840; his wife's
maiden name was Charlotte Wilcox, who was born Sept. i,
1777, died March 13, 1865. Morton Crosby served as a sol-
dier in the War of 181 2, and was at Buffalo when it was burned.
FAMILY RECORD.
Parley, born Dec. 16. 1800. in Litchfield, Herkimer county,
N. Y.; married to Charlotte Heacox ; now lives in the State of
Wisconsin and is a hotel keeper. Luc}', born about 1802 at
Litchfield, Herkimer count}', N. Y.; married Jonathan Mathew-
son, who died in April, 1879. Sanford, born about 1804 in
Litchfield, Herkimer county, N. Y.; died in Illinois about 1850.
Mary, born in 1806; married Chauncey Hakes ; died in Illinois
in October, 1864. Eleanor, born in 180^. John, born in Sep-
tember, 1810; married Sarah Hakes in 1830; his second wife
was a Mrs. Hyde, who was a widow. Hiram, born in 181 2.
Mahala, born July 29, 18 14, in Sardinia. -Solomon, born in
1818; married Ellen Sweet; he died in Iowa in 1869. Porter,
born in 1820; married Katie Clover; he died in Minnesota in
1863.
Thomas Fitzpatrick.
Thomas Fitzpatrick was born in Count}- Clare, Ireland in
1815; came to America, to Springville, in 1848; became a
permanent resident of Sardinia, " Prattham," in 1859, ^vhere he
lived until his death, Ma}' 12, 1876. By occupation he was a
blacksmith and farmer. He married Mary Cotteral who was
born in Utica, N. Y.; she died in 1879. The}' had thirteen
children, viz :
Thomas, born 1850. Sarah A., born 1852 ; married James
L.Steele. Maggie E., born 1853; married Clifford Firman.
Frank, born 1855 ; died at two years of age. John, born 1856 ;
married Luella Hopkins. Daniel, born 1858. Francis, born
1859; married Lizzie hlanagan. James, born 1862. Ella,
iu()(;kaimiic Ai. ski; re 1 IKS. 86i
born 1863. Mary, born 1865. William, born 1867. Fatrick
Hcnry, born 1870. Andrew, born 1871,
flolin <<iai-li('l<l.
In 1792, John (iarficld, of Lincoln, Mass., purchased of John
Colburn, the farm formerly owned by Moses Cutting;. Garfield
was a patriot of the Revolution. Ha\'in(;" made provisions for
his famil)' he entered the arm\' at the bci^innini^ of the war and
served his country until the war ended After the war he
resided in Lincoln about nine years, then, with his family, con-
sisting of his wife and nine children, removed to Marlboro, and
settled on the farm before mentioned. Here he spent the
remainder of his days. He has the reputation of having been
a good citizen, a kind husband and father, and his children now
living largel)' inherit his virtues. John Garfield had fourteen
children :
Sarah, born 1770; married Lucy Davis; died in London-
derry, Vt. Abraham, born 1779; married Eunice Thurston;
died in Jeffrey. Luc}-, born 1781; married Eastman Alexan-
der; died in Troy. Samuel, born 1782; died in New York.
James, born 1784; died 1844. Thomas, born 1786; married
Lois Davis ; died in Londonderr\'. Isaac, born July 7, 1788-
married Submit Alexander ; died March, 1883. Thankful, born
1790 ; married Israel Davis ; died in Montgomery. Abel, born
1792; married Martha Ealler; died in Troy. Elisha, born 1794;
married Polly Pierce ; died in Sardinia, X. V. Enoch, born
1796; married Lucy Hopkins; died in Troy, May, 1883. Aba-
gail, born 1798; married Newel Lay; died in Ilinchendon,
Mass. Hepzibcth, born 1798; married Amos Ray; died in
Gardner.
l.saac Oarfiolcl.
Isaac Garfield, the eighth child of John Garfield, was born
July 7, 1788. He married Submit Alexander, by whom he had
eight children, three d\-ing in infancy. The names of the five
living are: Eliza, born in Wrmont : married Gideon Tilling-
hast ; lives in Sardinia. Antis, born in Vermont; married
George Furman ; lives in Sardinia. Issac, born in Vermont ;
married Lititia Cochran ; lives in Sardinia. Joseph A., born in
the Town of Londonderr)-, \T., May 10, 1826; married .Mrs.
862 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Long, formerly Miss Mary Ann Hopkins, Jan. 20, 1866, and
lives in Sardinia. Chancey, born in Vermont ; married Ellen
Tolman and lives in Sardinia.
Joseph A. and Mary Ann Garfield have two children : Burt,
born in Sardinia Nov. 16, 1865. Addie M., born in Sardinia,
Sept. 22, 1867. Mr. Gariield is a farmer. He located on the
central part of lot fifty-nine, township seven, range five, in
i860; afterwards bought one hundred acres on lot sixty, town-
ship seven, range five, and at another time fifty acres on lot
four, township seven, range six, making in all about two hun-
dred acres of choice land.
Although his principal business is farming, Mr. Garfield is
frequently called by his fellow townsmen to fill of^ces of pub-
lic trust. Mrs. Garfield's children by her first husband, (Zelo-
tus Long) are Mary A., born April 7, 1S51. Willie, born April
27, 1858, all born in Sardinia.
Chaiiiicey Garfield.
, Chauncey Garfield is a farmer and lives in Sardinia. *He
married Ellen Tolman, by whom he has one child, Ella, born
June, 1867. Mr. Garfield owns and occupies a farm of over
three hundred and fifty acres. He is an energetic and success-
ful farmer and a respected member of society.
Chaiiiicey Hastings.
Chauncey Hastings was born Jan. 20, 1792, in Wilmington,
Vt., and came to Sardinia in 1822. He married Elarcia Titus,
who was born in the Province of Lower Canada, Sept. 10, 1803.
When Mr. Hastings first came to Sardinia he boarded with
Willis Cornwell and sold goods in his house. There was no
other house at that time, where the village now is. There
were three other families by the name of Clark living over on
the east side of the creek. Mr. Hastings built the hotel in
1824 or 1825, and also built an ashery about the same time.
He was a merchant, hotel-keeper and farmer, also run an
ashery and made potash and sometimes bought and drove cattle
east to market. He was an energetic and enterprising busi-
ness man. He died in 1864. His children are:
Seymour, born July 4, 1824; married Sarah Mosier and lives
in Aurora; Chauncey J., born May 16, 1826; married Lydia
liiocRAi'iiUAi. ski: rciii-.s. <S63
Cliadddck and lives in Buffalo. Julia !'' ranees, born Se])t. 13,
182S. B'jattie Samantha. born Aul;'. 11, 1S31; married Joel
l\)vvel and resides in Buffalo. Minerva Maria, born May 26,
1H34; married George Stron^i^ and resides in Sardinia. Mary
Abagail, born April 24, 1<S27.
XoAvoll S. Hosiiior.
Newell S llosmer was born Nov. 26, 1821, in the town of
Sardinia. His occupation a farmer. Was married June 25,
1855, to Clarissa Rider, who was born in Sardinia in 1825. His
father's name was J. B. Hosmer, his mother's maiden name was
Lura Abbe.
Newell S. Hosmer built the cheese factory in 1869, near
where he lives and known as the Cloverfield factory.
Sold it to Johnson, Richardson & Horton in 1873. He run
the factor)- four }'ears and started a factory near James Hop-
kins the same year as factory No. 2. In 1872 he built a fac-
tor}- in Hollanci and run it one year. During the time he
owned the Clo\-erfield factor}- (from April, 1869), he made in
round numbers about six hundred tons of cheese. Mr. Hosmer
lives on the old homestead, having bought out the other heirs
in 1854. John B. Hosmer first located east of Sardinia village,
near where the Cherr}- Tavern was kept. Then removed to the
place where Newell S. now lives in 18 14 or 1815. The first
school in the east part of Sardinia was taught in 1814, in a log
house near Newell S. Hosmer's residence, by Miss Melinda
Abbe. The}- had one child : Lucien, born March 25, 1856.
John B. Hosmer.
John B. Hosmer was born Nov. 10, 1787, in Windham
county, Conn., in the town of Mansfield, and came to Sardinia
in 1 8 13. Was a farmer. Was married to Lura Abbe, June 9,
1809, who was born Jan. 30, 1791, in Chatham. Came to Sar-
dinia in 181 3. Ancestors were early settlers in Connecticut ;
they came from Scotland. J<^hn B. Hosmer was a soldier in
the war of 1812. He died in Sardinia July 2, 1854. Mrs.
Hosmer lives at Racine, Wisconsin : Their children were :
Arvilla, born Oct. 5, 1810; married Alonzo Fitch. Alonzo,
born March 8. 181 2 ; died Jan. 2!, 1814 ; Ezra S..born Oct. 31,
864 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
1814; died Dec. 28, 1819. Mariam B., born Jan. 25, 1819;
married Orson Phelps and lives at Mt. Pleasant, Wisconsin.
Newell S., born Nov. 26, 1821 ; married Clarissa Rider and
lives in Sardinia. Harry W., born Feb. 26, 1823 ; married
Jenette Wright and lives in Wisconsin. Anna S., born April
14, 1826; married Nicholas Montpied and lives in Wisconsin.
John F., born May 20, 1828, lives at La Crosse, Wis. Babe,
born Dec. 14, 1S30; died Dec. 17, 1830.
Thomas Hopkins.
Thomas Hopkins, son of Thomas N. and Sarah Howe Hop-
kins, was born in Windham county, Vt., Jan. 16, 1802. His
grandfather, James Hopkins, was a native of New England and
a soldier of the Revolution ; was Lieutenant, and at one time
had command of a company at Peekskill, N. Y.
John H., a brother of James, served in the same war, was at
the Battle of Bunker Hill, and when the ammunition failed he
says "they threw stones like Hieton."
His grandmother's maiden name was Mary Ann McGregor,
and supposed to be from the North of Ireland, as were the an-
cestors on his fathers side. They were of Scotch-Irish descent.
Mr. Hopkins came to Sardinia in 1823 ; was married Oct. 26,
1826, by the Rev. John Wiley, to Sally Hall, who was born
June 17, 1805, at Deerfield, Oneida, county, N. Y. About
1828 Mr. H. located on the southeast part of lot nineteen,
township seven, range five, where he now lives, and as the lot
was then mostly covered with timber, much of his time for a
few years, like other early settlers, was spent in " wielding the
axe." Mr. Hopkins has been one of the leading men of his
town as the records show. He had five children :
Mary Ann, born Aug. 7, 1827; married March 28, 1850, to
Zelotus Long, who died in September, 1857; she was married
a second time to Joseph Garfield March 31, 1867, and lives in
Sardinia. Eliza Mariah, born March 21, 1834. Harriet Caro-
line, born May 29, 1837, married to Edward K. Farrington
March 31, 1861. Wilson N., born Jan. 31, 1842; lives in Sar-
dinia ; Charles D., born Oct. 8, 1844; married Gertrude Holmes
Sept. 8, 1870.
mOC;RAPIIICAL SKETCHES. 865
Tlioiiias N. Hopkins.
Thomas N. Hopkins was born May 4, 1776, at Londonderry,
N. H. His wife's name was Sarah Howe, who was born March
8, 1780, in Westmoreland, N. H. His father's name was James
Hopkins ; his mother's maiden name was Mary Ann McGregor ;
came from the north of Ireland, near the Scotch border;
were Scotch-Irish. James Hopkins, the father, was a Lieuten-
ant in the Revolutionary war ; had command of a company at
Peekskill one Winter ; his brother, John Hopkins, \\as at the
Battle of Bunker Hill, and i^ot out of ammunition and then
threw stones at the enemy.
FAMILY RECORD.
Thomas, born Jan. 16, 1802 ; married Lucy Hall ; lives in
Sardinia. Eliza, born Nov. 21, 1S03; married Samuel Crocker ;
not living at the present. Dudley, born Jan. 6, 1806; married
Maria Wilson; lives in Sardinia. James, born Dec. 2, 1801 ;
mawied Charilla Ballard ; lives in Sardinia ; Nehemiah. born
March i, 1810; married Maria Butler; lives in Corfu, Genesee
county, N. Y.; Robert N., born June 10, 1812; married Sarah
Ann Canahan ; liv^es in Batavia ; she is not living ; Mary Ann,
born July 4, 1814; died young. Nelson, born Feb. 28, 1819;
married Mary Couch ; both are dead. Clarissa, born March 3,
1824; married Amos Vandenburg ; lives in Brocton, Chautau-
qua county, N. Y.
Robert Hopkins.
Robert Hopkins was born Dec. 11, 1787. Dec. 26, 181 1, lie
was united in marriage to Miss Submit Howe, b\' whom he
had six children :
David M., born at Londonderry, Vt., Oct. 15, 1812 ; died
March 29, 18 15. Daniel, born Nov. 23, 18 14; died June 10,
1815. James, born March i, 1816; lives in Sardinia. Clarissa,
born Dec. 21. 1818 ; died Feb. 29, 1870. Nancy, born Nov. 13,
1820; died Sept. 10, 1873. William, born Nov. 4, 1824; died
Sept. 10, 1873.
Mr. Hopkins came to Sardinia in 1823, and located on lot
two, township seven, range 6, where he opened a farm upon
which he resided until the time of his death, which occurred
866
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
May 24, 1846, at the age of fift}'-eight years, six months and
fourteen days.
.Faiues Hopkins.
James, the only surviving member of the family of Robert
Hopkins, was born at Londonderry, Vt., March 7, 18 16. In
early life he came with his father to Sardinia, where he shared
in the toil required to open a farm in the primitive forest. Mr.
Hopkins married Miss Abigail Rider, daughter of Horace
Rider, May 19, 1844. He continued to reside on the farm
which he had assisted in clearing until within a few years, when
MRS. JAMES HOPKINS.
JAMES HOPKINS.
he removed to the farm formerly owned and occupied by Hor-
ace Rider, leaving the homestead in charge of his son. Mr.
and Mrs. Hopkins have had three children :
Horace, born Dec. 20, 1845; <^i^d Feb. 4, 1848. Robert,
born July 13, 1849. Frankie, born Dec. 25. 1854.
Mr. Hopkins has always been a very industrious, thorough-
going and successful farmer and business man.
Harry House.
Harry House was born in Hartford, Conn., Nov, 6, 1787; re
moved to Cazcnovia, Madison county, N. Y., where he married
Annie Martindale, by whom he had nine children :
Hiram H., born Dec. 20, 1813; Alexander, born Sept. 18,
1815. Samuel, born Feb. 4, 1818. William M., born Oct. i 5,
IJIOtJRAlMIICAL SKETCHES. . 86/
1820. Georj^c \\'., born May 10, 1823. Harry L., born June
14, 1826, died Nov. 7, 1834. Joel D., born Aut,^ 17, 1828.
Dwight F., born May 2, 1831. Harriet P., born Oct. 10, 1833.
Mr. House moved from Cazenovia, Madison county, in 1824,
and located in Concord, Erie county, where he resided for
many )-ears.
Samuel House.
Samuel House, third son of the preceding, was born in Nel-
son, Madison county, Feb. 4, 18 18. When he was six years
old, his father removed from Madison county to Concord, and
located on land covered with the primitive forest, which
afforded young Samuel and his brothers excellent opportunities
to develop their muscles and acquire that manly courage which
enables them to meet the responsibilities of life with courage
— and the habits of industry acquired in early life are a sure
guarant)' against penur}' and want.
Mr. House has been twice married ; first, to Sally Holman,
Jan. 18, 1843, by whom he had four children:
Mary A., born Oct. 29, 1843, ;i'''d Helen L., born Aug. 21,
1847; both accidentally drowned, July 12, 185 1. Henry A.,
born July 25, 1850; married Emma Bond, Dec. 13, 1876;
Leora, born Sept. 14, 1852 ; married Austin Olmsted April,
1875- -
Mrs. Sally House died July 13, 1854. Mr. House was
united in marriage to Mrs. Lydia M. Ballard, March 4, 1858.
They have one child, Stanley G., born March 21, 1859; ^^^^r:-
ried Emma Crosby, March 21, 1880. Mr. House is a black-
smith by trade, but for several years past has owned and
worked a farm lying on the Cattaraugus creek in the Town of
Sardinia.
Albert Hall.
Albert Hall, son of Louis and Sarah Hall, is a nati\-e of Sar-
dinia, and was born Jan . 19, 1848. He occupies a farm situ-
ated four miles northeast of Sardinia village, it being a part of
the quarter section bought by his grandfather, Daniel Hall, in
1812. March 2, 1873, he married Mary Tiffney, daughter of
Jared and Louisa Tiffney, of Wales, Erie county, N. Y. His
868 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
father Louis, died Aug. 25, 1866, and his mother, Sarah, Hves
at Marilla, Erie county, N. Y., having married again, to Albert
Adams of that place.
Mr. Hall has a family of three children : Louis, born Aug.
I, 1874. Glenna, born Aug. 2, 1879. O^^' born Aug. 6, 1881.
Benjaiuiu Johu.son.
Mr. Johnson formerly resided at Covcntr\-, R. L, where he
married Miss Alzada Briggs. They have had four children :
Horace C, Burrell L., Nancy A., and Mary Jane.
Horace C. married Helen Bailey, of Holland and lives in
Sardinia. Mary Jane died in 1879.
Benjamin Johnson came to Sardinia about 1829, and located
the land on which he now resides.
Burrell L. Jolmsoii.
Burrell L. Johnson, the second son of the preceding, was born
in Sardinia, Erie county, Dec. 21, 1831. Was united in mar-
riage with Miss Eliza Edith Scott, Nov. 9, 1853, and settled in
Sardinia. They have two children :
Lillie Isadore, born Sept. 17, 1858, in Sardinia ; married I'red
Bigelow at Sardinia, Aug. 12, 1877. M^'- Bigelow died at Sar-
dinia, March i, 1881, leaving one child — Flora, born Feb. 20>
1879. Halsey S., born in Sardinia, Nov. 12, 1862, lives with
his father.
Mr. Johnson is a farmer and owns and occupies a very con-
venient and desirable farm of two hundred and seventeen acres
near Sardinia village.
Keubcii Long-.
Reuben Long was born in Coventry, Conn., March 29, 1764.
In the Spring of 1816 he and his son Silas came to Sardinia
and bought one hundred acres of land of Mr. Persons of (jcn-
eseo, at six dollars per acre. In the following September, Mr.
Long having previousl}^ returned to Connecticut, the family
came on. Their mode of conveyance consisting of two yoke
of oxen with a horse hitched ahead and tw one-horse wagons.
They came via Albany, Cayuga Lake and Geneseo to Sardinia-
where Mr. Long li\ed until his death, .April 27, 1:46. His wife.
mocRArmcAL skktciies. 869
Ksthcr Hini;haiii. was born April 12, 1776, and died Jan. 26,
1851. Mr. Lontj's father's name was Lemuel Lon<^ ; his
m(,)ther's maiden name was Martha Brewster.
Two of Reuben Long's brothers. Rufus and Josej)h, were
killed in the Revolutionary war.
Famih' Record: Silas, born March 3, 1796, in Connecticut;
went west in 1817; his friends do not know \\hether he is
alive or not. Eli, born h'eb. 4, 1798. unmarried, died Dec. 8,
1856, in Sardinia. Patty, born No\'. 23, 1799; married Joseph
McClure in 1823. who died Sept. 1873 ; she died recently in
Sardinia. ICrastus, born Oct. 17, 1802; married Hannaii
Putnam; he died April 10, 1809, '" Michigan. Esther, born
May 2, 1805; married Luke Smith; died Sept. 10, 1876, at
Arcade. Joseph, born May 26, 1807 ; married Angeline Jewett
and li\'es in Sardinia. Nancy, born Dec. 9, 1809; married Lu-
zerne Hunt and lives In Sardinia. Melinda, born Oct. 28,
181 1, unmarried; died April 19, 1865. Lemuel, born Oct,. 29,
1813 ; married Jane Shumaker ; lives in Iowa. Charles, born
Oct. 9, 1816; li\-es in Sardinia.
Charles Loiii»'.
Mr. Long was born Oct. 9, 18 16, in Sardinia, where he has
always resided. He was married in 1846 to Cordelia West,
who was born March 22, 1818, in Tompkins count}', N. Y. Mr.
Long's occupation is that of farmer. He owned the Sardinia
grist-mill from 1858 to about 1869, when he sold it to Nicholas
Bolander. He also owned the saw-mill north of the village at
one time. They have five children : Ada Eliza, born in 1846;
married Judson Carney: resides in Sardinia. Edgar, born in
1848; married Mar\- Winston ; resides at North Branch, Minn.,
where he went about 1868. He taught school at first and sub-
sequently engaged in trade: he is now largely engaged in lum-
bering and is an extensive owner of timbered land. Ida, born
in 1852; married Albert Hawkins; resides in Sardinia. Eu-
gene, born 1857; resides in Minnesota. Frank, born in 1861 ;
lives at home.
Joseph Lona.
Joseph Long was born in 1807, in Coventry, Conn., and came
to Sardinia with his father's family in 1816; his occupation is
8/0 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
that of a farmer, He married Mary A. Jewett, who was born
March, 1820. in Cayuga county. N. Y. They had a family of
nine children :
Reuben E., born Dec. 20, 1840 ; married about 1861 to Eliza
Truesdale. Melissa, born March 15, 1842, Levi O., born Sept.
17, 1844; married Nov. 14, 1872 to Libbie Golden. Josephine
W., born March 15, 1846; married Nov. 27, 1873 to Clark
Ferrin. Georgiana E., born June 21, 1850; married Jan. i,
1872 to Clark Ferrin ; died Sept. 10, 1872. Silas A., born April
I/' 1853 ; married April 15, 1875 to Emma Lake. Lemuel A.,
born March 12, 1855; married Jan. 21, 1876 to Julia Robbins.
Luella, born April 22, 1862; married Dec. 24, 1879 ^o Nelson
Ferrin. Maryette, born July 12. 1853; died Aug. 12, 1869.
Charles D. Madison.
Mr. Madison's grandfather's name was Eason Madison. His
father, Obediah Madison, was born May 29, 1790 ; was married
July 7, 1816 to Martha Hull, who was born May 28, 1789, and
died July 22, 1873. He died Sept. i, 1857. They had three
children :
Charles D , born Dec. 20, 1820; married Aug. 29, 1845 to
Diana Briggs, who was born Oct. 23, 1826. Louisa, born Dec.
23, 1822; married Wilber Tillinghast. Irene S., born July 2,
1830; married E. H, Stickney.
Mr. Madison says: " My father came to Sardinia with his
family in the Winter of 18 18 and '19, from Benington, Vt.,with
oxen and sled, located on the south part of lot forty-eight on
one hundred acres where he lived until his death. The plage
called Madison's corners was named after him." Li speaking
of wild animals at an early day he says : " Sexton Bigelow was
over at John VVeller's, sitting in the door, and as he looked
over to the north, on the rise of land, he saw some kind of ani-
mal and asked "whose black hogs those were?" Weller looked
and saw three bears, and started in pursuit with his dog but no
gun. The dog attacked the bears and the old she bear turning
upon Weller he escaped by catching hold of the limbs of a
friendly tree and swinging himself up out of her reach. The
bears then went away, but the neighbors rallied in pursuit and
shot all three.
BIOCRAPIIICAL SKKTCHES. 87 I
Oil anotlicr ()ccasit)n I remember m)' sister and I were out
wliere mother was milkini^; the wolves commenced howHng
near by, and we were sent to the house for safety."
Charles D. Madison has had four children : Martha Jane,
married Austin Stickney, of Holland. Edt^ar, married Eldith
Wells. Ida, died yount;". Clara, married M. Frank Cottrell.
Aldeii J. McArtlmr.
Mr. McArthur was a son of John McArthur, a prominent
business man of Buffalo, where he died in 1828. He was born
June 4, 1824, in Holland, N. Y. At the death of his father he
went to live with his uncle, Moses McArthur, a prominent citi-
zen of Holland, who for thirty-si.K years in succession (one
year excepted) held the ofifice of Supervisor in Holland and .
Wales.
At fourteen years of age Mr. McArthur came to Sardinia
and became an apprentice of Zacheus W. Fuller, at the axe-
makers' and blacksmiths' trade. Since 1844 he has carried on
the blacksmith business at the " Upper Corners," Sardinia.
Mr. McArthur has been Deputy Sheriff two terms, one under
Sheriff Dorsey and one under Sheriff Cleveland.
He was married in 1847 to Florilla Risley, of Fredonia.
They have one daughter :
Ellen, who married James Cook, of Sardinia, in 1872.
Curtis Newton.
Mr. Newton's father, Ethan Newton, was born Oct 4, 1779,
in Stonington, R. I. He was a soldier of the war of 18 12, and
took part in the battle of Sackett's Harbor. His father, Isaac
Newton, was a soldier of the Revolution. His occupation was
that of millwright, carpenter and joiner. He was twice mar-
ried ; first in 1802 to Hannah Ellis, who died in Jefferson
county, N. Y., about 1818 ; second time to Thirza Wood, in
1824, who died May 26, 1859, aged sixty years.
Mr. Newton had seven children by his first wife and six b}-
his second :
FAMILY RECORD.
John, died when seven years old. Oris, at about the same
8/2 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
age in 1843. Orlando, came to Sardinia about 1832; after-
wards he moved to Michigan where he died in 1843. Susana,
married Jonathan B. Thomas in 1827 and died in Michigan in
1876. Elhs, was born in Jefferson county, N. Y., and married
Catherine Gates, who died in 1877; Mr. Newton is still living
at Sardinia, N. Y. P. C, who was a married man and born in
1 8 16. Henry, born in 1818 ; married Mary Hudson ; he died
soon after being discharged from the United States service in
1862. Curtis, born in 1825 ; married in 1856 to Lucretia Ab-
bott, of Concord. Hannah, born April 2, 1827. Lucy, born
in 1829; married in 1855 to Sanford Thomas ; sh-^i is a widow
now and resides in Michigan. George, born in 1832 ; died in
1844. Elvira, born in 1836; married in 1857 to Hanford West,
. who resides in Sard-nia. Cornelia, born in 1838 ; lives in Sar-
dinia.
Curtis Newton was born in Jefferson county, N. Y., and
came to the town of Sardinia in 1849. ^Y occupation he is a
farmer. For a time he was the proprietor of the Newton
cheese factory. He had six children, viz.:
George, born Oct. 7, 1856; died June 12, 1858 ; Charles, born
Aug. 5, 1858; died in 1866. Guy, born Sept. 5, 1862; John,
born Aug. 18, 1864. Lillie, born May 12, 1869; Charles, born
March 13, 1871.
Caleb Nichols.
Caleb Nichols was born about 1783 in Coventry, R. I.; came
to Sardinia in 181 5 ; died March 27, 1870; his wife's name was
Sophia Collins; was born Dec. 8, 1799, i" Cayuga county, N.
Y.; she died June i, 1856. His father's name was Reuben
Nichols; came from Rhode Island; died July 20, 1840. His
mother died in Rhode Island.
fWMIEV RECORD.
Dates of births of some of the family are wanting.
Stephen, married Harriet Irish ; lives at Arcade. Hannah,
lives in Sardinia. William, lives in Sardinia. Mary, married
Abram Smith; died Dec. 19, 1866. Caleb, married Eunice
Smith; not living. Sarah, married William Long; died in
1875. James, died in 1874. Nancy, married Delias Giles and
HKx; RAPiiicAi. sKirrciiKS. 783
died in 1880. Arvilla, barn Sjpt. 5, 1S35 ; died May 12, 1870 ;
John, born Scj^t. 5, 1837. Harrison, born in October, 1840;
married Hattie Rudd. Harriet, born Au^. i, 1842; married
Monroe Withereil, of Arcade; died in 1872.
eJolin Nichols.
Mr. Nichols was born in Sardinia Sept. 5, 1837, where he
now resides; he is a farmer; was married Feb. 28, 1858, to
Helen Kimball, who was born in Holland, N. Y., April 7, 1838.
They have two children:
Fred and Kate.
Mr. Nichols' maternal grandfather was a soldier of the Revo-
lution, and he had four cousins in the Union arm\' during the
Rebellion, one of whom, B)'ron, froze to death, Dec. 31, 1864,
while on picket duty; another, Horace, died the next day af-
ter his return from the army, and another. Se}'mour, was killed
at Fort Donaldson.
John Ostrander.
John Ostrander was one of a family of thirteen children, nine
boys and four girls. He was born in 18 16 in Montgomery
county, N. Y., from which place he came to Sardinia in 185 i.
His father, Solomon Ostrander. came to East Concord about
the same time. Mr. Ostrander is a farmer; he was married
first to Rachael (jraft in 1852, and a second time in 1870 to
Kate Odell, by whom he has three daughters:
Rachael, Maggie and Emilie.
Mr. Ostrander died in the Spring of 1883, since the above
was written.
William Park.
William Park was born in 1791, in Genevva, Seneca county,
N. Y.; came to Boston in 1808, and to Sardinia in 1836; was a
farmer; was married in 181 7 to Rachel Strong, who was born
in Northampton, Mass., in 1793 ; moved to Plattsburg about
1810 ; came to Bcston from Steuben county; he died Aug. 28,
1878 ; his wife lives in Sardinia ; his father's name was Squire
Park; his mother's maiden name was Lucy Strong.
William Park was in the war of 181 2, and his widow draws a
8/4 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
pension. Mrs. Park's father, Nathan Strong, was a soldier all
through the Revolutionary war. Amy Lee was the wife of
Nathan Strong.
FAMILY RECORD.
Celestia A., born Jul}' 17, 1 81 8; married Roswell Frisbee ; died
in Pennsylvania in 1870. Nathan A., born July 4, 1820; mar-
ried Ruth Frisbee, who died, and he married Catherine Peck-
ham ; he lives in Wisconsin. Lucy Ann, born Sept. 4, 1822;
married Anson Sibley; she died in April, 1874. Amy S., born
Feb. 16, 1825 ; married Norman H. Hubbard; lives in Steuben
county. Belinda, born May 13, 1827; married James Dawley,
who died in 1858, and she was married to George Payne, who
died in 1878. Laura M., born Oct. 19, 1829; married Addison
Wheelock ; lives in Sardinia. James C, born May 22, 1832;
married to Ann Reed, who died in 1863, and he married Lottie
Perigo ; he lives in Wisconsin. William, born Ma}' 28, 1838;
married Adelaide Green ; is a dentist and lives in Fredonia, N. Y.
Beliurta P. Payne.
Mrs. Belinda P. Payne, daughter of William and Rachel
Park, was born May 13, 1827, in Boston, Erie county, N. Y.;
came to Sardinia in 1836; was first married to James Dawle}',
in 1 85 I, who died in 1858.
Ir\-ing, their only child, born May 13, 1852, and was married
to Ellen Wood Feb. 2, 1871, in Sardinia, where they now reside.
They have one child :
Burt L., born Oct. 18, 1873.
Mrs. Dawley was married a second time, Aug. 16, 1866, to
George Payne, who died in Canada in 1878. Mrs. Pa}'ne is
now living in Sardinia.
John Pre.ster.
John Prester, son of Conrad and Elizabeth Prester, is a
native of Germany, and was born June 15, 1822. In the Sum-
mer of 1847, he came to America and resided in Buffalo for
three years, after which he lived for a short time in the Towns
of West Seneca and Aurora, after which he came to Sardinia
at which place he now resides.
HloiiRArillCAI. SKKITIIES. 8/5
In 1847, li^ married Elizabeth Peapart, a native of Germany,
and who died June 10, 1873.
He has a family of four children, nanieh- : Henr\', born Jan.
7, 1849, '^'''<^^ resides in Sardinia. William, born Feb. 21, 1851 ;
George, born Sept. 19, 1855 ; I-ouis. born March 13, 1862, and
two daughters, who died young.
Klihii Kice.
Elihu Rice, jDrominently connected with the history, growth
and prosperity of Sardinia, was born in Coventry, R. I., Feb.
27, 1785, and came to Sardinia when twent}'-five years of age,
and took the whole of lot two (500 acres). He subsequently
sold a part of this to his brother Joseph. He was married
Dec. 5, 1 8 16, at Canandaigua, N. Y., to Miss Elizabeth B. Nott.
His father, Joseph Rice, was a soldier of the Revolution, and
Elihu, the subject of this sketch, took an active part in the
war of 181 2 and 181 5. At one time he was in command of
Fort Schlosser on the Niagara frontier.
FAMILY RECORD.
Cyrus, born Nov. 24, 18 17, resides in Sardinia; Edwin, born
Feb. 2, 1820, and lives in Sardinia; Mary, born July i, 1822 ;
married Harlow Boyd, is a widow and lives in Rushford ;
Delos, born April 22, 1825, married Francina McClure and
lives in Sardinia; Alfred, born May 3, 1829, lives on the old
homestead; Martha, born July 21, 1829; married George \V.
Orr ; she died Feb. 24, 1881 ; Charlotte, born Sept. 30, 1831 ;
died Aug. 17, 1836; Malinda, born Feb. 13, 1838 ; married J.
B. Gordon and li\'es in Rushford.
COPY OF MILFIWRY COMMISSION GRANTED TO ELIHU RICE
BY DE WITT CLINTON.
The people of the State of New York, by the grace of God
free and independent :
To all to zvhoni all these presents shall conie, greeting :
Kno\Y ye, That we liave nominated, constituted and
appointed, and b}- these presents do nominate, constitute and
appoint Elihu Rice, Brigade Major and Inspector of the Fifty-
fourth Brigade of Infantrx' of our state. Hereby giYing and
granting unto him all and singular, the powers and authorities
876 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
to the said office by law belonging or appertaining. To have
and to hold the said office, together with the fees, profits and
advantages to the same belonging, for and during the term
limited by the Constitution and Laws of our said state.
In testimony whereof, We have caused these, our letters
to be made patent, and the great seal of our said state
to be hereunto affixed. Witness, De Witt Clinton,
Esq., Governor, General and Commander-in-Chief of
[l. S.] all the Militia, and Admiral of the Navy of our said
state (with the consent of our Senate), at our city of
Albany, the third day of February, in the year of
our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-
seven, and in the fifty-first year of our Independence.
De Witt Clinton.
Passed the Secretary's office the 9th day of February, 1827.
Archibald Campbell,
Department Secretary.
Erie County, ss :
I hereby certify that on the 20th day of /\pril, 1827, the
within-named Elihu Rice personally appeared before me and
took and subscribed the oath required by law to qualify him to
discharge the duties of the office to which he is within com-
missioned. Frederick Richmond,
Brig. Gen. Forty-seventh Brig. Inf., N. Y. S. Militia.
Horace Rider.
Horace Rider was born May i, 1789, and came to the Town
of Sardinia in 181 1, and located one hundred and forty acres
of land on west part of lot fifty-seven, township seven, range
five. He afterwards located on lot twenty-five, near Sardinia
village. He cleared up a large farm and furnished it with
good, substantial buildings. In 1840 he erected a fine brick
residence, that even to-day, stands second to none in town as a
farm building. He also built and conducted a saw-mill for a
term of years, besides overseeing the multifold duties of a large
farm. A man of rare business tact, energ}' and perseverance.
He also participated in the struggles of the war of 181 2 and
1815, on the Niagara frontier. On Feb. 19, 1815 he was united
in marriage to Miss Catharine Wilkes, who was the mother of
a family of nine children, viz :
HIOGKAl'llICAL SKK'ICIIKS. .S//
Nancy, born Aug. 27, 1816 ; married Nelson Nourse and died
in 1866; he died in 1879. William, born Sept. 11, 1818; mar-
ried Clotira Tildeii ; li\es in \'orkshire. Amanda, born Jan.
22, 1820; married Jonathan Calkins; died in Maryland. Aba-
gail, born June 2, 1822; married James Hopkins; lives on the
old homestead. Almira, born June 2, 1824; married (ist) Suel
Pingrey, (2d), George Burlingame ; lives in Little Valley. Oretta,
born April 30, 1826; married James Fitch; lives in Yorkshire
Center. James, born June 3, 1828; married Alary Long; lives
in Bradford, Pa. Julia, born June 8, 1830; married Thaddeus
Cutting; died June 9, 1854. Electa, born March 8, 1832; mar-
ried George Andrews, proprietor of Sardinia Hotel. Hortense,
born Jan. 8, 1836; married Joel House; lives in Yorkshire.
Mr. Rider died Jan. 5. 1850 and Mrs. Rider July I, 1870.
Reuben Rider.
Was born in Dutchess county, N. Y., April 25, 1792. In 1812,
with a capital consisting of five dollars and an axe, he set out
on foot for the Holland Purchase and located on lot fifty-eight
in the Town of Sardinia. Upon this lot he spent the energies
of his life clearing up a farm and making a pleasant home. Jn
1819 he was united in marriage to Miss Jemima Pingrey who is
still li\"ing. The}' liad nine children, viz:
Jerome B., Mahala, Clarissa, Addison, Joel Cj., Eleanor, Har-
riet, Abigail and Reuben C.
Mr. Rider died July 24, 1864.
Reuben C. Rider.
Reuben C. Rider, son. of Reuben Rider, was born Juh" 1 1,
1843, oil the homestead farm, where he has always lived. He
was married in 1870 to Luc\' J. Shultus. They have two
daughters: Iva, born Dec. 6, 1874 anil Erma, born Oct. 11,
1879-
.Jerome B. Ri<ler.
Jerome B. Rider, son of Reuben Rider, was born in Sar-
dinia June 22, 1820, where he resided until his death in 1882.
He owned and cultivated a fine farm at Sardinia village, at the
time of his death. He was married ALi}- 30, 1847, to Eliza
8/8 BI(3CxRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Nichols. They had two sons and one daughter: Seymour,
born Oct. 21, 1849. Charles M., born July 8, 1852. Nellie G.,
born June 9, i860.
Charles M. Rider.
Charles M. Rider, son of Jerome B. Rider, was born July 8,
1852, in Sardinia, where he has since resided. He is a farmer
by occupation; was married to Emma A. Parker in 1875; she
was born Aug. 15, 1857. They have two children: Charles
Howard, born Oct. 30, 1876. Grace E., born July 8, 1878.
Mr. Rider represents his town on the Board of Supervisors
of Erie county this year, (1883).
Charles B. Russell.
Charles B. Russell, son of William and Calista Russell, was
born July 21, 1846, in the Town of Wales, Erie county, N. Y.,
where he resided until March, 1870, when he removed to Sar-
dinia where he has since resided, owning and occupying a farm
four miles north-west of Sardinia village Jan. 25, 1870, he
married Sarah J. Richardson, a native of England, born Feb.
14, 1847, and who came to America with her parents in 1852.
They hav^e no children except an adopted son, Michael, born
July 3, 1873.
Capt. Saiimel Sheparcl, Jr.
Capt. Samuel Shepard, Jr., was born in Connecticut, May
12, 1778, and removed with his father's family to the Town of
Whitestown, N. Y., in 1790; from there, Mr. Shepard came
to Sardinia, in 1817. In 1801. March 10, he was united in mar-
riage to Miss Asaneth Bronson, who was born in his native
State (Conn.) Nov. 4, 1770. The fruits of this union were five
sons and two daughters, viz.:
Olive, born Dec. 30, 1801 died Oct. 22, 1829. Richard, born
Dec. I, 1803; married Lucinda Cunningham; died in 1875.
George, born Feb. 8, 1805 ; married Eunice Briggs ; died March
17, 1864. Amanda, born March 10, 1807; died 1883. War-
ren, born Dec. 8, 1809; married Almedia Lewis. Henry, born
Sept. 18, 1810; married Hannah Corkins ; is a physician.
Albert, born Aug. 24, 18 14, of whom a sketch will be given
hereafter.
ISKXiKAIMlh Al. SKKICIIES. 879-
Mrs. Shcpard died Oct. 16, 1854; he survived her nearly
ten years, dyini;- July 16, 1864. Mr. Shepard, father of Samuel
Shepard, was a soldier of the Revolution, antl lived to the re-
markable at^e of ninety-six \x^ars.
AllM'it SiK'pard.
Albert Shepard, son of Samuel Shepard, was born in (Oneida
county, N. Y., in 1814, and came with his father's family to
the Town of Sardinia in 181 7, where he has since lived, follow-
ing the occupation of farming. Mr. Shepard has been twice
married, first to Antha Briggs, second to Hepsy Garfield. Mr.
Shepard is the fatl-.er of four children, viz.:
Sidney S., born Feb. 25, 1855, and resides at Plymouth,
Mich. Dwight L., born Jan. 27, 1857, and lives in Sardinia.
Olive A., born Feb. 24, 1862 ; lives at home. Orpha A., born
Nov. 4, 1863, antl lives at home.
Nathaniel Simons.
Nathaniel Simons was born in Boston, Mass., and moved to
Whitestown, N. Y., in 18 18, where he li\cd two years in the
capacity of a tanner, currier and shoemaker and also boarded
laborers employed in building the Erie canal. He came to
Sardinia in the fall of 1820, and built a log house without roof;
moved his famih' the following Spring and put a roof on his
house, but lived for some time without door, windows or a
chimney. He died Feb. 17, 1875, aged ninet)'-four years, lack-
ing fourteen days. He was married to Plumy Lancton, of
Springfield, Mass., who died June, 1859.
They had four children : Marium, Roderick, Henry and
Harriet.
Roderick Simons.
Mr. Simons was born April 30, 1810, in Springfield, Mass.;
came to Sardinia with his father s family in 1820. He was
married Aug. 11, 1836, to Frances Kingsley, who was born in
Concord in December, 18 15. They had four children, viz.:
Mary Jane, born Nov. 22, 1844; died Dec. 24, 1847. Julian
C, born Nov. 17, 1847; married June 8, 1873, to Alice Bige-
low. Juliaette, born Dec. 15, 1849; died Oct. 8, 1855. Nel-
lie, born May 24, 1856.
88o BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Mr. Simons was a carpenter and joiner. After working at
that trade a few years, he engaged in wagon and carriage man-
ufacturing, which he pursued eighteen or twenty years. In
1870, he bought the Sardinia Mills. He has built for himself
and afterward sold five different dwelling houses in Sardinia.
He was Supervisor of Sardinia several terms, and Internal
Revenue Assessor for eight years.
Mr. Simons was an active, enterprising business man, and
did much for the benefit of Sardinia village.
Julian Simons.
Mr. Simons was born in Sardinia, where he was married and
always resided. He has two children :
Harry Lee, born Oct. 13, 1874, and Bessie D., born Oct. 22,
1878.
He attended school at Arcade, and in the Spring of 1870,
engaged in business with his father in carrying on the saw-mill
— and for a time the grist-mill -and manufacturing cheese boxes
and carriage materials, which business he still continues. He
also cultivates a farm near the village. In the Spring of 1882.
he opened a cheese factory there. In 1883, he bought the old
M. E. Church, which, at much expense, he has transformed into
two commodious stores.
Henry Simons.
Henry Simons, son of Nathaniel and Plumy, was born July
27, 1 8 16, in Worcester, Mass.; when he was young his parents
ramoved to Sardinia, where he has since resided, except one
year, in which he lived in Wyoming county, N. Y. He has
been twice married, first to Maria McKellips, June 12, 1839;
second to Adaline A. Woods, daughter of Warren and Salone
Woods, Feb. 19, i860. His first wife, Maria, died June 21,
1857, by whom he had six children namely :
Chauncey, born June 17, 1841 ; married Mary Ford and re-
sides in Oconto, Wis. Plumy, born Aug. 18, 1842; married
Sylvester Pitcher, and lives in Oshkosh, Wis. Thomas, born
Jan. 3, 1846 ; is married and resides in Wisconsin. Orlando,
born Sept. 11, 1848; is married and lives in Wisconsin.
George, born April 4, 1851 ; has been twice married, first to
IJIOURArHICAL SKETCHES. 88l
Alice Houi^htoii ; second to Hattie Carlin, and resides in Sar-
dinia ; has one child, Albert H.; business, manufacturer of bent
carriage materials. Roxana, born April 21, 1854; married
Lewis Ford, and resides in Cumberland, Wis.
In 1823 Mr. Simons had the misfortune to break his leg,
which was set by Dr. Colgrove, it being the first limb that he
set in the town of Sardinia.
Mr. Simons died in the Spring of 1883. ^^Y his second wife
he had two children, viz.:
Saloma M., died April 28, 1883, and Elmer.
Mary A. SimonH.
Mary A. Simons, daughter of Samuel and Lovina Wether-
low, was born in Seneca county May 5, 18 18. When sixteen
years of age she removed with her parents to Sardinia, where
she has since resided. Jan. 4, 1834, she married Orson D. Sim-
ons, son of Jonathan and Abigail Simons, of Sheldon, N. Y. ;
her husband, Orson, died April 7, 1874; before his marriage he
spent several years on Lake Erie in the capacity of Captain of
the steamboats Taylor, Sandusky and Governor Marcy, after
which he bought a farm in Sardinia, and followed farming un-
til his death. They raised a family of ten children, namely :
Colonette E., born Aug. 7, 1839 ; married Aug, 3, 1 86 1, to
Thomas Putnam, and resides in Sardinia. Seymour H., born
Oct. 25, 1 841 , married Oct. 6, 1864, to Maria Bosworth, and
lives in Sardinia. Seymour, has three children, as follows:
Bertie, born Nov. 30, 1865 ; Ernest D., born July 8, 1871.
Reuben, born Jul)- 31, 1877.
Stickuey Family.
William Stickney, the first settler, was the ancestor of nearly
all who have since borne that name in America. The old fam-
ily residence was at Ridgmont, a beautiful place about nine
miles east of Hull, England, where the family for many gene-
rations had lived, hospitably and honorably, keeping almost
open iiousc in a large mansion, and receiving guests from al
countries.
Samuel Stickne}-, eldest son of William and Elizabeth, was
born in England in 1633; married first in Bowley, Feb. 18,
34
882 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
1653, Julian Swan, who died in Bradford between the years
1670 and 1673. He married second in Bradford April 6, 1674,
Prudence (Leaver) Gage.
Samuel Stickney came with his father first to Boston, thence
to Rowley, and lived with him till he was twenty-one years of
age ; he then received his portion of his father's estate, and
married Julia Swan. He soon after purchased of William
Acre a freehold, consisting of " land, dwelling house and barn"
originally laid out in 1643 to Thomas Leaver, on Holmes street,
near his father-in-law. Richard Swans. It was bounded "on the
south by the common, and the east end by the streete."
William Stickney, son of Samuel Stickney, born in Bradford
Jan. 27, 1674; married in Bradford Sept. 14, 1701, Anna Hes-
eltine. After his decease she was married second by Rev.
Thomas Symmes, to Samuel Hunt, of Billerica, March 31,
1709. He received May 4, 1704, by deed of gift from his
father " four score acres of land in Bradford, one-half of his
meadow and mowing ground, all his dwelling house and barn,
one-half to be possesst on at present, with the above s'd land,
the other half on his decease, one-half of his upland and Crane
meadow in Rowley." He died in Bradford, and his grave-stone
may still be seen in its old burial ground with the inscription :
"William Stickney, died Feb. 21, 1706, AL. 32." Three chil-
dren.
Daniel Stickney, son of William Stickney, born in Bradford,
Feb. 6, 1706-7, was married at Billerica by Rev. Samuel Rug-
gles, to Mary Hill, Dec. 15, 1730. She died in Billerica June
28, 1798, in her ninty-third year.
Daniel Stickney was Captain of a troop of horse that were
ordered by Colonel Eleazer Tyng, to march for the relief of
Fort William Henry, August, 1757. Capt, Daniel Stickney
died in Billerica, April 25, 1783. He was the father of seven
children :
David Stickney (1st), son of Daniel Stickney, born in Billerica
Jan. 5, 1732-3 ; was married there by his uncle, William Stick-
ney, Esq., Jan. 3, 1765, to Widow Kersiah Shed. She died
March, 1805, and he was married again in Grafton, Vt., by
Rev. William Hall, Oct. 10, 1805, to Widow Rachel Putnum,
" He aged seventy-three, she aged seventy-two." She died
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 883
Sept. 17, 1807. David went from Billcrica as trumpeter, in
the troop of horse that were ordered out by Col. EleazcrTyng
and marched for the reUef of Fort William Henry, under com-
mand of Daniel Stickney (his father), Au<rust, 1757. . He
removed to Grafton, Vt., and died there Oct. 17, 1807, aged
seventy-four. There were six children.
David Stickney (2d,) son of David Stickney first, was born at
Billerica, Nov. 19, and baptised Nov, 25, 1770 ; married Sally
Gray, 1794, and settled in Grafton, Vt., where all his children
but the youngest were born. He then removed to the Holland
Purchase, New York state, from thence to Illinois, where he
died Oct. i, 1854. His widow died in Eden, Erie county, N.
Y., July II, 1855. They had eight children.
David Stickney(3d), son of David Stickney second, was born in
Grafton, Vt., March 2, 1801 ; married Dec. 26, 1826, Hannah
Hopkins, who was born in West Moreland, Vt., Nov. 28, 1800,
and died in Seward, 111., Oct. 9, 1854. He lived in Sardinia,
N. Y., where his children were born. He died Sept. 28, 1854.
There were ten children.
Edwin H. Stickney, son of David Stickney third, was born
in Sardinia, N. Y., Aug. 25, 1828 ; married there Oct. 11, 1854,
Irena Madison, who was born in Sardinia, N. Y.. July 2, 1830.
They still reside in their native town and have one child.
De Carl Stickney, son of Edwin H. Stickney, was born in
Sardinia, Aug. 6, 1857, and lives in Buffalo, N. Y.
Eli Stone.
Eli Stone, son of Pollard and Electa Stone, was born Sept.
14, 1828, in the Town of Sardinia, where he now resides own-
ing and occupying a farm situated four miles northwest of Sar-
dinia village. July 17, 1852, he married Hulda J. White,
daughter of Albert and Jane White. Many of Mr. Stone's
uncles were soldiers in the war of 1812. His father Pollard
and his six brothers participated in the battle of Plattsburg,
and his grandfather, John Stone, served in the Revolutionary
war. The record of his family are as follows :
Ella A., born Aug. 17, 1853 ; married Abby Rouse Sept. 29,
1877. Marvin A., born Oct. 5, 1854; married Matie Kuhan,
Oct. 6, 1877. Charles W., born June 8, 1859. Wilson L., born
\
884 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
April 2 1, 1 86 1. Frank P., born Dec. 14, 1868, and died Dec
25, 1868. Benjamin, born Dec. 12, 1870. James H., born Oct.
5, 1872, and an adopted daughter, Ida M., born June 20, 1878.
Edward Scott.
Mr. Scott was born in Coventry, Kent county, R. I., March
9, 1794. Jan. 10, 1816, he married Miss Ohve Madison, who
was born at West Greenwich, Kent count}-, R. I., Oct. 1797-
They have five children : Halsey, born May 10, 1818, in Rhode
Island, died at Detroit, Mich., Mov. 8, 1861. Leonard, born
Sept. 25, 1822, in Sardinia, and died there Nov. 8, 1854.
Celestia, born April 3, 1827; married Reynold Tillinghast
March 5, 1848, at Sardinia, where they now reside. Eliza E.,
born March &, 1835, at Sardinia; married Burrell L.Johnson
Nov. 9, 1853. They live in Sardinia.
Charles Spencer.
Mr. Spencer's father, ^sagh Spencer, was born in 1804, in
Westminster, Vt.; from there he went to Hinsdale, N. H.,
where he was married to Roxy Stearns,. From Hinsdale, they
moved to Otto, N. Y., in 1826, and to Sardinia, " Prattham." in
1828, where they now reside. When they came to Sardinia,
the only settlers on the " Prattham " road were Deacon Beach,
Isaac Bradshaw, and John Philips, Jr.
Mr. Spencer had four children : Fannie married George
Firman and since died. Caroline married J. W. Peckham and
died April 21, 1871. W^arren ; and Charles, who was born in
Sardinia, Sept. 30, 1835, where he has since resided. His busi-
ness is farming and milling. He was married Feb. 11, 1858,
to Sarah E. Grififith, daughter of John Griffith. They have
five children ;
Kinnie C, born 1858. Arthur C, born 1863. Belle, born
1867. Clark R., born 1870, and PVank C, born 1873.
Kinney C. Spencer.
Kinney C. Spencer, the subject of this sketch, was born in
Sardinia, Erie county, N. Y., Dec. i, 1859. His father's name
is Charles Spencer ; his mother's maiden name was Sarah Grif-
fith. He lived with his parents in Sardinia, and attended school
BIOGRAl'lIICAL SKETCHES. 885
at Springville a number of terms, until 1880, when he came
to Concord and boui^ht the saw-mill one and one-fourth miles
east of Springville, of Peter Zimmer. This he run until the
Fall of 1882, when he sold out and returned to Sardinia, where
he now lives. He was married Jan. i, 1879, ^^ Miss Emma
Ruple. They have one child:
Clyde Spencer, who was born Oct. 27, 1880,
Cyreim.s F. Starkweather.
Cyrenus F. Starkweather, son of Sidney Starkweather and
Belinda (Cook) Starkweather, was born in Hamburg, N. Y.,
Jan. 19, 1838 ; came to Sardinia at fourteen years of age,
where he resided until his death, Oct. 28, 1882. He was mar-
ried Feb. 1 1, 1863, to Abigal Rider, daughter of Reuben Rider.
They have one son now living, Carlton S. Rider, born Sept. 16,
1872. Mr Starkweather was a farmer by occupation. Two
of his brothers, Samuel and Wallace served in the Union army.
Hiram C. Tanner.
Mr. Tanner was born May 13, 1833, in Wales, Erie county
and came to Holland in 1858. His father's name was Amos
S. Tanner, born 1796, and died in 1849. His mother's maiden
name was Sally Boughton,of Stephentown, Rensselaer county,
N. Y.
Mr. Tanner was married in Sardinia, Jan. i, 1861, to May
Orr, who was born in Holland, N. Y., Aug. 8, 1838. While a
resident of Holland, Mr. Tanner was engaged in dealing in
cattle and produce. He moved to Protection, N. Y., in 1866
and was engaged for two years in mercantile business. Since
1868, he has been proprietor of the hotel at Protection.
James H. Vosburg.
James H. Vosburg, son of Henry J. Vosburg, was born
at Kinderhook, Columbia county, N. Y., Feb. 10, 1822;
came to Concord in 1832. In 1847 he bought ^3.^^d of the Hol-
land Company on lot seven, township seven, range six, in Sar-
dinia, where he has since resided. He was married Dec. 15,
. 1846, to Delia Graff. They have three children: Henry J.,
886 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
born Nov. 20, 1848. Jane Maria, born March 15, 1850 ; mar-
ried Charles Zimmer. William M., born March 9, 1854.
Sterling Titiis,
Son of James B. Titus, was born in Eden, N. Y., June 9, 1831,
and this town was his home until 1866, when he removed to
East Concord, N. Y., where he lived for eight years. In 1874
he sold his farm there and bought the Cohvell place in Sardinia,
where he has since lived. In 1856 he was united in marriage to
Miss Annis Horton by whom he has three children, viz : Viola,
Sarah and Willie. Sarah was married in the Fall of 1882, to
Leverett Hitchcock and lives in Ashford. Mr. Titus is a Dea-
con in the Free Baptist Church of East Concord.
Roger P. Ward.
Mr. Ward was born in Champion, Jefferson county, N. Y.,
June 21, 1816. His father, Thomas Ward, was a native of Ire-
land ; his mother, whose maiden name was Susannah Kelner,
was a native of Germany. They were married about 1802, in
Jefferson county, N. Y., and came to Sardinia about 1818 or
1819 and settled on "Shepherd Hill," on part of the farm now
owned by Addison Wheelock. After living there six years
they moved to the north-east part of the town. They had
seven children : Nancy, married Jonathan Thomas and died
in Holland about 1868. Polly, married Rufus Hawks and was
killed in i860, by a run-away horse. Lawrence C, married
Rebecca Brown ; lives near Grand Rapids, Mich. William,
married Douzilla Ballard ; lives in Holland. Rosannah, mar-
ried Averta Odell ; lives in Holland. Roger P., married Lu-
cinda Avery ; lives in Sardinia. Eliza, married George Sweet ;
lives in Pennsylvania.
In speaking of early times in Sardinia, Mr. Ward (Roger P.),
said he " first attended school in 1822 or 1825 to a Mr. Conklin,
in his house, which stood where Fred. West now lives and
went bare-footed all winter." Other early teachers were Betsy
Steele, Lawrence Ward and E. H. Drake.
Referring to wild animals he relates that a wolf came near
their house one night and howled; several others down toward
a swamp near by immediately answered. They went out and
BIOflRAPIIICAL SKETCHES. 88/
drove the wolf away. The next mornini; in goin<;' dow n to the
swamp they found the tracks of several wolves.
Mr. Alanson Colby was out one evening C(V)n huntini^ and
having occasion to climb a tree the wolves surrounded him and
kept him up there all night. In speaking of the June frost in
i8i6, he said his "father, on the morning of the 9th of that
month, in going across the fields to a neighbor's, a mile or two
away, and wearing shoes and stockings with holes in them, got
his shoes full of the thickly accumulated frost in going through
the grass and froze his heels so that they peeled."
Mr. and Mrs. Roger P. Ward have four children :
Angeline, married James Waggoner ; lives in Sardinia.
Thomas, married Judith Crawford; lives in Holland. John
Edwin, married Sarah Orr ; lives in Sardinia. Louisa, married
William Haggerty ; lives in Arcade.
Mr. Ward's father, Thomas Ward, died about 1849; ^""i-^
mother about 1855.
Frederick R. AVest.
Mr. West was born Jan. 12. 1821, in Tompkins county, N.
Y.; came to Yorkshire with his father's family in 1828. In
1843 he came to Sardinia, where he has since lived. His occu-
pation has always been farming. Mr. West has been twice
married, first in 1850 to Huldah Thompson, who died June 16,
1855 ; a second time to Mrs. Mary Bowen, May i, 1862. By
his first wife Mr. West has two children :
Clarissa E., born May 10, 185 1. Alpheus B., born Feb 17,
1853-
Ashbel West.
Ashbel West was born May 10, 1789; came to Sardinia in
1843 ; '^V'^s married Feb. 14, 1843, ^^^ Eliza Hanford, who was
born April 22, 1792; was a farmer; his father's name was
Elijah West, born in Massachusetts, and died in Tompkins
county, N. Y., at the age of ninety-six years. Ashbel West
came from Tompkins county in 1828 to Yorkshire, Cattaraugus
county, where he lived until 1843. He was at the burning of
Buffalo in the war of of 18 12.
888 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
FAMILY RECORD.
Caroline E., born May 21, 1815; married Oct. 6, 1833, to
Asa Packer, of Arcade, and lives in Machias. Hanford S., born
Oct. 22, 1817. Cordelia, born March 22, 1819; married Charles
Long in 1846 ; lives in Sardinia village. Frederick R., born
Jan. 12, 1821 ; married in 1850 to Huldah Thompson, who
died, and he was married a second time to Mrs. Mary Bowen.
Abigail, born Dec. 6, 1823; married in 1844 to Joseph Butler.
of Bloomington, Du Page county. 111. Minerva, born May 5,
1825; married in 1856 to Harvey Butler; she died in Illinois
in 1873. Emily, born June 12, 1827; died April 15, 1862.
Elijah, born July 4, 1830; married and lives in Chicago.
Hanford C. West.
Hanford C. West was a son of Ashbel West and Elizabeth
Hanford. His father was a native of Massachusetts, and served
in the war of 1812; was at the burning of Buffalo. His mother
was born in Delaware.
Mr. West was born Oct. 2, 1817, in Tompkins county, N. Y,;
moved to Yorkshire about 1830, and to Sardinia, where he now
resides, in 1845. About 1840 Mr. West went to Illinois, and
remained there five years ; then came back, and in 1853 made
an overland trip to California. He started from Chicago, drove
one hundred head of cattle, six horses and a mule ; was six
months making the journey, including a week spent at Salt
Lake City. He remained in California about three years, when
he returned and has since resided in Sardinia.
Mr. West was married July 3, 1857, to Alvira Newton, who
was born March 3, 1836, in Jefferson county, N. Y., and came
to Sardinia in 1849. They have three children:
Charles W., born Oct. 11, 1859; Duaine A., born March 20,
1 861. Ella J., born Nov. 27, 1864.
Wilcox Family.
John Wilcox, grandfather of William Wilcox, was born in
England about 1757. Came to America in the early part of
the Revolution, and at once enlisted in the American army,
where he served until the close of the war, when he married
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 889
Mary Crosby of New York city, who was born in 1757 and died
in 1832. He resided at New York city for a number of years,
where his two oldest children were born ; from there he moved
to Litchfield, Herkimer county, and from there to Sardinia in
1813, where he lived as a farmer until his death about 1823.
He had a family of eleven children.
John, married Melinda Palmer; died in Illinois in 1874.
Charlotte, married Zacharia Townsend ; died in Litchfield, N.
Y., in 1861. Henrietta, married Archibald Perry; died in
Poughkeepsie, N. Y., in 1865. Jeremiah, married Melinda
Abby ; died in Ashford, N. Y., in 1855. Hiram, born in 1790;
died in Illinois in 1 850. Samuel, born in 1792 ; married De-
borah Smith ; died in Concord, N. Y., in 1859. Oliver, born in
1794; married Hannah ; died in Ohio in 1850. Mary,
born in 1796; married Stephen Townsend ; died in Litchfield,
N. Y., in 1850. Roswell, born in 1798 ; died in Illinois in 1855.
Polly, born in 1800; died in Litchfield, N. Y., in 1855. Charles,
born in 1802; married Barbara Wilkes; died in Minnesota in
1875.
Elijah Wheelock.
Mr. Wheelock was born in the Town of Litchfield, Herki-
mer county, N. Y., in 1794, and came to Sardinia in 1838. V^
18 19, he was married to Lucretia Taylor, who was born in the
Town of Volney, Oswego county, N. Y., in 1797, and who died
in Sardinia in 1841. Mr. Wheelock is still living, at the re-
markable age of eighty-nine years. They had a family of
children, viz.:
Franklin W. married Diantha Reynolds; she died in 1843 J
married again to Louisa Johnson ; he died April 22, 1872.
Harrison, born in 1822; married Miss Jeannette Brewer ; moved
to Iowa ; served two years in the War of the Rebellion, and
died in 1863. Addison, born Jan. 29, 1824; married Minerva
Parks, in 1848. Alzina, born 1827: married Albert Dawley,
and died in 1851. Matilda, born 1829; married Philip Fris-
bee, and resides in Pennsylvania, Caroline, born in 1834; mar-
ried William Moses and lives in Pennsylvania.
Since the above was written, Mr. Wheelock has died (Oct.,
1883), aged about ninety years.
890
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Addison Wheelock.
Addison Wheelock, son of Elijah Wheelock, was born in the
Town of Olney, Oswego county, N. Y., Jan. 29, 1824, and at'
the age of fourteen years he came with his father's family to
the Town of Sardinia, which has since been his home. As a
general rule, the sons of the early settlers had but limited
means for improvement. The Summers were spent in chop-
ping and clearing land, and only three months of the Winter
was allowed for schooling, and we presume young Addison
HAND FAN,
fared no better than the rest. However, he was possessed of
two sterling qualities that greatly aided him in making his way
in the world, viz.: energy and perseverance. By the help ol
these, he has qualified himself for all the practical concerns of
life, and by good management and perseverance he has
acquired a goodly competence. He has the respect and confi-
dence of his fellow-townsmen, who have upon several occa-
sions honored him with positions of trust and responsibility,
the duties of which he has discharged with fidelity. In 1875,
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 89I
'y^ and '79 he represented his town on the Board of Supervis-
ors. In 1848, he was united in marriage to Miss Minerva
Parks, who has borne him two children, viz.:
Lucy A., born in 1854; married Cyrenius Holmes, Feb. 9,
1874, and resides in Sardinia. William Addison, born in 1863,
and died at his father's home, Oct. 6, 1 883, a favorite. Willie was
a bright and promising youth, and his sudden taking off has cast a
great shadow o'er the hearts of the sorrowing parents and friends
who have the heartfelt sympathy of the entire community in
this their affliction.
892 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
CHAPTER XXIII.
FAMILY SKETCHES OF PERSONS NOT RESIDING
WITHIN THE LIMITS OF THE PRE-
CEDING TOWNS.
tTohn Calvin Adams.
John Calvin Adams was born May i, 1793, at New London,
Conn.; died July 25, 1847, at Franklin Mills, Ohio. He learned
and worked at the trade of a blacksmith. He was the first
Postmaster at Collins Center ; was a merchant there several
years. At the time of his death, he was engaged in farming.
He was a descendant of the Massachusetts Adams family, his
father being a nephew of Samuel Adams, one of the signers
of the Declaration of Independence.
Hepzibah Chadwick, his wife, was born March 18, 1787, at
Lyme, Conn.; died Jan. 14, 1853, at Franklin Mills, Ohio.
They ^vere married Jan. i, 1817, at Chatham, N. Y. They had
children, viz.:
George Rodney C. Adams, born Aug. 16, 1818, at Chatham,
N. Y.; by occupation a farmer; now retired and lives at Gales-
burgh, Mich. He married Henrietta Olin, at Franklin Mills,
O., Oct. 8, 1843.
Samuel Cary Adams, born Dec. 22, 1820, at Chatham, N. Y.;
learned and worked at the carpenter and joiner trade ; after-
wards studied law; was admitted to the bar ; is a practicing
attorney, and resides at Buffalo. He married Harriet White,
daughter of Isaac White, at Collins, N. Y., Oct. 20, 1842.
Ezra Chadwick Adams, born Jul}- 14, 1823, at Collins, N.Y.,
a physician, and lives at Alamo, Mich. He married Mary
Stratton, Sept. 17, 1844, at P^ranklin Mills, O.
Charles Chaunce\- Adams, born April 27, 1 830, at Collins, N.
mOGRAl-lIICM, SKETCHES. ^93
Y.; a farmer, and lives at Riley Center Kan He married
Melissa P. Southwiek, March 20, .853. at 1-rank m M.Us O.
George Rodney C. Adams, has four ehildren hvng. Hepsy
Ueor„L > f .,„a i.vcs near Gales-
C:::^" M^,o O marr,ed; .s a hardware merchant at
G lesbrn 'h, M.ch. Sarah A. married a Mr. Towne a farmer
and hves' near Galesburgh, Mich. George, marr.ed ; .s Post-
master at Galesburgh, M.ch.
Sann,el Gary Adams has four ehddrcn ..ng . John U un
married ; one of the firm of Young Logwood & C^rcs.des
at Buffalo, N. Y. Hannah M., marr.ed Mr. A. I.. R' "'^"^ ^
farmer and resides ..ear Galesburgh, M.ch. Harr.et A., un-
mlTrLd and resides w.th her father at Buffalo. Carr.e, u.,mar-
married and resides with her father at Buffalo.
EraC Adams has three children l.vhrg : Charles C. mar
..ied a merchant, and res.des at Alamo, Mich. F-^" ---"
■> co..,mercial traveler, and res.des at Plamwell, M.ch. Ala,
unmarried, and resides with her father at Alamo.
Charles Chauncey Adams has four eh.kh^en '-'"'S^ I'°;^'
unmarried, and resides w.th her father at R''^ Cent r Kan
Id i married a farmer and lives near Riley Cente.. Ctta mar-
ncd a farmer and lives near R.ley Center. Charles C, unma,-
ried and resides with his father.
John Brooks.
Tohn Brooks was a son of Nathaniel Brooks and Lucy
,R chards) Brooks of Connecticut. The family consisted of
^mjah. Jesse, John, Theophilus, Roxana, Polly, Hannah and
-lohn was born in Connecticut, Apnl ^^ 1790 ; married
Lydia Booth, daughter of Isaac and EHzabeth Booth March
.1 1816. The family of John and Lydia consisted o Luc>
Tohn Jr Elizabeth. Diantha, Nathaniel, Belinda, Lyd.a and
Andrew J., of whom four only are now living, viz.: Lucy L.,
Diantha, Nathaniel and Andrew J. The oldest, now Lucy
Gould, is living at Emmettsburg, Iowa, with her son, J. E. King,
merchant, and former Sheriff of Palo Alto county, Iowa. Eliza-
beth Diantha Aldrich lives at Boston with her daughter, Rox-
-ini Pierce Nathaniel lives at Colden village; has four
894 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
daughters, all married, and two sons (medical students). Belinda
Taber died at Elma, Nov. 28, 1870, leaving four sons and three
daughters. Lydia Hall died at Wales Center, April 20, 1873,
leaving three daughters.
Andrew J. Brooks.
Andrew J. Brooks, son of John and Lydia Brooks, was born
in Concord, Aug. 5, 1832; attended school at Springville
Academy in 1849 and '50 ; attended lectures at the Albany
Medical college in 1856 and 1858, at which college he gradu-
ated, and located at Marilla, Erie county, N. Y., in 1859, where
he has since practiced. He was married in 1863, to Melvina
A. Clark, and has a family of three boys and two girls. The
oldest son, R. E. Brooks, is now teaching school on Townsend
Hill, where his grandfather taught nearly sixty years ago.
John Brooks died at his home in Colden, Erie county, June
7, 185^, was at one time Colonel; also held the office of side
Judge. He was a member of Living Stone Lodge of F. and
A, M.. of Colden, N. Y., from its first organization until re-
moved to the Grand Lodge above.
Mrs. Lydia Brooks died at the home of her daughter Lydia
B. Hall, at Wales Center, N. Y., April loth, 1870. Of their
children John, Jr. and John, Jr. (son), died in infancy.
Lucy has two sons by her second husband ; one is a farmer
in Iowa, and one an editor in Minnesota.
Diantha has one son and one daughter.
A. H. Briggs, M. 1>.
Dr. Briggs' father,- Joseph B. Briggs, was born in Woodstock,
Vermont, and came to this county in 1828. His ancestors are
traceable to the New England Puritans. The doctor's mother
was the oldest daughter of Col. Cyrenus Wilber, who repre-
sented the county in the Assembly of 1838.
Dr. Briggs was born Sept. 9, 1842, in Lancaster, Erie county,
N. Y. He attended school at the Batavia Union School,
Aurora Academy and Genesee Wesleyan College, at Lima,
N. Y. In 1868 he commenced the study of medicine with Dr.
Samuel Potter, of Lancaster ; was with him three years and
three months. Attended during that time three full courses of
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 895
lectures at the Buffalo Medical College, graduating Feb. 20,
1871 ; commenced practice in Buffalo May i, 1871.
Dr. Brigg.s was the first post-mortem examiner in the county.
Ho held that office over three years. He was for one year
District Physician for the 2d District of Buffalo. For two
years, 1880 and '81, he was Health Officer of the city. During
1 88 1 he established a system of inspection of emigrants in
transit, which has since been adopted throughout most of the
northern states. In 1881 he was appointed First Grand Medi-
cal Examiner of the A. O. U. W., for New York state, which
position he still occupies. He is also Sergeant of the 65th
Regiment of National Guard.
Dr. Briggs was married in 1863, to Meckre Baker, daughter
•of Dr. Baker, of Andover, N. Y. They have one son and one
daughter.
Greorg'e W. Briggs.
Mr. Briggs was born in Collins, in 1850, where he lived until
he was twenty-two years of age. Has taught school eleven
terms. Was seven years in the employ of William A. Johnson,
a cheese manufacturer. Became a resident of East Hamburg
in 1881 ; was elected Justice of the Peace of that town in 1882.
Is now Deputy Sheriff on Sheriff Koch's staff, Mr. Briggs
was married in 1875 to Orcelia A. Pike. They have had two
children: Nora M., born Dec. 8, 1876; died Aug. 8, 1880, and
Norman E., born in Concord Aug. 3, 1879.
Harrison T. Foster.
Harrison T. Foster, son of Talcott and Lucy I'oster, was
born in Byron, Genesee county, N. Y., June 20, 1827. His
father was a native of Massachusetts ; his mother of Connecti-
cut. He was the only child of a second marriage on the part
of both parents, but had several half brothers and sisters. His
father died when he was seven years of age, and with the aid of
his mother he nianaged the farm until he was eigh teen ; mean-
while he had formed the acquaintance of Miss Clarissa Strick-
land whom he married September, 1846. Taking his amiable
young wife and his mother he at once removed to Michigan,
but before the ne.xt Autumn tiiey were all attacked with
896 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
malarial fever; the mother died, and as soon ashimseh^and wife
were able to travel they returned to their native town. The
following year he purchased sixty acres of land in Alden (now
Marilla), about a half mile west of what is now Marilla village,
on which he constructed a rude dwelling into which he moved
and commenced logging and clearing his land. This he
followed for about three years.
About this time an accident occurred which changed the
whole course of Mr. Foster's life. A yoke of oxen, the only
team he possessed and for which he was owing, broke loose from
their moorings and filled themselves with corn to such an extent
that one of them died and the other was rendered valueless,
Mr. Foster was in debt for his land, having made but partial
payments on his purchase. He was unable to buy a team, and
make payment on his land. In this crisis of his affairs Joshua
Axtel, the keeper of a small grocery in' the Village of Marilla,
offered to purchase the land ; a bargain was made, Mr. Foster
taking in payment the grocery store and stock of goods, valued
at five hundred dollars, an eighty acre lot in Wisconsin and a
mortgage of $300 on land in the Town of Darien. Failing to
sell his grocery stock, he formed a copartnership with Charles
Walker, who had a small stock of dry goods and groceries in
the village. They built a small store with their own hands,
and moved into it in May, 1852. The following July he bought
Mr. Walker's interest, and carried on the business himself two
years. He then sold to Jonathan B. Bass ; and the following
year was spent in settling accounts and lumbering.
Having become familiar with and liking the mercantile busi-
ness, Mr. Foster availed himself of the first opportunity of
re-entering it. In September, 1855, he formed a partnership
with Jefferson H. Brooks, and bought the store opposite the
Spring hotel in Marilla. This partnership continued until Jan-
uary, 1865, when Mr. Foster bought Mr. Brooks' interest, and
formed a partnership with Henry D. Harrington, who had been
a clerk in the store for the previous five years.
In 1873, G. C. Mouchow was taken into the firm, which con-
tinued until 1878, when Mr. Foster bought out Mr. Harring-
ton and formed a partnership with Mr. Mouchow, which con-
tinues to the present time, 1883, under the firm name of H. T.
HIOCIKAPHICAL SKETCMIiS. 897
Foster & Co. The firm with its different partners, was ahvays
successful, never made an assignment, was never sued at law,
and is doint:^ a profitable business at present.
In addition to his mercantile business, Mr. Foster has been
an active politician. He was first elected Supervisor of his
town in 1S60, and held that office five years in succession, and
then after one year he was elected two years in succession, then
declined being a candidate. But in 1881, a sharp contest aris-
ing between the City of Buffalo and the towns of Erie county
in regard to equalization, the towns saw the necessity of send-
ing men of experience and ability to represent them on the
board, and Mr. Foster was again elected. He has been- for the
last three years, and is now, a member of the board. He has
held the office of Postmaster for the last twenty-three years with
the exception of two years; was Justice of the Peace four
years, and during the war he was made a member of the com-
mittee to superintend the raising of volunteers and paying
bounties. These duties he performed with so much energy
and abilitN' that not a man in his jurisdiction was forced into
the army by draft.
Mr. Foster's first wife died in 1870; he subsequently married
Mrs. Lord, daughter of George W. Carpenter, one of the first
settlers on the Indian Reservation. At the time of her mar-
riage with Mr. Foster Mrs. Lord had two daughters, Mary and
Estelle. Mary married William H. Johnson in 1873 ; died in
1874, leaving an infant boy. Estelle married Everett L.
Hedges, of Marilla, in 1882 ; died in 1883, leaving an infant
girl. Both of these children arc living with Mr. Foster as his
own.
Mr. Foster is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church,
having united therewith in 1870. He is now fifty-six )'ears of
age, hale and hearty, healthy and happy.
William Field.
William Field, son of Solomon Field, came to Concord from
Madison county in 18 10, with his father, with whom he resided
during his minority, and assisted in improving his farm on
898 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES,
Townsend hill. Mr. Field. was twice married, first to Miss
Mary E. Briggs in 1827, by whom he had seven children:
Marvin W., Mary L., Emily, Charles, Perry, Sally and Man-
ley.
Second to Mrs. Jane Briggs, by whom he had two children :
Ellen F. and Ida F.
Mary L. married David Needham and lives in LaCrosse
county. Wis.: they have had two children. Emily married
Austin Agard ; lives in Missouri. Charles, died in Buffalo.
Perry, died at his sister's in LaCrosse county, by disease con-
tracted in the army. Sally lives in Iowa. Manley lives in
Buffalo.
Marvin W. Field.
Marvin W. Field, son of William and Mary E. Field, was
born in Concord, Erie county, N. Y., Feb. 22, 1828. He has
been twice married, first to Miss Malissa Ann Agard, who was
born in Concord, April 4th, 1839, by whom he had one child,
which died in infancy; second, to Mrs. Hannah A. Hill, Oct.
II, 1870, who died at East Hamburg Nov. 5, 1883.
Mr. Field is by trade a carpenter, which calling he has fol-
lowed several years, but is now a successful horticulturist and
fruit-grower in East Hamburg.
Allen Drake.
Allen Drake was a son of John and Dorcas Drake, who came
to what is now Concord in 18 10, and settled on lot fifty. Mr.
Drake had a family of four children : John, who died many
years ago ; Angeline, who went west and married a man by
the name of Williams ; Sarah Ann, who also went west and
married, and Allen the subject of this sketch. Allen Drake
married Mary Wheeler, daughter of Benjamin Wheeler, by
whom he had nine children :
Whitney A., born Jan. 28, 1827; died Oct. 18, 1846. Sam-
son P., born June 29, 183 1 ; died Aug. 10, 1855. Caroline, wife
of Samson P., died Jan. 9, 1864. Benjamin A., born Dec. 6,
1843; died Sept. 19, 1855. Mary O., married Marcus Scott
and lives in Chautauqua county. Harvey W., married and is
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 899
a prosperous druggist in Milwaukee. Almantha. John R,,
married, is a partner with his brother in Milwaukee. Henry T.
Angie.
William \V. Hniniiion<l.
William W. Hammond, son of Charles Hammond and
Clarissa Clark, was born in the town of Hamburg, Nov. 4, 1831.
At the age of six years his parents moved to the town of
Brant, while it was yet a part of the towns of Evans and Col-
lins, and settled on lot number nineteen on the mile-strip, upon
a piece of land comprising 120 acres, and which was then
primeval forest. Here he was brought up, and here his parents
lived most of their lives, after moving there, and the farm is
still in possession of the family being now owned by his
youngest sister, Mrs. Hicey.
His education was obtained entirely in the pioneer log school-
house, except three terms of thirteen weeks each, at Irving,
Chautauqua county, to attend which he walked six miles each
day, and one term at F'redonia Academy in the Fall of 1848,
where he worked for a widow lady, doing chores for his board,
his father not feeling able to pay his board in addition to nec-
essary books and tuition. Then teaching school Winters and
working on the farm Summers until twenty years of age, when
he bought his time of his father, paying him therefor ten
dollars per month until he was twenty-one. Married at the
age of twenty-three, he carried on a farm on shares for three
years, then commenced keeping a country store, with a very
small capital and devoted his unoccupied time to the study of
" Cowen's Treatise," and " Barbour's Criminal Law."
His wife died in August, i860, leaving him with a babe one
week old, which was taken by his deceased wife's parents, and
early the next Spring, being then in his thirtieth year, he
entered the law ofTice of Sawin & Lockwood, as a law student,
in the same rooms on the corner of Main and Seneca streets,
still occupied by Hon. S. Lockwood, and at the same time that
the late William H. Guerney was a law student in the office of
Humphrey & Parsons, over the old postoffice just across the
street on the corner below.
QOO
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
At a general term of the Supreme Court, held at the old
Court House in the City of Buffalo, on the second Monday of
May, 1861, Hon. Richard P. Marvin, Justice presiding, and
Hon. Martin Grover and Hon. Noah Davis, Jr., Justices, after
a course of study of less than thirteen zvecks, he was admitted
to practice as an Attorney and Counselor of the Supreme
Court. This is probably the shortest term of clerkship, in
course of study as a law student, of any person ever admitted
to practice as a lawyer in the City of Buffalo ; and many times
in years since he has regretted the mistake of being admitted
so soon.
After this he practiced law for four years in the village of
Angola, then gave up the practice and engaged in mercantile
and lumbering business, in the town of Brant for about eleven
years, during which time he held the ofifice of Supervisor of the
town for nine years. In the Fall of 1877, he was elected County
Judge in place of Hon. George W. Cothran, who was appointed
by the Governor to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation
of Hon. Albert Haight, and re-elected in the Fall of 1878.
In the Spring of 1878 he removed to Buffalo where he has
since resided.
He comes from a long-lived race on the side of both par-
ents ; his grandfather, Benoni G. Hammond, having died a few
years ago, nearl}' ninety years of age, and his father died from
the effects of a fall received after he was sixty. His mother
died when he was about twelve years of age from an acute
disease caused by an injury ; but her mother lived to a ripe old
age, and died some 3'ears since at the residence of her son in
Michigan.
Chamicey J. Hastiiigrs.
Chauncey J. Hastings was born in Sardinia, N. Y., May 16,
1826, where ho lived until May 19, 1856, when he removed to
Buffalo, where he has ever since been engaged in the real estate
business in Brown's building.
He attended school at Springville Acadeni}' two terms in
1849 and '50. Was married in 1852 to Lydia H. Cheddock.
They have a son, Charles R. and a daughter, F. Adeal, who
resides in Binghamton, N. Y.
HK^GRAl'lIICAF, SKETCHES. 9OI
Seymour P. Hastiiis«.
Seymour P. Hastings was born in Sardinia July 4, 1824,
where he lived until 1856, when he went to New York and
gave his attention to mercantile pursuits for ten \-ears. He
then came to Buffalo where he has ever since been engaged in
business. He is now in the real estate and insurance business
with his brother Chaunce}' J. Hastings.
Mr. Hastings was a student of Aurora Academy. He was
Supervisor of Sardinia in 1855 and was once a candidate of the
national democratic party for Member of Assembly. He mar-
ried Sarah E. Moshier; they have had two children: one son
Avho is dead and a daughter, Grace H., born Aug. 22, 1854.
Harry H. Koch.
Harry H, Koch was born at Williamsville, County of Erie,
N. Y., on the loth of March, 1841. Hisancestors were of Ger-
man and English descent. His grandfather, Jacob Koch,
lived in Chester county, Penn., where his father, John Koch,
was born in 181 1. When the latter was seventeen years old he
came to this state and settled in W'illiamsv'ille, in this county.
He engaged in mercantile pursuits, carrying on the business of
a general country store. In 1857 '"^^ ^^^^^ '^'-^^ I'^is business in
Williamsville and built a saw-mill near Clarence Center. He
was a prominent and leading citizen in Williamsville and
vicinity and was called upon by his fellow citizens while yet a
young man to fill \'arious local offices, including Deputy SherifT,
Town Collector and Constable. In 1862 he was appointed to
the office of Deputy Internal Revenue Collector and discharged
its duties with rigid fidelity.
Mr. Koch was an old-time Whig, and a strong anti-slavery
man. and therefore naturally drifted into the ranks of the Re-
publican party at its formation and of which he was one of the
founders. He was one of eleven persons in the town of Am-
herst that voted the Republican ticket the first year of the
existence of the party, and the ticket being successful in the
state, the immortal eleven celebrated the victory with a grand
banquet.
He married Elizabeth Spayth, a sister of Henry Spayth, the
well-known author on checkers, of Buffalo, and raised a family
902 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
of five children, one son and four daughters. He died at Wil-
liamsville in 1879, mourned by a large circle of friends after a
residence in that village of fifty-one years.
Harry H. Koch, the subject of this sketch, spent his boyhood
at school and in attendance at his father's store. He graduated
at Williamsville Classical School at the age of seventeen, and
then devoted nearly three years in attendance upon his father's
saw-mill. He received a thorough business training from his
father, who ever held it of the first importance that young men
should not only be educated, but instructed in business as well.
After leaving the saw-mill young Koch came to Buffalo and
attended the Business College of Bryant & Stratton, and grad-
uated therefrom in 1861.
For several years after this he found employment as book-
keeper and salesman with boot and shoe dealers in Buffalo. In
1869 he opened a small boot and shoe store on his own account ;
he continued to enlarge and develop his business until it has
reached large proportions.
Mr. Koch represented the loth Ward in the Common Council
in 1 88 1 as a Republican. He was an influential member of
that body and championed many measures tending to correct
abuses and diminish taxation in municipal affairs. His efforts
in the Common Council were appreciated by the people and
rewarded by electing him Sheriff of Erie county, in 1882, by a
majority of 1103. Grover Cleveland, Democratic candidate for
Governor, receiving at the same time 734 majority in the same
county.
Mr. Koch was married in 1865 to Hattie N. Coe ; they have
two sons.
Frederick Miller.
Mr. Miller was born in Alsace, France, July 4, 1836; came
from there to Buffalo in 1852, and engaged in carriage-making
for five years ; then worked at bell-making at Boston, N. Y.,
awhile, when he started a blacksmith shop at the same place ;
carrying this on a while, he returned to Buffalo to his former
occui^ation of carriage-making, which he pursued until Febru-
ary, 1864, when he enlisted in the army as a member of com-
pany A, Seventy-fourth regiment New York State militia ;
served about four months.
BIOCIRAPIIICAL SKF.TCIIKS. 9O3
In 1866, he went to Golden, N. Y., and opened a blacksmith
shop, which he continued for six years, when he became the
proprietor of the Boston Center hotel until 1875, when he re-
moved to Sprin<jville and resided till 1877, when he went to
Buffalo, where he now resides as proprietor of a restaurant
opposite the City and County hall.
Mr. Miller was married in 1858, to Magdalene Hendrich.
They have three children, viz.: Albert F., born in Boston,
March 6, 1859. Magdalene, born in Buffalo, Nov. 20, 1864.
Emma E., born in Colden, Nov. 14, 1866.
In 1854, Mr. Miller's father, one sister and six brothers came
to this country, and at present (i882jare all living and residents
of Colden and Boston.
S. E. S. H. Nott, M. D.
The Notts were of English origin, and a titled family in Eno--
land. The Doctor's grandfather, Epaphras Nott, was a native
of Massachusetts ; he entered the Revolutionary War at six-
teen, and served throughout as a marine. He had a family of
three sons and three daughters. The eldest son, Ezra, father
of the Doctor, was born in Wells, Vt., in 1787; he married
Hannah Hardy; they came to Aurora, Erie county, in 1806, and
while a resident of that place cleared the land where the Auro-
ra Academy now stands ; he removed to Sardinia in 1809. He
had a family of seven children, all born in Sardinia.
Samuel E. S. H. Nott was born Nov. 19, [817. He attended
school at Springville, Aurora and Wyoming academies, served
as Inspector and Superintendant of Schools in Sardinia.
Studied medicine with Dr. B. H. Colgrove of Sardinia ; "^radu-
ated at the Castleton (Vt.) Medical college in 1844; afterwards
attended lectures in New York. Came to Hamburg, April 18,
1845, and began the practice of medicine, which he continued
till December, 1849, when he removed to Buffalo and practiced
eleven years ; when he returned to Hamburg, where he has since
practiced his profession. While a resident of Buffalo, he served
three years as Coroner. Is now President of the Erie County
Medical society.
Dr. Nott was married in 1847, to Eunice Salisbury, of Ham-
burg. They have three children living, viz.:
904 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Edward S., druggist, at Hamburg. Elon G., photographer,
at Hamburg, and Nellie M.
George W. Nichols.
Alanson Nichols, father of the subject of this sketch, was
born in the Town of Oneida, Oneida county, in 1804, and was
married in the Town of Boston in 1826, to Miss Jerusha Irish,
and went to live in the Town of Freedom, Cattaraugus county,
where they resided about five years. They then came to Bos-
ton and settled on East Boston hill, where they lived at the
time of his death, which occurred Nov. 4. 1882, and where his
widow still resides.
Their children are : Jeduthan married and lives in Evans.
Angeline, a widow, and lives in Oshkosh, Wis. Adaline is
married and lives in Brant. George W. Harriet married
and lives in Boston. Emery R. lives with his mother on the
old homestead.
George W. Nichols was born in the Town of Freedom, Cat-
taraugus county, March 15, 1830, and came with his parents to
Boston in 1832, where he resided till 1853, when he removed
to Colden. He was married June 30, 1853, to Miss Helen
Johnson, of Boston. He has been engaged in lumbering, farm-
in"" and the produce business. He was Justice of the Peace
twelve years, Associate Justice five years. Supervisor of Col-
den thirteen years, and Chairman of the Board two years.
They have two children: Eugene M., born in 1858, is a
Civil Engineer in the employ of the N. Y. C. & St. L. R. R.,
with headquarters at Chicago.
Anna J., born in 1863, married William B. Courier, May 9,
1883. and lives in Colden.
William Wiley.
William Wiley was born Feb. 4, 1 801, in Londonderry, Ire-
land, and was married in 1838 to Miss Maria McClure, who was
born in Londonderry, county of Donegal, in 1816. He owned
and carried on a farm four miles from Londonderry. They
had three children born in Ireland-and their ages ranged from
two to nine vears when they came to America. They came
RIOGKAI'llICAI, SKETCIIKS. 905
to this country in 1845, «" ^ sailing vessel, and were twenty-
eight days from Liverpool to New York. They came from
Albany to Buffalo on the canal and settled first in Boston ;
lived there two years, and then removed to the northeast part
of Concord in 1848. They lived there five years and then
bought the Holt farm on South Colden hill, and lived there
until 1874, when they sold out and removed to Golden village.
They had four children :
Richard, died in Golden Nov. 24, 1873. Margaret J., mar-
ried William Kelso and lives in the Town of Aurora. John
M. Andrew, born in Boston Aug. 4, 1845 I died March 5, 1;
John M. Wiley.
John M. Wiley was born near Londonderry, Ireland, Aug.
II, 1843. ''^"tl came to this country with his parents in 1845.
He is unmarried, and has always made his home with them;
he has worked on a farm in his younger days, has dealt in
stock, bought, sold and shipped cattle from Canada, and from
the West to the Eastern markets. Li November, 1867, he
bought a store in Golden, and kept a general assortment of
goods and carried on a successful business for about seven
years. He was elected Member of the Assembly in 1870, from
the Fifth Assembly district, and was also elected a second time
in 1871, being the first Democrat ever elected from the district.
At the present time he is engaged in herding cattle in the Li-
dian Territory and in raising oranges in Florida. He owns
real estate in Golden, Concord and Aurora, and also in Florida.
Christian Miller.
Christian Miller was born in Alsace, France, Feb. 26, 1832,
and was married June 22, 1853, to Saloma Frautz. He worked
at the trade of blacksmith and machinist in the old country.
He came to America on a sailing vessel in 1854, and was forty-
two da}'s out from Havre. He Ccune direct to Buffalo and
worked there at his trade three years. From there he came to
West Concord, Erie county, and conducted a farm two years
and then removed to the northeast part of Concord. He then
moved to Golden and bought a farm (which he still owns) and
conducted it nine years, and then bought the hotel at Golden,
906 BIOGRAPHICAI. SKETCHES.
which he has owned and managed ever since. He has been
Constable, Collector, Assessor, Highway Commissioner and
Deputy Sheriff. He has six children ;
William C, born Aug. 6, 1854. Christian G., born Sept. 30,
1857. Michael L., born May 8, 1859; married Julia M. Buf-
fom. Lewis, born March 2, 1861. Fred, born Jan. 10, 1864.
Maria L., born Sept. 3, 1865.
David C. Oatman.
Mr. Oatman's father, Lyman Oatman, was born in Hartford,
Washington county, N. Y., Oct. 21, 18 16, and came to Evans,
N. Y., in May, 1848. He built the first store, which was also
the second building put up in what is now Angola, but was
then a wilderness region. He conducted mercantile and other
pursuits in Angola until his death in 1877, Sept. 9. Mr. Oat-
man was not only an early pioneer, but an active and promin-
ent person in the public affairs relating to his region. He was
Supervisor of Evans several times and represented his district
in the Assembly in 1870. He was Postmaster at Angola from
the commencement of Lincoln's administration until his death,
except a short time during Johnson's administration. He was
married in 1839 in the town of his birth, to Desire Barrell. He
had two sons :
David C. and Leroy S.
David C. Oatman was born Sept. 1 1, 1840, in the same town
his father was born in. He was eight years of age when the
family came to Evans, where he has always claimed a residence.
He attended school at Madison University in 1857-58, after
which he entered his father's store and subsequently became a
partner, and since his father's death continues the business.
Mr. Oatman was Supervisor of his town five terms, and in the
Fall of 1876 was elected County Clerk, which ofifice he held one
term. He is at present — 1882 — -one of the City and County
Hall Commissioners. At the expiration of his ofifice of County
Clerk he, in company with his brother Leroy S., engaged in
the wholesale produce and commission, business in Buffalo,
Mr. Oatman was married in 1866 to Allette J. Arneson, of
Newark, N. J. They have five children, viz.: Flora A., Lillian
B., Orlin Lyman, Minnie D., and May H. R.
BIOGKAl'HICAL SKKTCIIES. 9^7
Mr. Oatman's brother, Leroy S., was born July 6, 1844, at
the same place where David C. was. He was a volunteer in
the ii6thN. Y. State Volunteers, and served throughout the
war. He was ordinance Sergeant of his regiment. While his
brother was County Clerk he acted as Clerk of the Supreme
Court.
George Williams.
The Williams" were of English descent. Stephen Williams,
grandfather of George and a prominent citizen of Danby, Vt.,
came to that town from Rhode Island in 1776. His children
were: Hosea died in Ohio in 1851; Sally died in Niagara
county about 1845 ; David died in Michigan, aged ninety-four;
John died in Concord, N. Y.; Hannah married Truman Austin
and died in Hamburg ; Prudy married Hale Madison and died
in Aurora; Sylva married Horace Wells and died in Michigan ;
Daniel died in Concord ; Lsham died in Concord ; Phebe died
in Concord unmarried ; Eliza married William Soule and died
in Iowa; Lydia married Samuel Haight and lives in Canada;
Orilla married Joseph Hammond and lives in Wisconsin.
John Williams, father of George, was born in Danby, Vt.,
and came to"Concord first in 181 1, and was engaged for a time
in the old Gardinier grist-mill at Springville. He was married
in Vermont to Betsy Giles and moved with his family to Con-
cord in 18 1 8, settling near the Cattaraugus creek. Their chil-
dren were : Marshal, dead ; George ; Weighty, dead ; Elizabeth
married Alanson McCoy and resides on the old homestead in
Concord, and Marzavan who died April 10, 181 8.
George Williams was born in Danby, Vt., in 18 17. He re-
sided in Concord until 1855 ; now resides in Arcade, N. Y.,and
is a farmer ; married a Miss Arnold ; they have two children :
Emma L. married a Mr. Miller, and resides in Yorkshire, and
Gideon A. married Estella Strong.
While residing in Concord, east of Springville, in 1851, Mr.
Williams found on his farm a mud turtle bearing on his shell
this inscription— " C. Stone, 1808." The inscription was plain
and distinct, and was undoubtedly the work of Christopher
Stone, the first settler of Concord, and must have been placed
upon the turtle the next year after Mr. Stone's coming. Seven
908 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
years afterward — in 1858 — fifty years after it left the hands of
Mr. Stone, Mr. Williams found the same turtle again on a farm
farther east. It was again given its liberty and how long it
has existed to perpetuate the name of Concord's first pioneer,
no one knows.
Charles Stowell.
Ebenezer Stowell, father of Charles was born in Worcester,
Worcester county, Mass., in 1782. His mother, Hannah
Meacham Stowell, was born in New Salem, Franklin county,
Mass., in 1787.
Mr. Stowell came to Ashford with his family in 1836, and
lived there until his death, which occurred in 1845. Mrs.
Stowell died in 1862. They had eight children:
Luthera, born in 1808, married Andrew Stevens and died in
Ellicottville in 1863. John T., born in 1813, died in 1814.
Caroline, born in 1816; married John Squires and lives in Con-
cord. Maria, born in 1818, lives in Springville. JohnT., born
in 1820 and died in 1834. Charles, born in 1822. Betsey, born
in 1824, married John G.Blake in 1842 and lives in Mt. Carroll,
111. John, born in 1828, lives .in Des Moines, Iowa.
Charles Stowell married Susan West in 1846. They had
eight children :
Hannah Hapalona married David J. Wilcox and lives in
Springville. Ebenezer, born in 1853 died 1862. Hattie, born
in 1855, died Nov. 23, 1862. Caroline, born in 1857, died in
January, 1863. Luthera married Lewis Twichell, and had
one child named Lewis Bertie, which child was given to Charles
Stowell and wife by mutual consent of both parents previous to
the death of the mother.
Mary, born in 1862 ; married E. A. Scott, in 1 880. Charles
E., born in 1866. May S., born in 1873.
Mr. Stowell was Captain of a militia company at one time
and is at present a farmer and dealer in agricultural implements.
His great uncle David E. Stowell, was killed in the Battle of
Bunker Hill.
Joseph E. Ewell.
Mr. Ewell's paternal ancestors are traceable to Scotland, and
his maternal ancestors were from New Ensfland. Mr. Ewell's
inoCRAl'llHAI, SKK ICIIKS. 9O9
father. Dexter Kwell. is cx-Associatc Jud^e of Erie county.
Mr. Ewell, after completing his college course preparatory to
the study of law; after the Battle of Bull Run, left his of^ce
and enlisted a company of volunteers in Kane and McHenry
counties. 111. It was designated as Fifty-second Regiment,
Illinois volunteers. He was appointed First Lieutenant ; was
ordered South and served in Missouri, Kentucky and Tennes-
see, and participated in the Battle of Pittsburg Landing. His
health failing, he was honorably discharged and returned home,
but his patriotism made him eager for the service, and he en-
listed a company in Erie county, and was appointed Captain,
but was unable to accompany his regiment— -the One Hundred
and Sixteenth — to the field on account of ill health. In 1863,
he accepted the appointment of Captain of a company of the
Twenty-sixth regiment, United States colored troops, and early
in 1864, was employed in detached service under orders from
General Dix. He was finally discharged on account of ill
health, August, 1864, and returned to his law studies, being-
admitted to the bar in May, 1867.
In 1869, he was appointed United States District Attorney
for the Northern District of New York ; in 1879, he was elected
Supervisor of the Town of Alden for a term of two years ; in
1880, he was Chairman of the Board of Supervisors. He has
been Deputy County Clerk since January, 1880.
He married Miss Carrie l-'arnsworth, and has one daughter,
Florence.
Amos B. Tanner.
Mr. Tanner was born in Steventown, Rensselaer county, N.
Y., Oct. 23, 1830. He came to Wales, Erie county, the year
following, where he resided until twenty-one years old. He
attended school at Springville Academy two terms — one under
Principal Earle and one under Prof. Lane. Mr. Tanner came
to Buffalo in 1854, where he has since resided. He was for
fourteen years principal searching clerk in the Count}' Clerk's
ofifice. His present business is examining titles to and selling
real estate, and loaning money on real estate. He is a brother
of Alonzo Tanner, Esq. He has been a Member of the Board
of Supervisors several terms, and also Clerk of the Board.
9IO BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Daniel H. Persons.
Daniel H. Persons was born in Buffalo, Dec. 22, 1851, where
he has always resided. His business is that of wholesale
liquor dealer. He is a graduate of Hicks Business College of
Buffalo. He was elected Supervisor of the Fourth ward of
Buffalo in 1876, and held the office two terms. His father
Charles Persons, was Alderman of the same ward in 1875, and
Supervisor in 1873.
Col. Josiali Emery.
Col. Josiah Emery was born July i, 1783, in Dunbarton, N*
H., and died Aug. 14, 1873. After a few years' residence in
Salem, Mass., he settled in Barre, Vt. In 1809, he married
Snsannah Little, and in 181 1, removed to LeRoy, N. Y. The
following year, he located a timber farm at Willink, now
Aurora, which he improved and occupied until his death. He
served in the War of 18 12, and was discharged as First Lieu-
tenant of his company.
His wife died Feb. 5, 1861. They had six children :
Lucius H., born July 26, 181 1. Moses L., born March 28,
1815. John Cborn Dec. 1,1817. Josiah, born Oct. 29, 1819.
Asher B., born May 12, 1821. Mary S., born March 2, 1824.
Lucius H. Emery has two sons; lives in South Wales.
Edwin F. married Fedelia Hodges ; is a mechanic in South
Wales. Moses L. died Aug. 2, 1840 ; left two sons. Charles
E. married Susan Livingston of New York city. William H.
served as a telegrapher in the army. John C. Emery lives in
Oakland county, Mich., and has six children. Josiah, lives in
South Wales on the old homestead, and has had five children :
Ella F. died Oct. 15, 1865 ; Edward K. is an attorney-at-law
in Buffalo, N. Y.; Albert J. is an attorney-at-law in Dakota;
Mary E. married DeWitt C. Blakeley of Aurora; died June 13,
1882.
Asher B. Emery died Sept. 5, 1839. Mary S., married John
H. McMillan, and lives in Aurora ; has three sons:
Frank, married Mary Letson ; lives in Colden. Arthur, mar-
ried Emma Dudley; lives in Aurora. Howard, married Nellie
B..rlingham ; lives in Colden.
MIOCRAl'llUAL SKE'ICIIKS. 9I I
Justus Scott.
Justus Scott, who died recently in the Town of Otto, Catta-
raui^us county, N. Y., was one of the early settlers of the Town
of Concord, where he lived so long and took so lively an inter-
est in its schools, churches and general prosj)erity as to entitle
him to notice in these pages.
Justus Scott was born in the Town of Wallingford, Vt.,
March 19, 1799. Soon after his birth his father moved to
Danby, Vt., where Justus remained with them till 18 16. The
father was poor and the family had become accustomed to
hard work, when he and his elder brother Phineas left home on
foot with packs on their backs, to seek their fortunes in the
Far West. They traveled sixteen days and arrived at Spring-
ville in October, 18 16. The first business in which these boys
engaged was chopping by the job. They cooked their food
and kept bachelors' hall in the woods. Justus soon took an
article of a piece of land on the road from Springv^lle to Ash-
ford, now owned by John Ellis, being part of lot fifteen, town-
ship six, range six. In July, 1817, he married Emily Hardy.
They commenced house-keeping on this place in the most
primitive style. The body of a fallen tree formed the rear of
the house, while the front pillars were crotches driven in the
ground, supporting a pole on which rested basswood dugouts
for a roof, while the solid earth formed the floor. Brides of
the present day might shrink from such a beginning, and find
fault with the furniture, the carpeting, the curtaining or the
bridal couch. But here this young couple commenced their
life work ; happy in anticipation of a future whose contrast
would be all the more gratifying. Here they lived for several
weeks till a log house could be built, in which they lived till
Aug. 7, 1828, when Mrs. Scott died.
About this time Mr. Scott became the owner of a span of
horses, an exceedingly rare Ijjxury in those days. These horses
strayed into the woods of Cattaraugus county, which was then
called the " South Woods." There being no roads, Mr. Scott
tracked them to the McClure settlement, now Franklinville and
from there to Olean Point, about sixty miles from home, the
way they went.
In March, 1830, Scott married Miss Electa Darling, a sister
912 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
of Hon. J. P. Darling-, of Cattaraugus, a woman of superior
mind, and Jan. 15, 183 1, Allen Scott, the present Judge of Cat-
taraugus county, was born. Soon after Scott removed from
this town to Otto, N. Y., where he remained till 1848, when he
returned to Springville to educate his children. After remain-
ng here six years, taking a lively interest in our schools, and
churches, he returned again to his farm in Otto, where he died
in 1 88 1, greatly respected, a man of strong mind and sterling
integrity.
R. K. Siuither.
Mr. Smither was born at Worcester, England, in 1850;
came to America and at fourteen years of age was apprenticed
to the drug business, after which, in 1859, came to Buffalo, to
accept a position with D. H. Peabody, druggist. In 1874 he
married Lucretia, daughter of the late J. S. Newkirk, and
grand-daughter of the late Loring Pierce, Buffalo's late pioneer
undertaker, who officiated at the burial of more than three
thousand of the early settlers of the city, among them the first
interments at Poorest Law.
In 1875 Mr. Smither embarked in business on his own ac-
count, which he has successfully pursued to the present time.
His ability as a chemist and druggist was recognized by his
election as Vice President of the New York State Pharmaceutical
Association in 1881 and President of the Erie county Pharma-
ceutical Association in 1883. He represented the 9th Ward
on the Board of Supervisors in 1880, '81, '82 and '83. In 1882
he was Chairman of the Board.
H. S. Spencer.
Mr. H. S. Spencer, of Hamburg, removed to that town from
Turin, Lewis county, N. Y., in 1864. He is the youngest son
of the late Stephen Spencer of the latter place. The family,
as the name indicates, is of English origin, being descendants
of one of three brothers of that name, who emigrated from
England to Connecticut in the seventeenth century.
Later, and among the representatives of this family who
became residents of this state, maybe mentioned John C. Spen-
cer, of Canandaigua and Joshua A. Spencer, of Utica. The
RiocRAi'nicAi, skktcuks. 913
subject of our notice was educated at W'liitestowii Seminary and
for a time en<ja<^cd in the business of teaching. At present
and for many years, he has had charge of an extensive insur-
ance agenc}-, and but few men in the count)' enjoy a larger
persorial and business acquaintance.
In 1881 or 1882 lie represented his town in the Board of Su-
pervisors, being the onl)- Republican ever elected to that office in
Hamburg upon part}' issues. He is at present Cashier of the
Rank of Hamburg.
Ahmzo Tanner, Esq.
iMonzo Tanner, Esq., was born in Stephentown, Rensselaer
county, N. V., Aug. 8, 1822 ; removed with his father and fam-
ily to the Town of Wales, Erie county, N. Y., in 1831, and set-
tled upon a farm, which is now owned by a sister, and where
his boyhood was spent. At the age of seventeen young Tan-
ner was given his time and came to Springville, attended the
academy for about three years, teaching school Winters for his
support. He studied law with Hon. C. C. Severance, and was
admitted to the Supreme Court in the Eall of 1847. Residing
at Springville from the commencement of his student life in
1839 to 1848, when he removed to Buffalo, where he has ever
since resided practicing his profession. B}' an observance of
industry and application through life Mr. Tanner has been suc-
cessful in accumulating wealth and attaining to positions of
trust. He has held the offices of City Comptroller, Member
of the Common Council, Police Justice, and U. S. Assessor
of the 30th district- of N. V. Mr. T. has been twice married ;
his first wife died in 1852, leaving him two daughters, now li\'-
ing in New York. One of whom is Imogene Brown, famous
as a church singer and vocalist. He has four sons by his pres-
ent wife, two of whom are at present, 1882, clerks in his ofifice.
The Wibert Family.
James S. Wibert mo\-ed from the suburbs of Rochester, N.
Y., to Erie count)' about the year 1830, and finall)' settled in
what was designated as " Tubb's Hollow " now Eden valley,
where he became proi)rietor of the old tavern so familiar to
the older residents .of the county. At the time of his settle-
ment in the hollow he was a widower, his children being seven
35
9H BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
in number, viz. : three sons and four daughters, namely,
Phoebe H., Anna Maria, Jane Martha, Mary Esther. Thomas
Wilham and Isaac, of whom Thomas, Isaac and Jane Martha
are deceased. The three surviving daughters are widows,
Phoebe H., being the widow of Dr. Battey, residing in Buffalo,
and Anna Maria widow of David Gallaway (one of the pioneers
of Battle Creek, Mich.) and now resides there, and Mary E.,
widow of Francis Burt, formerly of Buffalo, also now residing
in Battle Creek, Mich. Shortly after becoming a resident of
the county, Mr. Wibert married Clara Howard, of Hamburg,
who became the mother of two boys, James S., and Henry H.
On the 4th day of April, 1841, the day upon which President
William Henry Harrison expired, Mrs. Wibert died. Her two
sons named above, were sent to reside with Mary and William
Taber, an estimable family, members of the Society of Friends,
and residing in the Town of Collins. They lived for some time
with Mr. and Mrs. Taber, and their son-in-law and daughter,
Isaac Russell and wife, also of Collins. Subsequently the two
boys resided in Buffalo for a time and afterwards again in Col-
lins, until, finally, both became residents of the City of New
York, where Henry became associated with his brother-in-law
the late Isaac Sherman, who did a good deal for the Repub-
lican party, and during the late war a confidential friend, asso-
ciate and adviser of President Lincoln, who once remarked to
a prominent man that he " regarded Mr. Sherman as one of the
ablest men "' he had ever met. Mr. Lincoln tendered to Mr.
Sherman the position of Secretary of the Treasury, upon the
resignation of Secretary Chase. It was during the war period
that Henry was the partner of Mr. Sherman in New York,
their business being that of dealer in staves. In 1866 the}' re-
tired from active busines, since which time Henry and his fam-
ily have spent more or less of the Summer seasons in the Town
of North Collins and the village of Springville, their Winter
residence being in New York. James, for some years past, has
been proprietor of the Mansion House, at Mauch Chunk, Pa.
James S., their father, died in 1878, at Battle Creek, Mich., in
the eighty-eighth year of his age.
KIOCiRAI'HICAI, SKKTCHES. 915
Caleb Cutler.
Caleb Cutler was born in Worcester county, Mass., in 1771 ;
married Kdna Parkhurst, in Milford, and removed to Wards-
boro. Windham count)'. Vt., where he resided until 1.S16, when
they came to Willink, Niagara county, now Holland, Erie
county, and settled upon lot forty-two, where he resided until
his death in 1S51. Mr. and Mrs. Cutler had seven sons and
three dauj^hters, one son dyin<^ in infancy, the others all settled
in Holland and Sardinia except one. William C. Cutler, third
son of the above, was born in Wardsboro, Windham county,
Vt., Nov. 21, 1 801, and came with the family to Holland in
1 8 16. In 1828, March 9, he was united in marriage to Mary
Moray, by whom he has had twelve children, of whom eight
are living, four having died in infanc}'. William A., born Nov.
14, 1828; Tirzah A., born Sept. 17. 1830, died 1855; Maria,
born May 4, 1833 I Eda, born Jan. 20, 1835 ; Tirzah A., born
July 7, 1837 ; Hobert, born July 28, 1839 ^ Mary, born Nov. 23,
1841; Florence, born Feb. 12, 1844; Edward born July 21,
1847, died Jan. 3, 1848; Abagail, born Nov. 26, 1848, died
Oct. 19, 1850; Abagail 2d, born July 13, 1851. Mr. Cutler
says at one time he wanted a barrel of salt, he took a load of
oats to Buffalo for which he was offered eleven and one-half
cents, salt was five dollars per barrel. This example will show
the difference between what the farmers had to sell, and to
buy in those days.
Asa Rausoiu.
Asa Ransom, of Geneva, N. Y., came to Buffalo in the Fall
of 1796. It is said that his was the first family that brought
into Erie county the habits and refinements of civilized life,
and it is said, too, that he was the first white man to locate
land with a view of obtaining a legal title, all the claims pre-
vious had been merely on the sufferance of the Indians. In
1799, he removed to Clarence Hollow, where he opened a
tavern, and where Asa Ransom, Jr., was born, and in 1804 or
'05, he erected a saw mill and grist mill there. This was the
first mill for grinding wheat in the county, and for several
years it supplied the settlers north of the reservation with the
" staff of life." In 1807, town meeting was held at Clarence
91 6 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Hollow hotel, and its worthy landlord, Asa Ransom, was
elected Supervisor. This year, the militia of the western part
of Genesee county had formed into a regiment, and Mr. Ran-
som was appointed Lieutenant-colonel commanding. The
term of this ofifice to him was brief, for the \'ery next year he
had to resign, to accept of the more important position as
Sheriff of Erie county, to which he had been appointed, and a
similar honor was conferred upon him in 1812 and '13. In
1818, Mr. Ransom retired from the office after being ap-
pointed four times, and discharging the duties something over
ten years.
Asa Ransom Jr.
Son of the former, was born at Clarence Hollow, June, 1801.
and is tJic oldest person lunv Ihntig horn in Eric connty, Mr.
R. possesses in an eminent degree the sterling qualities of his
sire, and he has been an important factor in the growth and
prosperity of his adopted town (Grand Island). Soon after
attaining his majority, he was united in marriage to Miss Betsey
S. Clark, daughter of Archibald S. Clark, a prominent actor in
the early settlement of the county. In 1837, M^'- Ransom re-
moved to the Town of Grand Island, and invested quite exten-
sively in lands, and ever since this town has been his home.
In 1867 and '68, he represented the town on the Board of
Supervisors. Mr. and Mrs. Ransom raised a large family,
seven of whom are living.
FAMILY RECORD.
*Levant, born Jan. 21, 1825; Ellen C, born May i, 1826;
married W. D. Witner, lives in Kansas ; Mary A., born April
23, 1827 ; married Harvey Booth; Archibald S.. born Aug. 21,
1828; died March 14, 1829; Clark, born Nov. 7. 1829; mar-
ried Saphronia Cutter ; Sarah, born Nov. 29, 1830; married J.
D. Vandervort ; Harry B., born Nov. 30, 1832; married Zitella
Benedict; Catherine, born Oct 6, 1834; died May 11, 1836;
Betsey L., born May 11, 1836; married A. G. Kent; Asa, Jr.,
born Nov. 20, 1839; drowned June 8, 1872, in the Niagara
river; James T., born Dec. 13, 1841 ; died Nov. 1 (, 187L
♦Levant has been Supervisor of his town.
Hioc.KAriiicAi, sKi:i( iiKs. 917
Harry B. Hansom,
Fourth son of Asa Ransom, Jr., was educated for the profes-
sion of medicine. But like his ancestors he has been more or
less in the active duties of business. For a time he owned and
operated a steam ferry that plied between the Island and the
main lands, cultivates a farm and has taken a very active part
in public affairs. Represented his town on the Board of Super-
visors in 1S66, ^(^J, '68, '69 and '74, and was a Member of As-
sembly in 1870, '71 and '75.
.Taiue8 B. Titus.
James B., son of Robert Titus, whose father's name was
Timothy Titus, was born in Hebron, Conn., on the 19th day of
Jul}-, 1794. At an early at^e he emigrated to Ostego county,
in this state, and on the 2d clay of January, 18 17, married
Esther Yeomans, daughter of Sterling Yeomans, of Richfield,
Ostego county. With his young wife, who was four years
younger than himself, he started on horse-back for the " Far
West," as the Holland Purchase was then known, and settled
in the easterh' part of the Town of Eden, taking an " article "
for a piece of land, on the road called the " Town Line. The
Village of Buffalo had scarcely emerged from her fiery ordeal,
and evidences of the depredations of the British were yet visi-
ble, when they journeyed through to their new home. Roads
were then unknown in that locality, and " blazed " trees were
the guides which directed the w'eary traveler on his way. Plere
began a life of labor and of hardship. The giant tree fell be-
fore the axe in the hands of the hardy pioneer and grain and
grass were soon seen, where, for time unknown, the sunlight
had been hidden from the fruitful earth h\ the leafy forest.
But labor and love brought health and happiness, and a moder-
ate degree of prosperit\^ Mr. T. was prominent in all neigh-
borhood enterprises ; for a long number of years he was deacon
in the Free Baptist church, and in the militia of the state, rose
from the ranks to the ofifice of Colonel, which he held but a
short time, by reason of the pecuniary burdens it imposed up-
on him. In 183 1, he moved from the " Town Line " down to
the creek, where a comfortable house was standing provided
with those early luxuries, a big fire-place and a " Dutch oven "
gi8 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
along side , here he raised his increasing family and spent the
happy days of his life ; with but few wants, knowing but little
of the misery of the outside world, with good neighbors, pos-
sessed of a firm belief in the teachings of Christ and with the
aid of an unusually worthy wife, his cup of happiness was
nearly full ; here he inculcated in his children those lessons of
virtue and morality, which so prominently distinguished the
early pioneer from many of the later settlers of the Holland
Purchase. In March, 1839, ^^- Titus died after a short ill-
ness, leaving his wife with her children to battle alone, and nobly
did she do it ; she continued living on the farm keeping her
family together, and by industry and that frugal economy
which characterized the early settler, she managed to take care
of her almost helpless children for nearly six years, when
broken in health and spirits, she was prostrated with a linger-
ing sickness, and for many years continued an almost helpless in-
valid. During the time her family had grown up, some having
married and left home, and the rest taking care of the farm,
and each contributing his mite in supporting and keeping the
household together. Nearly eighteen years ago, the old home-
stead was sold, and strangers dwell where so many happy events
occurred, and around which cluster memories sweet and beau-
tiful in the green of distant youth, to many a saddened heart.
The children of James B. Titus are: Nancy, born in 1818;
Celina, born in 1820; Dolly, born in 1824; James B,, born in
1826; Sterling, born in 1831 ; Amy, born in 1833 ; and Robert
C, born in 1839. Orlando Titus, who was born in 1835, died
at his home in Eden, in March, 1882. James B. Titus lives in
the Town of Concord .
Sterling Titus came to Concord in 1866, and is now living in
the town of Sardinia, just across the east line of Concord,
where Esther, his mother, who is now eighty-four years old, is
now living. She is still in possession of her faculties, and can
tell many interesting stories of the privations and hardships,
and of the pleasures too, of pioneer life. Robert C. Titus is
lix'ing in Buffalo, practicing his profession, the law. He is at
present the State Senator of this district, having been elected
the second time. Of the girls, all are living: Nancy Gail, at
West Falls; Dolly Dayton, at Clarksburg; Celina Richardson
r.IOtiKAI'IIICAL SKETCIIKS. 9I9
and Amy Fryc, at Springville, in this county. Robert C Titus
is truly a self-made man, and step by step has he risen through
efforts of his own, until at the present he stands in the front
ranks of the bar of Erie county. In 1877, he was elected Dis-
trict Attorney of Erie county, by over two thousand majority
being the only one elected that year on his ticket. In 1881,
be was elected State Senator by over five thousand majority,
and again re-elected in 1883 by nearly one thousand majority,
running some two thousand five hundred ahead of the State
ticket .
fTosepli Kent.
Joseph Kent, an early pioneer of Holland, came from Cor-
inth, Orange county, Vt., in 181 1, and located with his family
in what is now Holland, Erie county, N. Y. Although in em-
barrassed circumstances, Mr. Kent would not leave his creditors
until they were fully paid. For that purpose he applied for assist-
ance to some of his neighbors, who were intending to move to
the same place. His neighbors having confidence in his integrity,
assisted him to pay his debts. But before he could provide a
home ]f or his family and by his best endeavors pay these new
obligations, he sickened and died, leaving his family in desti-
tute circumstances. Well might his creditors conclude that in
paying the debt of nature he had paid all he could pay, and his
debts were canceled. But it was not so to be ; his sons, al-
though with the family to support, labored with energy and an
honest purpose till the last dollar was paid, and the father w^as
•nobly honored by his sons. Need more be said ?
Jonathan Kent.
Jonathan Kent, son of Joseph, was born in Corinth, Orange
county, Vt., in 1799. He removed with his father to Holland
in 181 1, where he has ever since resided. May 15, 1825, he
was united in marriage to Polly Davis, who was born Jan. 9,
1807. They have five children :
Albert H., born Jan. 4, 1827. Mary L., born March 30,
1831 ; died April 14, 1841. Corydon C, born Oct. 31, 1836;
married Fanny Smith, by whom he had one son, Carlton.
Ellen, born Sept. 26, 1846.
920 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Corydon is traveling for the Buffalo Scale company. Albert
married Hannah Smith ; is a successful farmer and lives in
Holland.
Josepli Cooper.
Joseph Cooper was a native of Massachusetts, but in early
life removed to Vermont. His wife's name was Dolly Page.
They have had six children :
Joseph, married Lydia Dustin. Hannah, married Jonathan
Colby, in Vermont. Dolly, man'ied Benjamin Crook. Leon-
ard, married Eliza Humphrey. Eleanor, married Lj-man
Clark. Samuel, married Sally Nutting.
In 1811 Joseph Cooper emigrated from Vermont and located
in Holland, Erie county, N. Y.; then Willink, Niagara county,
on the north part of lot sixty-three, where he resided until his
death, at the age of eighty-seven years.
Samuel, third son of the preceding, was born in Corinth,
Orange county, Vt., Aug. 1 1, 1800, and came with his father to
Holland in 181 1. He still owns and occupies the homestead
he helped to redeem from the wilderness. He married .Sally
Nutting, and has a family of five children :
Page, married Valona Sweet and lives in Holland. Mary-
ette, married Seth Cooper. Julia, unmarried. Emma, un-
married. Grace, married R. J. Sellek.
Charles E. Young.
Charles E. Young was born at Williamsville, Erie count}-,
N. Y., Oct. 26, 1816. He received his education at the com-
mon school, with the exception of one year at the Military
School. On leaving school he located in Buffalo, and learned
the trade of book-binding and blank book manufacturing,
commencing business in 1838. May 27, 1842, he was united in
marriage to Aurora M. Barnes, b}- whom he had five children :
Charles Edward, born in 1844, died in infancy. Charles
Fletcher, born July 11, 1846; married, has one child. Albert
Barnes, born Oct. 20, 1848; married Oct. 20, 1870, to Lizzie
Dixon, of Buffalo. His children are : William Dixon and Alice
Fletcher, (ieorge F'oster, born Feb. 28, 1851. Aug. 23, 1854,
BI()t;RAl'lIICAL SKETCHES. 921
he was married to Eva M. Knight. They have one child.
They live in Texas. Clara Lovina, born Sept. 8, 1855.
Mr. Young was first elected a member of the Board of
Supervisors in 1854, from the Second Ward in Buffalo; after-
ward from the Tenth, which he continued to represent, with
two or three intermissions, to the time of his death. He was
intelligent and energetic, and in whatever position placed, dis-
charged his duty with fidelity and ability. He was several
times elected Chairman of the Board.
Ebenezer liOck^vood.
Ebenezer Lockwood, the son of Timothy and Abagail M.
Lockwood, was born at Greenwich, Fairfield county, Conn.,
July 4, 1776. His father was Captain of a company of minute
men in the war of the Revolution, and would often relate the
following incident, of which Ebenezer was an eye-witness.
The Captain had left his company and was with his family.
Early in the morning his wife was aroused by the report of fire-
arms, and called out to him, " The Red Coats are coming !
He replied, " Oh, no ! " Soon after she heard a second volley,
and called out more earnestly, " The Red Coats are coming! "
He said, " Oh, no ! The men are only cleaning out their mus-
kets." A moment after she vociferated, " The Red Coats are
in sight ! " At this he instantly apprehended that the enemy
were in the road between him and his company, and there was
no time to lose. He jumped from his bed, took his outer gar-
ments in his hand, ran toward his company across a salt
meadow, at the time covered with water. This movement
attracted the attention of the enemy, who sent their bullets
after him, which the subject of this sketch, though not five
years of age, remembered to have seen skip on the water near
his father.
These hardships and exposures brought on disease of which
he died before the close of the war. His son, Ebenezer, was
as soon as of suitable age, apprenticed to a man in New York
city to learn the shoemaker's trade. At the age of nineteen,
the master signified his intention to whip him for some delin-
quency, and he departed without leave, in quest of a friend in
922 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
what is now South East, Putnam county, N. Y., with the
hope of obtaining the means with which to purchase his time.
This was readily done and he was honorably discharged.
At this place he made the acquaintence of Betsey Seymour
whom he married before he was twenty-one years of age. In
i8i6, when they removed to the Holland Purchase, the family
consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Lockwood. Nathaniel, who returned
to Dutchess county where he married and ever after resided.
Jesse, who was twice made Justice of the Court of Sessions of
Erie county. Orin, who was elected Sheriff of Erie
county. Timothy, who became an eminent physician,
practicing first in Hamburg, afterwards in the City of Buffalo,
of which city he was Mayor for one term.
Harrison, who died, leaving one son, Daniel N., who has
served one term in the Congress of the United States, taking
a position in that body seldom reached by a new member.
Stephen, born in Erie county, who was elected County Judge
of his native county. Melinda, who married Salmon Washburn,
late of Boston, Erie county, and Maria, who became the wife
of Daniel R, Newton, late of Hamburgh.
Marcus L. Lockwood, son of Philo, served as a Member of
the Legislature of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Lockwood cared for his children and they were a blessing
to him, aiding him very materially in clearing his farm, and
erecting his buildings. As he had no money or lands to bestow,
he gave each of his sons his time at the age of eighteen : no
inconsiderable endowment to a youth of that age if properly
utilized. He moved in a humble sphere, but acted well his
part : " Here all the honor lies."
He lived to the ripe age of eighty-four, and died at the
residence of his son Jesse, the favorite of the family, especially
of the children, of whom he was in turn very fond and indul-
gent.
David Stickney, Jr
David Stickney, Jr., and his wife Hannah, were the parents
of ten children — nine boys and one girl, all born in the Town of
Sardinia :
Edwin, Charles, Everett, Mary Jane, George Albert, Austin,
HIOGRAl'HICAI, SKHTCIIKS. 923
Cassius, Julius and Wilmot. Seven of the ten are still liv^ing.
Mary Jane, the only daughter, died when eight years of age.
Albert and Julius died soon after they became of age.
Austin N. Stickney, the subject of this sketch, was born in
Sardinia, Dec. 22, 1841 ; lived there until the Spring of 1854,
when his parents sold out and moved to Illinois, taking the
boys with them. In the August following, his parents and
grandfather were stricken down with cholera, all dying within
the space of two weeks, Austin returned to Sardinia soon
after ; worked on a farm from that time till the War broke out ;
enlisted in the Thirty-sixth Regiment, Company A, New York
Volunteers — a two years' regiment ; served his time and re-
turned home; married Martha J. Matteson, daughter of Charles
and Diana Matteson, of Sardinia ; Engaged in the mercantile
business at Holland village in the Spring of 1873 ; continued in
the business up to the Spring of 1883; was appointed chairman
of the purchasing and auditing committee for Erie county, an
office created by the Legislature of 1883, the duties of which
consisted in purchasing the supplies used in the city and county
hall, the jail, penitentiary and almshouse ; the following Fall,
he was elected keeper of the Erie County penitentiary, by a
majority of six hundred and twenty-three.
Austin and Martha Stickney have but one child, a daughter,
Floy Bell, born in Holland, July 22, 1873.
Aimer White,
An active and useful man in community, came to Concord at
an early day, and followed the business of farming, cattle buy-
ing and driving. Cattle raising fifty or sixty years ago was
universal among the farmers, and this stock generally found a
market East. Large droves would be bought up and driven
to market early in the Fall. Mr. White followed this business
quite extensively, besides he owned and conducted a farm. In
the Winter of 1859 he was stricken down with consumption,
and died the following Summer. He reared a large family of
children of which only three are living, viz : — William, Edwin,'
and a daughter.
924 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Williaiu White,
Son of Aimer, is a farmer, and lives in Zoar. He was united
in marriage July 3, i85i,to Miss Cordelia Hammond, by whom
he has three children, viz : — Aimer, born Aug. 4, 1852 ; Clark,
born Aug. 23, 1854, and Charlotte L., born Jan. 6 1861. Mrs.
White died in 1862. Mr. White was again married July 4,
1 87 1, to Miss Mary Baker, by whom he has one child, viz : —
Maria, born July 27, 1880.
Aimer White,
Son of William is a farmer and resides in Zoar. On March
4, 1875 he was married to Miss Jennie Baker, by whom he has
four children, viz: — Grace, born June 2, 1876; Nellie, born
September, 19, 1878; Alma, born April 6, 1880, and Mabel,
born Jan. 28, 1882.
Clark White,
Second son of William, is a farmer and lives in Zoar. Oct. 3,
1876 he was married to Miss Lucy E. Babcock, by whom he
has one child, viz :— Ward, born Aug. 17, 1878.
Harvey J. Tucker,
Third son of Nathaniel Tucker, was born in the town of Brant,
Erie county, N. Y., May 23, 1844. His father was born in the
town of North Collins in 18 17, and was a son of Abram and
Anna Tucker, who were of the first settlers there in 18 10, and
who have the credit of erecting the first log cabin in what is
now North Collins. Harvey's youth, up to his twelfth year,
was passed upon his father's farm. The Summers were spent
in the duties and labors of farming, and the Winters were de-
voted to the district school. In the Summer of 1866, young
Harvey was thrown from a mowing machine and had his right
hand severed just below the elbow. The loss of this useful
member banished all thoughts in his mind of ever becoming a
farmer, and he turned his attention to a profession. Two years
he attended school at the Gowanda Academy, and again two
years at the Oberlin College. At the age of seventeen he
entered the law-office of Horace Boise, at Hamburg, where he
remained one year. His room-mate and fellow student
while there was Senator Robert C. Titus. Both were
IJIOGRAl'lIKAL SKKTCHES. ' 925
compelled to teach district school Winters to defray ex-
penses. The next year Mr. Tucker entered the law office of
Austin & Austin of Buffalo, where he remained one year. The
}-ear 1863 was the darkest in our national calendar and the
yountr law student, then but seventeen years old and with only
one haml listened to the call of his country, and he enlisted
that Winter a company of one hundred men for the 24tii Reg-
iment NewVork Volunteer Cavalry and received a commission
as First Lieutenant of Company M, same Rec^iment. Before
the Regiment entered active service Lieutenant Tucker resigned
and was appointed Sutler of the same Regiment, a position he
held until the close of the war. The next year he passed in
the Oil Regions. Then he returned to his native town and
opened a country store, at North Collins, and the same year,
June 10, 1866, he was united in marriage to Miss Emily Tucker.
He remained in business at the latter place until 1872, when he
sold out and removed to Buffalo. In January, 1873 he was
appointed Assistant Keeper of the Erie County Alms House,
a position he held for one year, when he resigned to accept the
appointment of Keeper of the Insane Asylum, where he re-
mained four years, at the expiration of which he again returned
to Buffalo and entered into a partnership with a brother, in the
commission trade, continuing this business until 1880, when
he was appointed Jailor of Erie county, a place he occupied
two years, when he resigned and purchased a lease of the Tre-
mont House of Buffalo, and still remains its genial and popular
landlord.
Mr. Tucker has always been a staunch Republican and has
taken an active part in politics.
Aloiizo U. LoekAvood.
Alonzo U. Lockwood was born in East Hamburg, Erie
county, N. Y., Dec. 18, 1829. He is one of a family of eight
children, four boys and four girls.
Mrs. Mary E. Waite, the only surviving sister, is still a resi-
dent of East Hamburg: the other girls having died when
young ladies.
His three brothers. Philander. George, and Lafayette, are all
residents of the county, and prominent citizens of the localities
in which thev li\e.
926 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
In 1857, ^^- Lockwood married Cornelia A. Skinner, daugh-
ter of Palmer Skinner, of East Hamburg, and in 1864, moved
into the town of Boston, and in the year 1873, represented his
town on the Board of Supervisors. The year following, he
moved to West Falls, where he still lives, enjoying the reputa-
tion of being a gentleman and a man of honor.
Archibald G. Preston.
Mr. Preston's father, Joel Preston, was born near Providence^
R. I., Sept. 23, 1797, and was married there in 181 5, to Lucinda
Griffith, sister of the late Archibald Griffith, of Concord. They
lived in Providence until 1824, when they moved to Otsego
county, N Y., where they remained until 1840, when they
moved to Concord, where they lived until their deaths : Mr.
Preston died Dec. 9, 1861 ; Mrs. Preston died April 23, 1868.
Their children were, Curtis O., born 18 16, lives in Wisconsin.
Amarilla, born 1818, married Walter Bates, lives in Pennsylva-
nia. Joseph, born 1820, died in infancy. Sarah M.,born 1822,
died 1825. Archibald G., born Dec. 6, 1824. James F., born
1826, died 1829. Lucinda, born 1828, died 1829. Mary A,,
born 1830, married S. J. Parker, and died in Arcade, in 1862.
Edwin W., born 1832, died in rebel prison on Bell Island ; was
a member of 24th Iowa Regiment. Eugene L., born in 1835,
lives in Missouri. Sarah M., born 1839, married Wm. Lord,
lives in Adrian, Michigan.
Archibald G. Preston was born in Otsego county, N. Y.;
came to Concord with his father's family, where he lived until
1854, when he went to California, via Nicaraugua route ; was
there three years, during which time he helped survey the route
for the first railroad built in California. He returned to Con-
cord, where he remained until 1866, when he removed to York-
shire, Cattaraugus county, N. Y., where he now resides. He
was a member of the N. Y. State Guards, and has been Com-
missioner of Highways in Yorkshire.
Mr. Preston has been twice married : first in 1849, to Susan
King; second in 1862. to Melvina Smith, daughter of the late
Calvin Smith, of Concord. They have one son, Arthur E.
born Nov. 7, 1863.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 927
William AV TjUavsoh.
Mis father, Richard Lawscm, canic to l^uffalo from Li\'cr-
pool, En<;land, about forty years ago, and became one of the
leading, active business men of the city. He was possessed of
a large amount of real estate in the lower portion of the city,
was proprietor of the old Commercial Hotel, and the " Rob
Roy" House, that old Buffalonians will readily call to mind.
He died about fourteen years ago, leaving four children — two
sons and two daughters.
William W. Lawson, the subject of this notice, was born in
Buffalo on the i6th of June, 1845. He was educated in the
public schools of the city and subsequently a graduate at
Bryant & Stratton's College, where he received a thorough
business education. After leaving the College he entered the
service of Mr. David Bell, an extensive foundryman and
machinist, with the view of learning a trade. Not fancying a
mechanical calling, after a few months with Mr. Bell, he changed
his plans, and went into business with his father-in-law, Mr.
James Farthing, an extensive stock dealer and butcher. The
concern bought and sold cattle at East Buffalo, upon a large
scale, kept an extensive slaughter-house, and maintained a
popular retail market on Main street, corner of Eagle street,
for a number of years. He was first elected to the ofifice of
Supervisor in 1871, from a strong Democratic ward by a decis-
ive majority, and after a year's acceptable service in the Board,
he was re-elected in 1872.
In 1874, Mr. Lawson was elected to the Assembly from the
Second Assembly District, consisting of the Second, Third,
Fourth and Sixth wards. In the Assembly Mr. Lawson was a
memberof the Committees of Privileges and Elections and Pub-
lic Printing. In 1875, he was renominated. The result was a
majority of 1,194, a gain of more than one thousand from the
previous year. During his second term Mr. Lawson wasChair-
man of the Committee on Petitions of Aliens, and a member
of the Committees on Commerce and Navigation, and Printing.
He was an effective committee worker, and was assiduous in
attending to the duties of his ofifice and in looking after the
interests of his constituents. The Republicans of the county
placed him in nomination for the office of Sheriff in 1876, and
928 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
he became a candidate for a more important office and before
a larger constituency. The canvass occurred during a Presi-
dential campaign and the contest was a spirited one and des-
perately fought. The Democracy nominated a popular candi-
date and an experienced politician, and Mr. Lawson suffered
defeat.
When three years had rolled around he was again made the
party's standard bearer for the office of Sheriff. The unanim-
ity of the convention gave him a good send-off in the canvass
and he came out of the conflict with victorious banners flying,
on which was inscribed a majority of over five thousand. Air.
Lawson entered upon the duties of the office of Sheriff, Janu-
ary I, 1880, and discharged them for three years with general
satisfaction to the public and with credit to himself.
On March 4th, 1864, Air. Lawson married Adelia J. Farthing,
daughter of James Farthing of Buffalo. Four children— two
sons and two daughters — have been born to them making a
happy family of a half a dozen, equally divided as to sex, that
are cozily domiciled in a newly completed mansion on Rich-
mond avenue.
A. Bartholomew, Esq.
Mr. Bartholomew was born in North Collins, Feb. 28, 1837.
Attended school in Springville in 1853 or '54, and graduated
at the State Normal School at Albany in 1857. Mr. Bartholo-
mew has taught twenty-three terms of school in thirteen dif-
ferent towns of Erie county. After graduating at the Normal
School, he studied law with Hon. C. C. Severance, of Spring-
ville. Was admitted to the bar Nov. 13, 1861, and commenced
practicing at Hamburg in 1866 ; came to Buffalo in [870, where
he has since practiced his profession.
He was married in 1864, to Florence Cutler of Holland, N.
Y. They have four children, viz.:
Alice ]M.,born June 25, 1866. Nellie C, born April 23, 1868.
Edward W., born Dec. 25, 1870. Glenni A., born Oct. 16, 1878.
Mr. Bartholomew had eight brothers and sisters viz.:
John P. resides near Aleadville, Pa. Alary married Charles
Winner and resides in North Collins. Elizabeth married Chris-
tian Burgot and resides in North Collins. Catharine resides in
liKXIRAPIIICAL SKErCFIP:S. 929
Buffalo. John A. died in Chicago in 1878. Charles resides in
North Collins. Phoebe died young. Abram, the subject of
this sketch.
Mr. Bartholomew's father, Philip Bartholomew, was born at
Frankfort-on-the-Main, Germany, April 4, 1790. He was four
years in Napoleon's army. He came to this country in 1836,
and settled on lot thirt\'-six, Collins. Died Aug. 24, 1863.
Joseph P. Sampson.
Mr. Sampson's grandfather, Peter Sampson, Jr., was born in
Taunton, Mass., in 1747. He married Elizabeth Perry, in 1773.
Of their thirteen children, Peter Sampson, Jr., father of Joseph
P., \\as the eldest ; he 'vas born in New Salem., Mass., Dec.
30, 1773, and was married in 1793 to Sarah Kellogg. They
had a family of thirteen children :
Sally, born 1793, died in 1796. Gamaliel, born 1795, died
in 1870. Lucy, born in 1796; married Mr. Maklem, and died
about 1870. Sally (2d) born 1798; married William Shultus,
and since died. Sandford P., born in 1800, died in 1825. Han-
nah, born in 1802 ; married Truman Bensley, and died in 1854.
John H., born 1805, died in 1829. Roxana, born 1809.
Elizabeth, born in 1813 ; married Dr. Poole, of Springville, and
died in 1843. Nancy, born 181 5, Joseph P., born Nov. 5,
1819. Peter M., born 1810; died in 1845. Frank S., born
— , died in 1849.
Peter Sampson, Jr., moved with his family to Concord in
18 16, from New Salem, Mass., making the entire journey with
cart and oxen. He located on lot twenty, township six, rano-e
six. Soon after coming, he took the contract for carrying" the
mail from Buffalo to Olean, via Townsend Hill, Springville and
Ellicottville. It was the first regular mail carried between those
points. P>om Buffalo to Springville. he drove a wagon first
then a coach. From Spring\'ille to Olean the route, the ""reater
part of the way, led through the wilderness ; this stage of the
journey was made on horseback. Joseph P. speaks of accom-
panying his father on the same horse, when a boy, to learn
the wa)-, and afterwards being sent occasionally over the route
alone. 'Sir. Sampson carried the mail about ten years.
After some years' residence in Concord, he moved to
930 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Ashford, Cattaraugus county, where he served as Supervisor of
that town eight years and was also Justice of the Peace" about
the same length of time. Mr. Sampson was well and favorably
known in Erie and Cattaraugus counties. He died in Ashford,
Dec. 8, 1836.
Joseph P. Sampson was born in Concord ; resided in Ash-
ford until 1868, when he moved to Yorkshire, Cattaraugus
county, where he has since lived, except two years spent in
Springville and five in Arcade. Is a farmer ; was married
Jan. 27, 1853, to Mrs. Mary A. Hakes. They have one son,
Joseph F., born March 22, 1859 • married Nellie Mclntyre.
From the United S'ates Biographical Dictionary of Illinois, published in 1876.
Joliu R. Bensley.
Mr. John Russell Bensley was born on the first of May,
1833, at Springville, Erie county, N. Y., and is the son of Eaton
Bensley and Sophia {ut'r) Russell, both of whom were
among the pioneers and early settlers of Concord. His father
was a soldier in the war of 18 12. Mr. Bensley received his
education at Springville Academy. At the age of eighteen he
began life as a clerk in a country store and acted in this capacity
for three years when he purchased the stock of his employer
and became proprietor. In 1857 he removed to Du Page county
Illinois and in 1858 located in Chicago, establishing himself as
a general commission merchant, in which business he has con-
tinued until the present time.
From a small beginning he has steadily advanced, keeping
pace with the growth of the city, until he stands at the head of
two of the most prominent houses in Chicago, whose business
transactions arc surpassed in magnitude b}' but few firms in the
city.
In 1868 the firm extended their business to the live stock
trade, under the separate firm name of Bensley Brothers & Co.,
and this business has grown to be scarcely less important than
their grain trade.
Mr. Bensley is an able, shrewd and careful business man, and
he has held various official positions in connection with the
Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, of which he has long
been a member. In 1868 he was elected a member of the Com-
BKXJRAPHICAL SKKTCIIKS. 931
niittee of Arbitration. In 1872 he was chosen a member of the
Board of Directors, and in 1874 was elected Vice-President. In
1 876 he was elected its President by a handsome majority. In
1873 he was appointed b\' Governor Beverai^c a member of the
Committee of Appeals on <^rain inspection for the State of Illi-
nois. In 1876 was made President of the Board of Trustees of
H}'de l^irk, where he resides.
He was married in 1854 to Miss Mary A. White, daughter of
Aimer White of Concord. She died in 1862. He was again
married to Miss Augusta F. Fuller, daughter of Elijah Fuller,
of Wyoming county, N. Y.
Always genial and courteous in manner, overflowing with
good humor, generous to a fault, everywhere a pleasant com-
panion ; he especially delights in the endearments of home
and brings his choicest offerings to the shrine of the household
gods. Mr. Bensley freely ascribes much of his success to the
powerful auxiliaries of home influences, where his efforts have
always been seconded by intelligent co-operation and courageous
self-sacrificing support.
Since the above was written, Mr. B. has held various respon-
sible positions on the Board of Trade, as member of committee
of appeals ; chairman of a committee to secure a location and
erect suitable buildings for the accommodation of the Board —
a labor of no small magnitude when we consider the amount of
money required and the conflicting interests to be harmonized
or overcome. All difficulties have been surmounted and a
commodious building is well under way. He is also President
of Hyde Park, an extensive municipality adjoining the City of
Chicago. But perhaps no one thing so clearly demonstrates the
entire confidence which men in responsible positions repose in
Mr. Bensley, as his appointment as Receiver of the firm of
McGeogh, Everingham & Co., the lard kings ; and the prompt-
ness, energy and ability with which he discharged that dut\'
shows how well that confidence is deserved.
Geovs'e E. Bensley.
George E. Bensley was born in Concord, Erie county, N. Y.,
Sept. 7, 1823. His early life was principally spent on the farm
with his parents. In 1850 he purchased of his grandfather.
932
I5IOGRAPHICx\L SKETCHES.
Deacon John Russell, his farm, together with fifty acres be-
longing to his father, and carried on the dairy business until
1856, when he sold out the farm and engaged in the grocery
trade in the village of Springville, in which he remained until
1862. He then closed out the grocery and formed a partner-
ship with his brother, J. R. Bensley, in the grain commission
business in Chicago, in which he still remains. In 1868 they
opened a live stock commission business at the Union Stock
Yards, Chicago, where they still continue the business.
On the 20th of February he was united in marriage with Miss
A. L. Tanner, daughter of Deacon Joseph Tanner, of Attica,
N. Y. They have had four children :
The oldest, C. R. Bensley, is interested in the live stock
firm. Fllla F., is living Vv'ith her parents. Lottie, died at the
age of three years and one month, and George died in infancy.
For the past thirteen years Mr. Bensley has been an Elder in
the Ninth and Sixth Presbyterian churches, but has recently
taken a letter and united with the Plymouth Congregational
church, which is in many respects more in conformity with his
views of church government.
Albert Haislit.
Albert Haight, one of the Justices of the Supreme Court of
the Eighth Judicial District of the State of New York, was
born in the town of Ellicottville, Cattaraugus county, N. Y.,
on the 20th of PY^bruary, 1842. His father, Henry Haight, was
born at Glen's P'alls, N. Y., where one or two generations of
the family had lived before him. When a mere boy he came
to Western New York, and found employment as a farm hand
in the towns of this county, first in Brant, afterwards in Collins,
and finally he located in Elicottville, where he carried on the
business of farming on his own account.
Before leaving this county, Mr. Haight married Miss Sarah
Sisson, of Collins, and the subject of this notice was the issue
of this union. Mr. Haight moved to Gowanda when Albert
was about a year old, and operated a farm in that localit)-, and
three years thereafter, in 1846, he returned to this county and
settled at West Falls, in the town of Aurora, where he contin-
ues to reside upon his well kept farm.
BIOCKAI'IIICAI. SKKTCHKS. 933
Albert was reared near the little village of West I'^ills. amid
the surroundinij;, influences and opportunities that environ
country-bred bo\s. And they may have been the very best
surroundings after all, and ha\e furnished the necessary discij)-
line for subsequent growth and development. The success and
eminent attainments of country-bred boys in America are not
uncommon. Indeed, it has almost become a settled rule to
which exceptions are not numerous, that the most successful
men in business in the professions and in public life are country
born and reared.
Mr. Haight had the experience of farmer's boys generally.
The needs of the family required his services in " doing chores"
and attending to light farm work as soon as he was old enough
for these duties. The Winter months were spent in the dis-
trict school, and in Summer, farm work absorbed the attention
of the future jurist. Wood-chopping, sugar-making, fence-
building, plowing, sowing, weeding, haying, harvesting, and
such other employments as are incident to farm life were the
lot and fortune of young Haight. These labors tended to de-
velop his physical strength and to discipline his mental facul-
ties for the sterner duties of life.
After two or three brief terms at select schools. Mr. Haight
entered Springville Academy at the age of sixteen, for a semi-
nary course of three years. The habits of industry and frugal-
ity already inculated by parental example and discipline, taught
him the importance of making the best possible use of his time
and opportunities. He realized the fact that his future de-
pended upon the equipment he was to secure at the brief term
for which he had entered the Academy, and he studied accord-
ingly. At the end of the three years, he left the institution as
well fitted for the duties of a business life as are the average
graduates of colleges and universities.
The reputation Judge Haight made in the office of County
Judge led to his selection as a candidate for the office of Jus-
tice of the Supreme Court, by the Republican District Con-
vention in 1856, a year before his term as County Judge
expired. He was elected by a majority of nearly fifteen thou-
sand, and entered upon the duties of the of^ce on the first of
January, 1877, for a term of fourteen years. It was a respon-
934 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
sible trust for one so young aud inexperienced, but Judge
Haight has acquitted himself to the satisfaction of his friends
and the public generally.
During the Seminary course, Mr. Haight taught the village
school at West Falls one Winter term, which was the only
experience of this character he ever had. Upon leaving the
Academy, he came to Buffalo in September, 1861, being then
in his twentieth year, with a determination to fit himself for
the practice of the law. He was not long in getting an oppor-
tunity to study for the profession in the office of Messrs.
Sawin & Lockwood, then leading lawyers of the city. Subse-
quently he became a law student and clerk in the office of the
late Edward Stevens
In 1863, at the age of twenty-one, Mr. Haight was admitted
to the bar as attorney and counsellor, with the right to practice
in all the courts of the State. He at once opened an office in
the Hollister block on his own account, and solicited the
patronage of the public.
In the year 1872, after a practice of only nine years, and at
the age of thirty, Mr. Haight was nominated for the office of
County Judge, by the Republicans, and he was elected by a
majority of a little over five thousand, in a district that not
unfrequently goes Democratic by several hundred. He entered
upon the duties of the office of County Judge on the ist of
January, 1873, and from the first, although the youngest man
who had ever held the office, he attracted the attention and
secured the commendation of the bar and the public by the
manner in which he administered its duties. He was elected to
the office of Supervisor from the Second Ward for three con-
secutive terms, before he was elected County Judge, and served
in the Board with honor and credit.
On the 20th of November, 1864, Judge Haight married Miss
Angeline Waters, daughter of Mr. Harrison P. Waters, a prom-
inent citizen of West Falls, and for about twenty years a justice
of the peace of that place. One child, a daughter, is the fruit
of this union.
George Coit.
George Coit was born in Norwich, Conn., June 10, 1790.
After serving as clerk in a drug store in his native town, he, in.
lUOC.RAI'IIICAL SKl-.TCIir.S. 935
company with a fellow clerk by the name of Townsend, re-
moved to Buffalo, in 1811, and engaged in the same busmess,
which thev followed until 18 18, when they sold their drug store,
and entered largely into the storage and forwarding busmess.
Their first warehouse was built at the foot of Commercial street,
and the firm Townsend & Coit, and later Townsend & Coit and
Thompson & Co., was extensively engaged in the transporta-
tion and forwarding business on the Erie Canal, and the lakes.
This firm merited and received the confidence of the busmess
public.
In 1816, Mr. Coit married a sister of Judge Townsend, by
whom he had eight children, two of whom died young. Mrs.
Coit died leaving a family of young children. Subsequently he
was twice married, but had no children by his second or third
wife. Though possessed of ample means, he was content to
live in a plain, unostentatious manner ; and possessing decided
political opinions, he never aspired to political preferment nor
sought notoriety outside his chosen legitimate business.
Arthur Humplirey.
A pioneer of the Town of Holland. Walked all the way
from Vermont to that town in 1800, and located land upon
which he began improving that Summer, and which was his
home during life. The following Fall he returned to Vermont
in the same way he came, and the next Spring he set out for
his claim with his young wife and child, with a team consisting
of a yoke of oxen and a horse, hitched to a wagon, and we
presume drove " tandem." Arthur Humphrey was a man of
sterling integrity and sound judgment, qualities that very soon
rendered him a very prominent man in the settlement. Dur-
ing the war of 1812 and '15, a stockade was erected upon his
farm as security against the British and their bIoodthirst>-
allies— the Indians. At an early day he represented his town
for several years upon the Board of Supervisors. Mrs. Hum-
phrey's maiden name was Althea Morgan, by whom he had
six children— three sons and three daughters : Eliza married
Deacon Leonard Cooper, of Holland, and died in 1835. The
other two daughters are also dead. Isaac, the eldest son, also
represented his town upon the Board of Supervisors and was
936 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
appointed Associate Judge of Erie county. About 1840, he
went west and at the time the "gold fever" raged he left for
the Pacific coast. In 1868, he left California for Victoria, B.
C, with the hopes of benefiting his health, which was poor.
He soon after died. Arthur K. owned and occupied the old
homestead for some years. This he sold and removed to Iowa,
and at the present his home is in Nebraska. James M., the
youngest son, worked upon the old homestead until he was
seventeen years old, but we infer from the very successful
career since achieved by Mr. Humphrey in the profession of
law, that farming was not his " forte," and we read of him as a
student at the Aurora Academy ; then again in wrestling with
Coke and Blackstone in the law office of Harlow S. Love, of
Buffalo, where he remained for a time and then he returned to
Aurora and entered the law office of Albert Sawin, and after
reading there for a time, he was admitted to the bar in 1846;
here he remained some ten years in the practice of his profes-
sion. In 1856, he waselected District Attorney of Erie county,
and since that time his home has been in Buffalo. In 1863, he
was elected State Senator, and from 1865 to 1869 (two terms),
he represented his district in the halls of Congress. Soon after
he was appointed by the Governor a Judge of the Superior
Court, to fill a vacancy, which he held until the expiration of
the term. Since that time Mr, Humphrey has confined him-
self to the practice of his profession, being the senior partner
of the law firm of Humphrey & Lockwood, which stands in
the front ranks of the profession in Buffalo. In 1846, he was
united in marriage to a daughter of Jonathan Bowers, one of
the early settlers of Aurora. She is a sister of Dennis Bowers,
Esq., late a prominent lawyer in Buffalo. They have four
children, namely :
Arthur B., Fred, Jennie and Carrie — all residents of Buffalo
with the exception of Frederick.
Arthur Humphrey, the father, lived to the age of eighty-
four years, and the mother to the age of seventy-six. Both
died on the old homestead.
Daniel N. Jjock-wootl.
Daniel N. Lockwood was born in the Town of East Ham-
burg, Erie county, N.Y., where he lived and worked on a farm
BI()GRAriIK;AI, SKETCHES. 937
until ho was sixteen years of age. After tlie usual prelimin-
ary prejiaration in the district and ])ublic schools, he entered
Union College at Schenectad\- in the I'all of 1861, from which
he graduated with honor in 1S65. lie then entered the well-
known law office of Humphrey and Parsons as a student and
was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court in Ma\', 1866.
In 1862 he was elected District Attorney of Krie count}-, and
among other noted and celebrated causes conducted by him
was the case of George U. Lord, who was tried for briber}',
growing out of the exposure of the canal frauds under Gov-
ernor Tilden's administration. He was elected a member of
the Forty-fifth Congress, and although he was the }'oungest
member of the House, he took an active and leading part
in exposing the crimes by which Mr. Tilden was defrauded
out of the Presidenc}', making the first and leading speech
on the subject and demanding an in\'estigation of the whole
affair. He was also a member of the Democratic National
Convention at Cincinnati in 1880, which nominated Gen. \V.
S. Hancock for the Presidenc}-. In 1882 he was a member of
the Democratic State Convention at Syracuse and presented
Governor Cleveland's name to the Conx'ention for Gov-
ernor. For the past four \-ears Mr. Lock\\ood has
devoted himself mainl}' to the duties of his profession. He is
also largely interested in business enterprises, holding the office
of President of the Buffalo, New York & Erie railroad com-
pany, and is President and General Manager of the Akron
Cement works, located at Akron in this count}', one of the old-
est and largest cement works in this part of the State.
Mr. Lockwood is a son of Harrison and Martha Phillips
Lockwood. His father died when he was but six years of age,
and from that time he was to a great extent dependant upon
his own resources ; but, possessed of an indomitable will, full
of hope and courage, he has succeeded, by industry and pru-
dence in acquiring a thorough education and in securing for
himself a position of influence and honor, not alone in his
native count}', but throughout the State.
Mr. Lockwood was married in 187 1 to Sarah E., daughter of
Thomas Brown of Buffalo. He has two children, a son and a
dauc'hter.
938 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
O. J. Green.
O. J. Green was born in 1810, and came to the Town of Sar-
dinia in 181 5, where the greater portion of his life has been
passed. Early in life, he took an active part in public affairs, and
the people have honored him upon several occasions with posi-
tions of trust and responsibility. In 1839, he was elected Jus-
tice of the Peace of his town, a position he held twenty-four
consecutive years. In 1846, he represented his district in the
legislature at Albany, and in 1858, he was elected County Clerk
of Erie county, serving a term of three years. Since then, Mr.
Green has rather sought seclusion from the cares of public
life.
In 1837, he was united in marriage to Miss Rebecca J.
Goodspeed, by whom he has three children : Horace C,
Manly C. and Nettie.
Horace C Green.
Horace C. Green, eldest son of O. J. Green, was born in the
Town of Sardinia, and upon attaining his majority, began his
business career in the City of Buffalo. He is at present the
junior partner of the well-known firm of A. T. Kerr & Co.,
wholesale dealers, on Seneca street.
In July, i860, he was united in marriage to Miss Francis C.
Cleveland, by whom he has two children, viz.: Harry C, born
August, 1 86 1, and Nettie C„ born Oct. 5, 1872.
Manly C. Green.
Manly C. Green, second son of O. }. Green, was born in the
Town of Sardinia, studied for the law, and is at present prac-
ticing his profession in the City of Buffalo.
He was united in marriage to Miss Jenny Lincoln, b}' whom
he has two children, viz.: Ethel and Lincoln H.
Mr. Green is a graduate of Williams College, Mass. A thor-
ough student in his profession, who bids fair to make his mark
in his chosen calling.
Richard Reading-.
Richard Reading was born near Banbury, Eng., June 30,
1814. When seventeen years of age. he came with his father,^
lUOCJRAl'lIICAL SKKTCIIES. 939
Richard, Sr., to America and settled on a farm in Aurora, in
this county.
When about thirty years of age, Richard, Jr., returned to
England. While there, he married Miss Mar\- A. Borton, and
again set sail for his new home. Twent)' weeks were consumed
in the trip, it havir.g been made by sailing \essel to New York,
and thence to Buffalo over the Eric Canal.
Mr. Readin.g with his wife settled on the farm now occupied
by him in 1846. Sixteen years later, they were the parents of
eight children, seven of whom grew up and are still living :
two daughters and five sons.
During his lifetime, Mr. Reading has taken considerable
pride in stock raising, especially of cattle. His Banner Yorks,
a pair of Durhams, were sold to Farthing Bros., of Buffalo, in
i860, and subsequentl}' shown at several cattle shows in this
State and in Canada. After eight years' fattening, the two
weighed six thousand pounds. Mr. Reading is considered an
excellent judge of cattle, and is almost inwiriably one of the
judges in this department at local fairs.
In politics, he is a staunch Republican, as are his five sons.
He is of retiring disj^osition, and domestic in his tastes. His
chief ambition seems to have been the education and success
of his children. This opinion was formed by conversing with
his neighbors in regard to this. Few men have more friends,
none have less enemies.
Mr. Reading's fourth son, William B., was born April 22,
1857, and like his brothers and sisters, he grew up in school,
and he graduated from the Buffalo Central High School, June,
1878. He next took a two j^ears' course in Cornell University
and afterwards studied law with Marshall, Clinton & Wilson, of
Buffalo. In 1882, he was elected Clerk of the Board of Super-
visors of Erie countv-, and again re-elected to the same office in
1883.
Joseph Caiulee, Esq.
Joseph Candee was born in Oxford. New Haven count}-.
Conn., Jul}- 6, 18 13. Came to Pompey, Onondaga county,
N. Y., with his father's family when three years old. Lived
there and in the neighboring city of Syracuse until 1837, when
940
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
he came to Sardinia, where he resided until June, 1856, when
he removed to Buffalo, where he now resides. While a resident
of Sardinia he was engaged in the tanning business in company
with O. J. Green. He represented the town of Sardinia on the
Board of Supervisors four times, 1S49, '5^' '5- '^^''^^ '53- ^'''
1852 he was elected Sheriff of the county.
He was three times elected Superviscir of the Tenth Ward
of Buffalo, 1857, '58 and '59, and and was Postmaster
for a time under Andrew Johnson's administration. He was
Joseph can dee, esq.
connected for about a year — 1861 — with the Buffalo Coin-
vicrcial A dvcrtiscr.
Mr. Candee was married in 1837 to Julia Jennings, who died
Jan. 13, 1875. Mr. Candee has a daughter, Emilie ; born July
1 7) f^37' ijii Pompey, N. Y.; and a son, Cassius C. born Oct.
17, 1840, in Sardinia. He has been for several years Deputy
Collector in the Buffalo Custom House.
Patterson Kerr.
Patterson Kerr was born in Orwell county, N. Y., Jan. 14,
1810; was married in North Collins, in 1834, to Miss Rozette
H. Tucker, who was born March 11, 1815. They have four
children, Abram T., born March 4, 1835; married Rebecca
ItloCK.M'IIICAI. ski; ICIIKS. 94I
Marshall, Apiii 11, 1S72. The)- ha\c two cliiltlrcii, Abel T.
and Frank M. Kniil}' A., born Jan. 19, 1838; married George
Manford in 1859. ''•-" ^^'^■'^ been dead man\- years. She lives
in New York City. Albert D. Born Now 4, 1841 ; married
Fanny Price, Dec. 2, 1869. They have four children : George
A., Fred, Albert and Harry; they live in l^uffalo. Fllen mar-
ried George W. Arnold, Sept. 22, 1869. Has had three children :
Bertha, Bertie E. and Emily J., who died in Buffalo, Nov. 3,
1878.
Abram T, Kerr is the senior partner in the well known firm
of A. T. Kerr & Co., wholesale dealers in wines and lic^uors,
Buffalo, N. Y.
Madison C Scoby,
The eldest son of Alexander Scoby, was born in Ashford in
1829 or '30, and spent the years of his minority at home. Being
the eldest, he was of great service to his father, and long before
he attained his majorit)' he had become thoroughl)' proficient
in his calling (that of miller). In the Winter of 1853 he left
here in company with Addison Gibbs, a cousin, who was after
Governor of Oregon for the latter state, and located at Port-
land. He was soon engaged to take charge of a large flouring
mill there where he remained until his return home in 1856.
Soon after he entered into a partnershij) with his father in the
milling business, which was continued until i860 or thereabouts.
In 1861 he bought a half interest in the Springville mill, which
he conductetl until 1863. In 1866 he was united in marriage to
Miss Agnes Bensley, and soon after he removed to the State of
Kansas, where he established himself in the business of cattle
raising, a business that he still continues. In 1868, he removed
his family back to Chicago, and entered into a co-partnership
with the Bensley Bros, in the live stock trade. Mr. and Mrs.
Scoby have a family of seven children.
Marcus Baitlett
-Marcus Bartlett was born at Danby, Rutland count)', Vt.,
May 16, 1817. His father, David Bartlett, came with his par-
ents from Cumberland, R I., about 1790. lie was a self-made
942 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
man, by trade an edge-tool manufacturer, and a man of unbend-
ing integrity- He married Prusha Allen, daughter of Prince
Allen, of Danby, and held many positions of honor and trust
in his adopted town. Not being wealthy he had not much to
give his children except a good common school education and
the example of a life which betokened a soul of honor. Relig-
iously he was a Quaker. His father, Abner Bartlett, married
Drucilla Smith. His grandfather, Joseph, lived also in Cum-
berland, and married Abigail Aldrich, and his great-grandfather,
Jacob, settled in Cumberland from Salem, Mass. His wife's
maiden name was Ballou.
In November, 1839, Marcus Bartlett married Fanny A. Kelly,
daughter of Azel and Rebecca Kelly, of Danby. He came
with his family to Collins in November, 1846, having embarked
at Fort Ann on the raging canal ; after an eventful voyage of
eleven days in the kind care of good old Captain Brayton, they
landed safely in Buffalo, and after a two days' journey by land
over rough and muddy roads, arrived in Collins. His family
at that time consisted of himself and wife, daughter Jane and
an adopted son, Edward Daggett ; it was afterwards increased
by Alice L., Allen P., Mary E. and Lucius E., two sons and
two daughters.
Edward enlisted in the Twenty-first regiment New York vol-
unteers, in the War of the Rebellion ; he was promoted to Ser-
geant and honorably dischargeci after serving his full time, and
soon after died of disease contracted in the army.
Allen P. married Edith M. Gay, daughter of Ira and Diana
Gay, of State Line, Pa. Their children were : Gay, Allen P.,
Jr., and Fannie. Gay died when twenty-one months old; his
father, Allen P., died Sept. 18, i88(. The other members of
the family are now living together at 127 West Eagle street,
Buffalo, N. Y., and Mrs. Bartlett's mother, Mrs. Rebecca Kelly,
now in the ninety-first year of her age, in good health and the
full enjoyment of all her faculties, adds greatly to the enjoy-
ment and pleasures of their happy family circle.
Mr. Bartlett's life has been one of continuous labor, never
having received a dollar except what he earned by hard work
and unremitting industry ; in youth, working some with his
father in the blacksmith shoji, and also assisting in culti\ ating
HIOC.RAI'HICAL SKK'RIIKS. 943
a small farm in Summer, and attending the district school in
Winter, where iiis education was obtained excepting one term
at Burr Seminary, Manchester, and one at Black River Acad-
emy at Ludlow, Vt. While most of his life has been spent on
a farm, he taught school twenty-six consecutive Winters, com-
mencing at the age of sixteen years. He was the first Super-
intendent of Schools elected in his native town, a law requiring
such an ofificer having been passed by the last Legislature pre-
ceding his election. After settling in the Town of Collins he
was elected Justice of the Peace and was a candidate on the
Democratic ticket for School Commissioner, and afterwards for
Member of Assembly in his district. His party being largely
in the minorty, he was defeated, though running far ahead of
his ticket. At the commencement of the late war he was
elected Supervisor of the town against a political majority of
about two hundred, and was appointed by the Board a member
of the first Bounty Committee, and went to the front at Fred-
ericksburg, Va., and along the lines, holding unlimited orders
on Jay Cooke & Co., at Washington, from the county, to pay
bounties to enlisted soldiers, as it had been demonstrated that
if their money was given them in Buffalo the facilities were
such that many of them after receiving their bounty, would de-
sert and cross to Canada. In 1863 he was appointed Assistant
Assessor of Internal Revenue for his district, comprising the
towns of Collins, North Collins. Hamburg, Plast Hamburg,
Brant, Evans, Eden and West Seneca, and held the position
for two years, receiving the thanks of the department for his
promptness, abilit}' and fidelity in the discharge of his difl^cult
and delicate duties. In i860 he was employed by the census
department of the government to take the census of the towns
of Collins and North Collins.
Although retaining his farm in Collins he has since 1871 been
living in Buffalo, where he has in various capacities been
employed in the office of the County Clerk. In 1879, ^^^ ^^'^^
nominated unanimously for the office receiving more than his
party vote, but was defeated, though he had been employed
for nearly nine years as deputy by Clerks of both political par-
ties, thus demonstrating his qualifications for the position.
Though politically a Democrat and religiously a Universalist
944 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
he is justly proud of his many true and valued friends among
all religious sects and all political parties. Generous to a fault,
but never a spendthrift, he could not become a wealthy man,
unless he had been more penurious and less anxious for the
welfare of others. During the last fourteen years he has by
his individual labor, earned and received over twenty-one thous-
and dollars, which he hopes if it has not made him wealthy has
gone to make the world wiser, better and happier. But he
counts his wealth not in gold, but in the devotion and happi-
ness of his famih' and the love and fidelity of his many friends.
Abbott C. Calkins.
Abbott C. Calkins was born in the Town of Colden, Erie
county, N. Y., June i, 1838, and worked upon a farm until he was
eighteen years old. He attended school at the Springville and
Aurora Academies, studied for the profession of law and was
admitted to the bar in 1859, and began the practice of his pro-
fession in Buffalo. In 1867, he removed to Hamburg and
opened an office there. In 1868, he represented the district in
the State Legislature at Albany. Since that time he has devo-
ted his attention to the practice of his profession. In 1883, he
returned to the City of Buffalo, where he enjo)'s a large and
lucrative practice. Mr. Calkins is an able lawyer, whose marked
points in his character is his devotion to the interests of his
clients.
Cbailes T. Coit.
Charles Townsend Coit, a prominent citizen of Buffalo, was
the eldest son of George and Hannah Townsend Coit, and was
born in Buffalo, then a mere x'illage, Feb. 14th, 18 19, and died
Dec. iith, 1881. Mr. Coit, having received a fair education,
began his business career as a clerk in the office of Coit, Kim-
berly & Co., on Central wharf, Buffalo. In 1844 he went to
Troy and became a member of the firm of Ide, Coit &Co., own-
ers of the Troy and Erie Transportation Line, which then did
an extensive business on the lu'ie Canal. He remained in Troy
about ten years, then located at Albany for a time, and finall}*
returned to Buffalo, where he took part in organizing the Inter-
national Bank, of which Mr. Coit continued Cashier until June,
1879, '^vhen he was elected its President. He continued as the
BIOClRArHICAL SKETCHES. 945
■executive officer of the bank until within a few months of his
A T He was also a Director of the Buffalo Gas Light
rl.-ith his widow and one son.
M /Coitwas aman of thorough bush,ess ab.hty and very
.uc cssful a. a banker and financier. He was of s.mplc hab> ts,
d , Ucd display and ostentation and had no t-te for p.b,,c -
sition. In his personal intercourse « ,th men he --- pk^as
ant. having a kind word for all. bocally he was an agreeable
companion and one whose society was highly pr.zed.
Frank S. Coit.
l.-rank Seymour Coit, son of Charles T. and J""f ^Coit_ was
born at Troy, N. Y., Sept. 2d, 1850. and came to Buflaloabo t
,8r Was educated in the schools of the city and at Exeter.
N H • became a clerk in the First National Bank about 1869
and after several jears connection with that "-W""™' "-;^' ^
in .874, to engage in the lumber busmess as one of the firm o
Coit, Smith & Co. m ,877 he accepted the pos.t.on of Depu,
Treasurer of Erie county and continued in that office untd ,86
when he assumed the management of ''-Ak.onCeme, Works^
In ,872 Mr. Coit m.arried Emily, daughter of A. A. Eustaphieve
of Buffalo.
Alexander A. Eustaphieve.
xt^^:n\.^^rM,ranr:"h^9-
me/cantile pnrsu.ts nnt.l ,832 ^v'-'"^; ---^ ,tk about
With the exception of a few years, spent n ^-'^
1840, he continued to reside in Buffalo unfl h,s death, wh.ch
36
946 MASONIC LODGES.
occurfed in August, 1879. ^^ early became identified with
the insurance business and was highly esteemed for his
thorough acquaintance with all its details.
Mr. Eustaphievc married, in 1835, Emily Wilson of London,
England, by whom he had eight children, six surviving him.
His wife died in 1872, and in 1875 he married Sarah Carpenter,
of Rye, N. Y., by whom he had one son. Mr. Eustaphieve
was a man of strong character and a general favorite both in
business and social life.
MASONIC LODGES.
CONCORD LODGE, NO. 346, F. AND A. M.
In the year 1822, a petition for the formation of a lodge at
Concord, Erie county, was presented to the Grand Lodge, at
its Annual Communication held June 7th, of which the follow-
ing is a copy :
" To the Most WorsJiipfnl, the Grand Lodge of the State of New
York :
We, Free and Accepted Masons, having been members of
regular lodges, and having the prosperity of the fraternity at
heart, and willing to exert our best endeavors to promote and
diffuse the genuine principles of Masonry, that for the con-
veniency of our respective dwellings, and for other good rea-
sons, we are desirous of forming a new lodge in the Town
of Concord, County of Erie, to be named Concord Lodge ;
that in consequence of this desire we pray for a warrant of
constitution, to empower us to assemble as a legal lodge, to
discharge the duties of Masonry in a regular and constitutional
manner, according to the original forms of the Order, and the
regulations of the Grand Lodge ; that we have nominated and
do recommend Comfort Knapp, to be the first Master, Ira Hall
to be the first Senior Warden, and Archibald Grififith to be the
first Junior Warden of the said lodge ; that if the prayer of
MASONIC LODGES. 947
the petition should be granted, we promise a strict conformity
to all the constitutions, laws and regulations of the Grand
Lodge." Signed.
Charles Wells, Comkori- Kx.vrr,
Asa Torrey, Aaron Colk,
Asa Phillips, Reuben Rockwood,
Edward Cram, Jonathan Jennings,
Archibald Griffith, Ira Hall,
ROSWELL OlCOTT, FREDERICK RICHMOND,
Truman White.
This petition was endorsed as follows :
• " AUR(n<A, Erie county, N. Y., Dec. 27, 1821.
Blazing Star Lodge, No. 294, opened in due form. Several
brethren from the Town of Concord, in this count}', having
presented for the approbation of this lodge, a petition to the
M. W. Grand Lodge,. for a warrant of constitution for a lodge
to be held in said town ; therefore.
Resolved, That we believe this is the nearest lodge to the
said town of Concord, and further
Resolved, That believing it will eventuate to the benefit of
the institution, we do cheerfulh^ recommend to the M. W\
Grand Lodge to grant the prayer of the petitioners. A true
extract from the records."
Signed. John Wadsworth,
Secretary Blazing Star Lodge, No. 294.
An entry of the proceedings of the Grand Lodge at that
communication reads: "Petition from Comfort Knapp and
others to hold a lodge in the Town of Concord, in the County
of Erie, by the name of Concord Lodge, recommended b\'
Blazing Star Lodge, No. 294, the prayer of which was granted."
A warrant of constitution was granted, and the lodge was
numbered 346. It made annual returns to the Grand Lodge
to December, 1825, after which date there is nothing on the
records of the Grand Lodge relating to it.
Its membership, in addition to those named in the petition,
is not completel}- known, but Amaziah Ashman, Jarvis Bloom-
field, Rufus C. Eaton, John Russel, Willis Cornwall, George
Shultus, John House, Harry House and Eaton Bensley are
948 MASONIC LODGES.
remembered as " brethren of the mystic tie." The lodge held
its communications at various places on Townsend Hill and in
Springville, until the anti-Masonic excitement broke out,when
it ceased to do " further work," and its funds, records and prop-
erty became dispersed and lost, with the single exception of the
Junior Warden's Jewel, which is now in the possession of
Springville Lodge, No. 351, where it serves to adorn the can-
didate of the third degree, and is justly cherished as a me-
mento of "ye olden time."
In removing the bodies from the old cemetery at Spring-
ville, in 1882, the " square and compasses," and the initials "L.
E. L.," on the remains of a cof^n in an obscure grave, were
found to mark the resting-place of a brother, and it was sub-
sequently ascertained that the relics were those of a young
Frenchman by the name of L. Edmund Lidja.
A masonic headstone also marked the resting-place of Lieut.
Sanford Perry Sampson, who died in 1825.
In "Rural Cemetery," they now await that rat'sin^ which.
was once symbolically taught them : " Though the skin ma}^
slip from the flesh, and the flesh cleave from the bone, there
is strength in the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and He shall pre-
vail."
SPRINGVILLE LODGE, NO. 35 1, F. AND A. M.
After a local sleep of more than a quarter of a century, Free-
Masonry again sprang into activity in the organization of
Springville Lodge, No. 351. The brethren who were active
spirits in the establishment of this lodge have all passed away,
but their work remains, and their names should ever be held
in grateful remembrance by their successors.
They came from lodges as tollows :
Alvah Button, Lamoile. Vermont, initiated 1820.
Heman Rugg, Olive Branch, New York, initiated 1843.
Joel Cobleigh, Union Star, New York, initiated 1825.
Joseph Potter, no record.
Aaron Cole, Olive Branch, New York, initiated 18 16.
Charles Watson, Meridian Sun, Massachusetts, initiated,.
1818.
Elam May, Eastern Star, Connecticut, initiated 18(5.
FIRST MKMHKRS (JK Sl'KINGVI LLE LODGE. 949
David B. Jcwctt, no record.
Jarvis Bloomficld, Warren, New York, initiated 1810.
Archibald Griffith, Concord, New York, initiated 1810.
Amaziah Ashman, Concord, New York, initiated 1823.
David R. Upson, Friendship, Connecticut, initiated 18 16.
George W. Kingman, Otselic, New York, initiated 1810.
Noah Rockwell, no record.
Thomas J. VVhitcomb, no record.
The old records show that : " Several adhering Master
Masons residing in Springville and the vicinity thereof, being
desirous of forming and organizing a Masonic Lodge in due
form, and on consultation having decided so to do, the follow-
ing named brethern : Alvah Dutton, Heman Rugg, Joel Cob-
leigh, Elam May, Thomas J. WhitCDmb, Aaron Cole, and
Joseph Potter, did on the 27th day of July, 1854, meet at the
house of Elam May, in Springville, and did then and there
agree to form themselves (and others) into a lodge of Free and
Accepted Master Masons, and apply to the Grand Lodge of
the State of New York for a dispensation, or authority to act
as such, to be known as Springville Lodge.
The brethren present united in a petition to the Grand
Lodge, for the purpose named above, and designated Brother
Alvah Dutton for Worshipful Master, Heman Rugg for Senior
Warden, Joel Cobleigh for Junior W^arden, and to be appointed
to the said offices under dispensation of the '' Grand Lodge."
In August, the petition was forwarded to the Grand Secre-
tary, and the dispensation applied for was granted, bearing
date Aug. 28, 1854.
Sept. 14, the lodge, under dispensation, held its first com-
munication, when Amaziah x^shman was appointed Treasurer,
Joseph Potter, Secretary, David R. Upson, Senior Deacon,
Charles Watson, Junior Deacon, and Elam May, Tyler.
The lodge sub-rented the Odd Fellows' Hall, then in the
. block just east of the Springville mill, subsequently purchasing
the lease and furniture, and there held its communications at
two o'clock P. M. on each Thursday succeeding the full moon.
Six months after its organization, it lost by death its aged
and honored secretary, Joseph Potter, who was buried with
950 INSTRUCTION IN THE RITUAL OF MASONRY.
masonic honors, on the i6th of March, 1855. Pliny Smith, a
newly-made mason was appointed to fill the vacancy, and for
many years did that faithful and attentive ofificer wield his
ready pen to the great benefit of the lodge, whose growth and
prosperity he fostered in many ways besides that of the use of
the "grey goose quill," which he would never allow to be sup-
planted by a metallic pen. Ever at his post, exact in his duties ;
when the hour of refreshment came, no tongue so witty as his ;
albeit the brethren sometimes winced under his keen and eccen-
tric skill at repartee. He ever forms a pleasing figure in the
memory of the older members of the lodge.
On the 19th of July, 1855, Worshipful Brother J. J. Aikin,
of Ellicottville Lodge, by the authorit}- and as the represent-
ative of Most Worshipful Joseph Evans, Grand Master of the
State of New York, and assisted by William S. Herrick, of
Phoenix Lodge, as Deputy Grand Master, Pliny Smith as
Grand Secretary, and Lewis Woodward, of Phoenix Lodge, as
Grand Marshal, instituted Springville Lodge, No. 351, and
installed its ofificers, delivering into the the hands of Alvah
Button, its first Master, the Warrant of Constitution, bearing
date June 9, 1855.
Li December, 1856, William H. Drew, the Grand Lecturer,
visited the lodge and instructed the officers in the New Ritual-
istic work.
In i860, the lodge rented and fitted up for occupanc}\ a hall
in the third story of the building, now occupied by Mrs. O.
Smith as a millinery store, then owned by the Secretar)-, Pliny
Smith, and at that time the hour of meeting was changed to 6
o'clock P. M.
In 1865, an amendment of the by-laws providing for semi-
monthly communications was adopted, and the time of meet-
ing was changed to the second and fourth Thursday evenings,
as at present.
In March, 1868, Assistant Grand Lecturer, John B. Sackett,
visited and instructed the lodge anew in the ritualism of
Masonry.
During the }'ear 1869, the lodge was called upon to perform
the last sad rites over the remains of two of their bretliren :
I'Ur.l.lC INSlALLAriON OF OFFICERS. 95 1
Worshipful Hrothcr Coblciy,h, who dictl M;i\' Jcl, and i^rothcr
Frank McLin, who died August 29th.
On the 9th of January, 1873, a pubHc installation of officers
was held at the Presbyterian church, on which occasion the
Rev. Mr. Clark, of Buffalo, delivered a very excellent and
instructive address upon the subject of Free-Masonry.
•The installation services were conducted by Charles E.
Young and John A. Lockwood, of Buffalo, and at the close, a
Past Master's Jewel was presented by the brethren, to the
retiring Master, George G. Stanbro.
During the year 1873, the question of procuring larger and
better lodge-rooms having be'en discussed, as a preliminary
step the Lodge was incorporated under a general act of the
Legislature, enabling it to purchase, liold and transfer real es-
tate and personal property, and an agreement was entered into
with brethren Shuttleworth & Chafee, to purchase part of the
brick building now known as •' Masonic Hall," then in process
of erection. At its completion a deed was taken of the third
story, which was nicely furnished in a suitable and convenient
manner. Dec. 19th, 1873, the Lodge was ceremoniously ded-
icated to Masonry by the Grand Master, Christopher G. Fox,
in the presence of a large number of brethren and invited
guests. Proud of the new hall the members and friends of the
Lodge had made plentiful arrangements for the hours of fes-
tivity which followed. The event was one of general satisfac-
tion to all participants.
As reflecting honor upon the Lodge, it is worthy of mention
that in the year 1874, the Master, Bertrand Chafee, received the
appointment of District Deputy Grand Master of the twenty-
fifth Masonic District. On his retirement from the Mastership of
the Lodge, Worshipful Brother Chafee was presented with an
elegant Past Master's Jewel, as a token of the high esteem
which the members entertained for him and of their appreciation
of his faithful services as Master during the two preceeding
years.
February 17th, 1875, Masonic funeral rites were held over
the remains of brother Charles J. Hooker, a member of the
Lodget, the services being held in the Methodist Episcopal
Church.
952 FUNERAL SERVICES.
July 22d, 1875, Right Worshipful George H. Raymond,
Grand Lecturer, held a Grand Lodge of Listruction, at Spring-
ville, exemplifying the standard work in the presence of a large
number of Masters and Wardens from the various lodges of
Erie county.
On Sunday morning, Nov. iith, 1877, Springville Lodge,
with many brethren of sister lodges, were assembled, and con-
ducted the funeral services of brother John B. Wadsworth,.
late of Washington, D. C, who died at the residence of his
nephew, brother Charles R. Wadsworth, in Springville, Nov. 7,
aged fifty-three years. The deceased richly merited the follow-
ing obituary and memorial, copies of which were spread upon
the records of the Lodge :
John B. Wadsworth was born in BufTalo, N. Y., December
26, 1823. When he was ten years old hi? parents removed to
Springville, where he attended district school, and afterwards
the academy for several years. He was for some time clerk in
a store kept by Manly Colton. After a brief stay in Olean he
went to Vicksburg in 1842, with his brother, Frederick Wads-
worth. He remained in that place till 1849, "^vhen his health
having failed, he set out by sea for California. On the west
coast of South America he came near being ship-wrecked, but
arrived in safety at his destination and went to work in the
mines. The hard fare of a miner's life benefited him, so that
he^increased in weight from ninety up to two hundred pounds.
After residing a short time in San Francisco in business, he
went to Oregon. He was Assistant Commissar}- General in
the Oregon War.
After a residence of twelve years in California and Oregon
he returned to his old home in time to bur}' his mother and
aunt ; and, after a year and a half, his father.
From this place, at that time, he went to Washington, where
he remained most of the time during the war. He was engaged
much of his time in furnishing supplies for the army.
He has visited either on business or for recreation, almost
every part of the United States and Canada.
In 1869, he went to Europe where he remained for more than
three years, traveling and visiting all places of importance.
During the time, he traveled in the Holy Land and in Eg}'pt,
and sailed over that portion of the Mediterranean Sea from
RESOLUTIONS OK SPKINGVn.l.E I.CJDGK. 953
Italy to Asia, embracing the Grecian Islands-.hc ^ccnesof St^
Paul-s voyages. He was in Egypt at the opcn.ng of the Suez
Canal. There are few men who l,ave traveled over as much of
the world and seen as much as he.
Since his return to this country he has resided most of the
timt Waslrington. Last Spring he came back to the scenes
olhis chUdhoocFto close up his life where he began ,t and there
\vhiretiiing on the Danube, in Europe, he took a violent
cold which res:ited in an asthma from wh.ch he never recov-
ered That, ultimately, caused his death.
He was an unusually kind and mild tempered mam H,s
extensive travels a.-d intercourse with men, united w,th h,s nat-
ural disposition, rendered him one of the most courteous and
agreeable of men. Having lived an honest and upnght hfe 1 e
passed peacefully away, enjoying sweet hopes of .mmortahty
and eternal life.
At a Stated Communication of Springville Lodge N 0^351.
F and A M., held at Masonic Hall, Spnngville, N. Y.,
Nov. 22, 1877, the following Resolutions were unanmiously
Wh7X By the providence of God we have been called to
mourn the loss of our dearly beloved friend and brother, John
B Wadsworth, late of Washington, D. C, who f^rst received
Masonic light within the body of this Lodge, and at whose
hands he received Masonic burial—
Resolved, That in the decease of Brother Wadsworth, t ree
Masonry met with the loss of one of the noblest one of the
most upright, one of the purest members of our fraternity
Resolved. That in his character we recognized the modest
and unambitious spirit which shrunk from the pomp of life,
but delighted rather in the silent satisfaction of domg well
thus possessing dispositions congenial with the genuine spirit
of Free Masonry, which led him to discover in our fraternity
means eminently conducive to the important purpose of en-
larging his sphere of social happiness, and of promoting the
cause of philanthrophy. It gave a nobler expansion to his
charity, a wider range to his benevolence.
954 RESOLUTIONS OF SPRINGVILLE LODGE.
Resolved, That while his loss we deeply deplore, and would
extend the hand of sympathy to his immediate friends and rel-
atives, and the various fraternal bands with which he was con-
nected, we rest assured that his summons from the Most High
was one from labor on earth to eternal refreshment in the par-
adise of God.
Resolved, That these Resolutions, with obituar\- notice, be
spread upon the records of the Lodge, and copies forwarded to
his friends and the following Masonic bodies :
Acacia Lodge, No. i8; Buffalo Chapter, No. 71, N. Y.;
Washington Commandry, No. i, Mithras Lodge of Perfection,
No. 2, Evangelist Chapter Rose Croix, No. i, Robert De Bruce
Council of Kadosh, No. i, Albert Pike Consistory, No. i, S. P.
R. S., Washington, D. C.
Brother Wadsworth was a great lover of masonry, and be-
fore his death provided three thousand dollars for the erection
of a Knight Templar monument, on the family lot in Rural
Cemetery at Springville. The work completed. Lake Erie
Commandery, No. 20, Knights Templar, of Buffalo, was invited
to unveil it, and St. John's day was named as the occasion
upon which the ceremony should take place. Hugh DePayen
Commandery, No. 30, Knights Templar, of Buffalo, was also to
be present as the guest of Lake Erie Commander}-. \\\ accor-
dance with these arrangements, the two Commanderies met at
their asylums, June 24, 1879, '^'""^ ^'^ 7oO A. M., headed by Miller's
band, marched to the depot of the Buffalo, New York and
Philadelphia Railroad, and embarked on the eight o'clock
train for Springville.
Lake Erie Commandery turned out nearly fifty Knights, and
were under Eminent Sir Albert Jones, Commander; Sir John
J . Jones, Generalissimo, and Sir W. H. Beyer, Captain Gen-
eral. In the line were Past Eminent Commander Hawley
Klein, Sir and Rev. J . Hazard Hartzell, and Sir Knights S. M.
Evry, Fred. A. Colson, Burral Spencer, W. H. Kirkholder, John
A. Frank, A. H. Adams, John Messmer, J. Kinney, Jr., John
B. Hunter, M. Thielan, E. S, Knapp, John Diller, A. J. Diller,
Philip Henig, A. B. Benedict, W. A. Mickle, Andrew Shiels,
W. H. Baker, Adam Cornelius, Wallace Prouty, James Little,
John Briggs, J. L. Whittet, W. W. Lawson, A. A. Carroll. W.
MASONS PRESENT AT ITIK IiEhlCAlTON. 955
M.KcUcr, W. 11. Ku,T., D. B. McNish C J. Onina C F.
Bishop. N. Moresfeldcr. J. C. Snyder, John Reim.ng, R. H.
Bickford, F. C. Hill, Samuel Root and George ^^ ■ Cro-cr
HuL.h De Payen Commandery was ,n charge of Cm.nent
Sir mrwin E. Morgan, Commander; Sir John L. Brothers,
Generahsshno, and Sir Willia.n Hengerer, Capta.n General.
In the line were Eminent Sir Christopher G. Fox, Sn and Rev.
D h! MuUer, Prelate, and Sir Knights Fred Wagner John
H Bosher, G. S. Stanard, M. E. Beebe, J. A. G.ven, John C^
"dm W. J. .Mien, D. E. Bailey, J. A. Bnry, Bertrand
ChXe Robert Denton, J. P. Diehl, D. E. Folsom, F E. Fox
Joh GiUig S. S. Greene, J. W. Houghtaling. J O. Meyer, W
S Prior, VV J. Runcie. David Shirrell, F. O Vaugh,^ Conrad
Vetter, T. S. Waud, G. I. White. A. M. W.tte, I. C.Wood-
ward. C. G. Worthington.
The following Masons were also on board the t,an, Most
Excellent David F. Day. Grand High Pr.est o Royal Areh
Masons of the State of New York; Eminent S.rW.hamF.
Ro"" Most Excellent Companion G. W. McCray, Most Ex-
fjto John Pease, Sir Knight John B. Sackett. of Buffalo;
S r Knii hts B. F. Hurty and John E. Robeson, of St^John s
Commandery, No. 34, 01e.an ; Sir Knight Homer E. Dudley
of De Molay Commandery, No. 32, Horndlsvdle and Compan-
Ls LeRoy S. Oatman, R. G. Persons, D. E. Folsom, G W.
Nichols. John M. Tyler and H. S. Spencer, of Keystone Chap-
ter No. 163, Buffalo.
AT SPRINGVILLE
An immense crowd had assembled to welcome the Buffalonians.
Amon- them were SpringviUe Lodge, No. 35 >, F. & A. M J.
N R d.mond Worshipful Master, and Livmgston Lodge, No.
^;- of Co° » J. P. Underhill, Worshipful Master, both .^m-
h'^'nc abo t s^venty-f^ve men. Byron Cochran was the Mar-
> of tte da7 and under his direction the process.on was
Xare" by th a:;ies of\he'viUage. The whole matter was
!;:X the charge of the following named Recept.on Comm.ttee,
956 THE ORATION.
and they certainly did their work well : Hon. Bertrand Chafee.
Mr. J. D. Yeomans, Dr. G. G. Stanbro, Dr. W. H. Jackson,
Mr. J. N. Richmond and Mr. A. D. Jones.
Shortly before i o'clock the lines were formed again and the
procession marched to Rural Cemetery, a mile distant. The
broiling rays of the sun came down with telling force and it
was as much as the Knights could do to stand the pressure.
Arrived at the cemetery an enormous crowd had gathered. It
was a field day for Springville and vicinity. For twenty miles
around the people had gathered until the pretty little cemetery
was packed almost full. There were at least 5,000 people pres-
ent.
The Wadsworth monument occupies the highest point in the
cemetery and looked beautiful in its veil, which was an American
flag. The Sir Knights were drawn up in double line forming
three sides of a square. Eminent Commander Jones stated the
object of the visit, after which Sir and Rev. D. H. Muller, D.
D., Prelate of Hugh DePayen Commandery, made an eloquent
prayer. Sir and Rev. J. Hazard Hartzell, D. D., acting Pre-
late of Lake Erie Commandery, then delivered the following
interesting address:
DR. HARTZELL'S oration.
Eminent Commander, Knightly Praters, and Ladies and Gen-
tlemen:
We have assembled here on this occasion to unveil this mon-
ment, erected through the generosity of^General Wadsw^orth in
revered memory of his respected parents, who rest here in
your beautiful Rural Cemetery, and of his esteemed ancestors,
some of whom were quite conspicuous in the arena of import-
ant events.
In all periods of history the monument has been constructed
to honor the character and perpetuate the memory of the emi-
nent and distinguished. There is a spontaneous reverence with
the sons of men for high-born qualities and splendid achieve-
ments, and it is not strange that the stone has been summoned
to keep great names from dropping into oblivion.
Those who have devoted their talents and energies to science
or humanity, to religion or countr)-, are remembered and hon-
THE ORATION. 95/
•orcd, if not b\- their contemporaries, then by the generations
of a later period. Piles of granite and marble have been
erected in elegant proportions in all civilized nations to honor
with grateful renicmbrance the character or genius of those
who have blessed the people with their labors and triumphs.
The monument, conspicuous in outline and beautiful in
detail, speaks of the patriot and reformer, the artist and the
poet, the statesman and the writer, and all who in serving great
truths and righteous principles, became the benefactors of the
human family. And faithful service in any of the manifold
departments of human activity, is sure to develop character
and elicit honor, and give the servant the ruling power of a
king among the appreciative masses. Think of Cicero, when
on a visit to Syracuse, hunting the am:ient cemetery of that
celebrated metropolis for the monument of Archimedes, and
when he discovered it by the cylinder that crowned it, and read
the name of this eminent mathematician of Sicily, mark the
homage he paid to his genius and the appreciation he showed
of his services.
Hon. William Wadsworth, an educated gentleman, came
here from England in the colonial history of our country, and
settled in Hartford. Captain Joseph Wadsworth, his son,
became noted in the history of Connecticut by the part he
took to preserve the charter. Connecticut, like Massachusetts,
was, if possible, to be deprived of its charter, in spite of the
• protests and prayers of the people. Andros, the royal Gov-
ernor, appeared in Hartford at the head of a troop of soldiers
that marched with clanging armor, whilst the General Court was
,in session there looking after the interests of the English
throne. The box containing the charter was lying upon the
table; and a debate of the most exciting character took place
between the most determined advocates, and lasted through
the night in regard to the disposition of the instrument.
The royal Governor listened to the debate with respectful
attention, but was determined that in some manner Connecti-
cut should surrender the instrLrtnent to England. The candles
were suddenly extinguished, followed by darkness and confu-
sion, and when the candles were relighted behold the box and
the charter it contained were gone ! Capt. Joseph Wadsworth
958 THE ORATION.
seized the beloved parchment, and hurrying through the silence
and darkness of the night, hid it in the oak tree that has
become so renowned. For such a brave deed when the weak
were struggling against the strong, and striving to maintain the
immunities that belong to an intelligent people, his name
deserves to be written upon the stone that will hold it up for
generations to read and honor.
Capt. Jonathan Wadsworth, grandson of him who preserved
the charter of Connecticut, volunteered to enter the service of
his country when it struck for liberty and independence. It
was on the day when the stroke of oppression brought from
the flint of freedom a spark that kindled the fires of patriotism
all through the land. It was in the third year of the Revolu-
tion and at the memortible battle of Saratoga that this heroic
soldier was killed, and mourned by all who knew him. He was
one of the honored yeomanry, who was willing to sacrifice all
he possessed and cherished, of a temporal character, for the free-
dom of his country. His name should be held in grateful
esteem by the generations of the present, and should be writ-
ten in loving letters upon the monumental marble.
General Wadsworth, a worthy descendant who bequeathed
the portion of his estate for the building of his cenotaph, was a
man of great honor and integrity, of great purity and kindness.
He was active and successful in the arena of business, left an
unsullied record, and was respected and esteemed for manly
virtue and noble character. He met with gratifying prosperity
in his chosen vocation, and after extensive travel in foreign
countries, he returned to this beautiful town, the cherished
home of his youth, to spend the remainder of his days and then
to lie down and sleep with his kindred. His feelings could have
been expressed in the language of Goldsmith in his " Traveller."
I still had hopes my latest hours to crown,
Amidst these humble bowers to lay me down ;
To husband out life's taper at the close,
And keep the flame from wasting by repose.
* * * , * * *
And as a hare, whom hounds and horns pursue,
Pants to the place from whence at first she flew ;
I still had hopes, my long vexations past,
Here to return — and die at home at last.
THK ORATION. 959
General Wadsworth took the deepest interest in the teach-
ing and spirit of the' Masonic Order. He was touched with the
beauty and meaning of its ceremonies and symbols. The dash
and glow of • the chivalry of the Middle Ages, with its high
sense of honor and courtesy of courage and magnanimity,
arrested his attention and summoned his interest. The courtly
manner, the heroic spirit, the gallant bearing and the dashing
bravery of the Templars with their banners and bugles, swung
him to the highest degrees of Masonry. He was a prominent
and respected Sir Knight, an active and esteemed member of
Lake Erie Commandery; and on account of his virtue and
chivalry, and his generous benefaction to this ancient order, the
Sir Knights will e\'er honor and cherish his name.
And here, amid these beautiful hills and attractive vales, let
this monument stand to honor a family that have honored this,
their country. This town, with its schools and churches, its
thriving industries and cultured inhabitants, is known and loved
in various sections of our country. No town with the dimen-
sions and population of this has given to our country a greater
number of influential citizens. Some of our best men, promi-
nent and controlling, in all honorable vocations, esteemed for
their ability and character were educated at your Springville
Academy. The mightiest rivers of the continent take their
rise from the small streams of the tranquil uplands and then
enrich the sections of the country through which the\- flow.
But the hour admonishes us to close this ceremony, and we
now unveil the monument. With its striking emblems and
pictorial devices it will speak to the multitudes of the present
and the generations of the future, of virtuous grace and de-
parted worth. With its beauty and grandeur it will speak of
patriotic devotion, and of eminence and influence in that an-
cient order that has marched down through transforming cen-
turies with its impressive ceremonies and righteous principles,
carrying aloft its banners and symbols, and beckoning tlie per-
iod when highborn chivalry shall characterize the deeds of men I
At fifteen minutes before two o'clock
TITK MONUMENT WAS UNVEILED
in due form, the band at the time playing appropriate music.
960 WADSWORTH MONUMENT.
DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT.
The monument stands thirty-one feet and six inches above
the ground, and is a very handsome piece of work. It was
manufactured by Messrs. Rose & Lautz of Buffalo, and is com-
posed entirely of Maine granite, the price paid for it being
$3,000. The first base is six feet ten inches square, and one
foot nine inches high. Upon this rests the second base, five
feet eight inches square, and one foot high, the word " Wads-
worth " appearing upon one side in large raised letters. The
third base is five feet two inches square by one foot three
inches in height, and upon the ledge is a Knight Templar's
chapeau and sword cut from the solid granite. Upon the third
base rests the massive die. It is four feet square and four feet
three inches high, the four sides or panels being highly pol-
ished and representing Knight Templars' banners. Upon three
of the panels are elaborate inscriptions, intaglio style, number-
ing seven hundred letters. Upon the north side, beneath a
double-headed eagle, representing the thirty-second degree in
Masonry, are the following words :
"In memory of Gen. John B. Wadsworth, son of Richard,
born in Buffalo, N. Y., 1823, Dec. 26. Died in Springville,
1877, Nov. 7. After extensive travels in the four quarters of
the globe, he came to the home of his youth to die here and
rest by the side of his parents. His respect for his ancestors
incited him to provide for the erection of this family monu-
ment."
Upon the west side, beneath a charter oak, the following
words appear:
" Hon. William Wadsworth came from England 1632, settled
in Hartford, Conn., 1636, and died there 1675. Captain Joseph
Wadsworth, son of William. Preserved the Charter of Con-
necticut in the historic oak, 1687, Oct. 31, and died 1729. Ser-
geant Jonathan Wadsworth, son of Joseph, died 1739.',
Beneath a bible, on the south side are these words :
" Captain Jonathan Wadsworth, Jr., son of Jonathan, was
killed near Saratoga, 1777, Sept. 19. Henry Wadsworth, son
of Jonathan, Jr., died 1821, Oct. 13. Richard Wadsworth, son
of Henry, died 1861, April i, aged 75 years. Ann McLean,
wife of Richard Wadsworth, died 1859, Oct. 15, aged 72 years."
WADSWORTII MONUMENT. 961
The massive appearance of the die is relieved by four poh'shed
cohimns at the corners cut in the solid block. The cap upon
the die is moulded in gothic style and is very handsome. It is
four feet nine inches square by four feet two inches high. The
west face bears a charter oak ; the east the letter "W;" the north
a double-headed eagle, 32 o ; and the south the Holy Bible,
all beautifully carved in granite.
The base of the column is one foot in height and upon
it stands the shaft which is twelve feet high and beautifully
polished. It is round with a perfect taper and midway between
the upper and lower cap are crossed battle-axes over a cross and
triangle containing a trowel. Surmounting the shaft is a capi-
tal two feet seven inches high. It is elegantly carved in the
Corinthian style and is very handsome. The whole is over-
topped by an ancient helmet two feet nine inches high and sets
off the work in a splendid manner.
A provision of brother Wadsworth's will gave five hundred
dollars to Springville Lodge, on condition that the of^cers agree
to look after, and see that the lot and grounds on which the
monument stands be kept in proper condition ; also that the
conditions of the bequest be entered in the Lodge books and
read in open Lodge at least once during the months of May,
July and September, each and every year during the continu-
ance of the Lodge. The legacy was accepted under the speci-
fied conditions, and the Lodge resolved to carry out in good
faith the same.
During the last decade several public festivals and lectures,
under the auspices of the lodge, have served to give pleasure
and instruction to its members and friends.
The preceding are the more salient points in the history of
Springville Lodge, now in its thirtieth year. Meanwhile it has
pursued the even tenor of its way, with its proper Masonic
work, as indicated in part by the following list of names of
those who have received Masonic light within its portals, or
coming from sister lodges, have joined its brotherhood:
962
SPRINGVILLE LODGE— MEMBERSHIP.
COMPLETE LIST OF MEMBERSHIP.
*Present Members. fDead.
•^•Alger, Oliver E.,
Allen, James,
Ashman, Alonzo A.,
Ashman, Alonzo C,
•fAshman, Amaziah,
-^Baker, Theodore,
Ballon, Charles F.,
Bartlett, Benjamin F.,
*Bigelo\v, Charles C,
*Bigelow, Charles D.,
*Blakeley, Walter W.,
Bloomfield, David C,
fBloomfield, Jarvis,
'"Briggs, Erasmus,
Briggs, George W.,
Briggs, William F.,
^Bryant, A. F.,
Burke, Willis,
■••Bury, Martin,
"Chafee, Bertrand,
^Chandler, Murray L.,
*Childs, Isaac B.,
Clark, Byron S.,
*Clark, Charles F.,
Clark, Herbert F..
Clark, John S.,
fCobleigh, Joel.
^Cochran, Byron,
*Cohen, J . Lewis,
+Cole, Aaron,
Collins, Stowell, Jr.,^
*Cook, Alphonso W.,
*Crary, Frederick,
*Crawford, Burt J.,
Crosby, Alden,
*Davis, Bryant J.,
*Day, Clark D.,
*DePuy, William R.,
tDutton, Alvali,
Eaton, Henry,
Empson, Samuel D.,
*Engel, George,
Fay, Benjamin A.,
"Ferrin. William A.,
Fields, Manly,
Findlay, Alexander R.,
-Fish, E. Lee Verne,
*Fuller, Albert,
^Fuller, James D.,
Frye, Jesse,
Gardinier, Elias,
*Gardinier, Robert J.,
*Gardinier, Thomas,
Gaylord, Manley,
*Goodell, Leighton M.,
*Goodemote, James,
*Greene, George,
fGriffith, Archibald,
*Hadley, Alonzo E.,
*Hakes, Albert F.,
Hall, Morris L.,
Hammond, John D.,
Hawkins, George W.,
-Herbold, Philip,
Hibbard, Gilbert C,
--Holland, John B.,
tHooker, Charles J.,
Hoover, William H.,
*Hufstader, Rufus E.,
*Jackson, William H.,
tjewett, David B.,
* J ones, Avery D.,
•f J ones S. Willard,
Kellogg, Leonard M.,
•fKingman, George W.,
*Leland, Elmer O.,
*Leland, Hewlitt G.,
*Louk, Dighton,
fMay, Phineas,
■j-May, Elam,
*McIntosh, Sanford A.
■f-McLin, Frank,
McMillen, Clark S.,
Mills, H. Eugene,
"Moon, Arnold J .,
*Morton, Samuel A.,
Sl'RINGVILLE LODGE — MEMBERSHIP.
965
Murphy, Lewis J.,
* Myers, John P.,
Nash, Daniel D.,
fNichell, Charles F. A.,
Nichols. Charles H.,
^Nichols, Lawrence B.,
Nichols, Levi,
Norris, Henry F.,
tOyer, Albert,
*Oyer, George W.,
•■■'Oyer, Jacob,
*Park, William,
*Pierce, George A.,
Pierce, William,
'•• Pingrey, Charles W . ,
*Pingrey, Harrison,
-fPotter, Joseph,
*Prill, John,
^^Prior, Frank,
*Prior, James,
Reed, George H.,
*Reed, John W.,
*Rice, Roswell D.,
Rice, William,
"Richardson, Preston C,
"Richmond, James N.,
tRockwell, Noah,
fRugg, Heman,
*Rumsey, Burt J.,
Russell, Humphrey,
*Rust, Adolph F.,
■•^Sampson, Perrin,
fSanders, Lucius C,
"Scoby, Marshall D.,
Sherman, Charles W.,
Sherman, George H.,
'•Shuttleworth, Charles J.,
Skeele, Andrew L.,
Slaght, Edwin,
Smith, David D.,
Smith, Orville,
•fSmith, Pliny,
"Spaulding, Frank P.,
'^"Spaulding, 1 hirlan P.,
Spencer, Horace C,
Stanbro, Almon W.,
*Stanbro, George G.,
Steele, Myron,
Stowell, Charles,
*Taber, Asa R.,
fThomson, Newton K.,
*Tillinghast. A. O.,
Tobias^ Philip,
fTorrey, A. Rodolphus,
^^Trevitt, Alfred R.,
Trube, Peter,
Turner, Alfred,
"•^'Twichell, Asa L.,
Tyrer, Adelbert,
tTyrer, James,
•fUpson, David R.,
VanSlyke, William H.,
■"Vaughan, Alonzo L..
Vaughan, Covel L.,
Vaughan, Julius,
■■^Vosburg, Isaac,
"Wadsworth, Charles R.,
•fWadsworth, John B..
Wadsworth, Morris,
Waite, Weston W.,
'■^Warner, William H.,
+ Watson, Charles,
■•nVells, John A.,
Wells, William,
*Wheeler, David,
*Wheeler, John S.,
•fWhitcomb, Thomas J.,
"" Wickham, Chauncey L.,
Widrig, William A.,
-AVilcox, David J.,
Wiltse, Alonzo,
-Wiltse, Ward B.,
""Wood, Charles H.,
Woodward, Philo,
^Wright, Edwin,
Yates, Robert J.
964
SPRINGVILLE LODGE — ELECTIVE OFFICERS.
ELECTIVE
Year.
1854.
1855.
1856.
1857..
1858.
1859.
i860.
I86I.
1862.
1863.
1864.
1865.
1866.
1867.
1868.
1869.
1870.
I87I.
1872.
1873.
1874.
1875.
1876.
1877.
1878.
1879.
1880.
1881.
1882.
1883.
1884.
Master.
Alvah Button
Alvah Button
Alvah Button
Alvah Button
Joel Cobleigh
Pliny Smith
Joel Cobleigh
Joel Cobleigh
Benjamin A. Fay. . .
Benjamin A. Fay . . .
Joel Cobleigh
Almon W. Stanbro . .
Almon W. Stanbro.
Joel Cobleigh
George G. Stanbro . .
Almon W. Stanbro .
Harlan P. Spaulding
Harlan P. Spaulding
George G. Stanbro . ,
Bertrand Chafee....
Bertrand Chafee . . . .
George G. Stanbro . ,
Frank P. Spaulding.
Henry F. Norris. . . .
Henry F. Norris. . . .
James N. Richmond,
James N. Richmond
Avery B. Jones
Avery B. Jones
Alonzo E. Hadley. .
Alonzo E. Hadley..
Senior Warden.
Heman Rugg
Heman Rugg
Joel Cobleigh
Joel Cobleigh
Pliny Smith
George G, Stanbro. .
Benjamin A. Fay. . . .
Arnold J. Moon
Almon W. Stanbro . .
Arnold J. Moon
Arnold J. Moon
Alonzo L. Vaughan.
Orville Smith
Manly Gaylord
Manly Gaylord
Harlan P. Spaulding.
Henry Eaton
Henry Norris
Bertrand Chafee
William Park
Henry Norris
Frank P. Spaulding.
Frank Prior
James N. Richmond.
James N. Richmond.
Avery B. Jones
Avery B. Jones
John S. Wheeler. . . .
Alonzo E. Hadley. . .
William H. Jackson.
William H. Jackson.
SPRINGVILLE LODGE — KlECTIVE OFFICERS. 965
OFFICERS.
Junior Warden.
Joel Cobleigh
Joel Cobleigh
Benjamin F. Bartlett
Arnold J. Moon.. . ■
George G. Stanbro . .
Benjamin A. Fay....
Almon W. Stanbro. .
Almon \V. Stanbro..
Isaac Vosburg
Isaac Vosburg
Isaac Vosburg
Alonzo C. Ashman. .
Stoel Collins, Jr
Benjamin A. Fay. . . .
Henry Eaton
William Park
Alonzo L. Vaughan .
Alonzo E. Hadley. . .
Walter W. Blakeley.
Frank P. Spaulding. .
James Prior
Chas. R. Wadsworth
James N. Richmond.
Isaac B. Childs
Avery D. Jones
John W. Reed
John S. Wheeler. . . .
Rufus E. Hufstader. .
William H.Jackson..
Lawrence B. Nichols.
Lawrence B. Nichols.
Treasurer.
Amaziah Ashman . . .
Amaziah Ashman . . .
Arnold J. Moon,
Lucius C. Saunders &
Horace C. Spencer.
Arnold J. Moon.
Arnold J. Moon
Arnold J. Moon
David C. Bloomfield
Arnold J. Moon. . .
Joel Cobleigh
Horace C. Spencer
Arnold J. Moon. .
Arnold J. Moon. .
Arnold J. Moon. .
Arnold J. Moon. .
Arnold J. Moon. .
Arnold J. Moon. .
Arnold J. Moon. .
Arnold J. Moon. .
Arnold J. Moon . .
Hewlitt G. Leland
Hewlitt G. Leland
Hewlitt G. Leland
Hewlitt G. Leland
Hewlitt G. Leland.
Hewlitt G. Leland.
Hewlitt G. Leland.
Hewlitt G. Leland.
Hewlitt G. Leland.
Hewlitt G. Leland.
Hewlitt G. Leland.
Secretary.
Joseph Potter.
Pliny Smith.
Pliny Smith.
I Pliny Smith.
D. C. Bloomfield.
Almon W. Stanbro.
Pliny Smith.
Pliny Smith.
Pliny Smith.
Pliny Smith.
Pliny Smith.
Pliny Smith.
Pliny Smith.
Pliny Smith.
Pliny Smith.
Pliny Smith.
Pliny Smith.
Pliny Smith.
Pliny Smith.
Pliny Smith.
WalterW. Blakeley.
WalterVV. Blakeley.
WalterW.Blakeley.
Perrin Sampson.
Perrin Sampson.
Weston W. Waite.
Asa R. Taber.
Asa R. Taber.
Asa R. Taber.
Asa R. Taber.
Asa R. Taber.
966
CHAPTERS — ELECTIVE OFFICERS.
CHAPTERS.
SPRINGVILLE CHAPTER, NO. II 8, R. A. M.
There once existed a chapter bearing this name, of which
Job Bigelow, Archibald Grififith, Jarvis Bloomfield, and others
were members, but nothing is definitely known of its work or
history. It probably had but a short life ere the wave of anti-
Masonry swept it out of existence. A seal, still preserved in
the Bigelow family, attests the fact that it must have had a
charter.
SPRINGVILLE CHAPTER, NO. 275, R. A. M.
In 1879, Bertrand Chafee, Henry Eaton, Lowell M. Cum-
mings, George G.. Stanbro, William H. Jackson, George W.
Nichols, John M. Wiley, Dexter E. Folsom, John A. Bury,
Ira C. Woodward, C. W. Bourne and Julius B. Woodward,
who had been properly vouched for and recommended by
Forestville Chapter, No. 136, petitioned the Grand High
Priest for a dispensation to form a chapter to be holden at
Springville, to be known and designated as Springville Chapter.
Bertrand Chafee was authorized and empowered to act as
High Priest; Iia C Woodward to act as King, and John M.
Wiley to act as Scribe, by a dispensation dated May 14, 1879,
and the chapter was organized June 24, 1879, t>y the Grand
High Priest, David Fisher Day, the consecration being held at
Masonic Hall.
Julius B.Woodward was appointed Treasurer; C. W. Bourne,
Secretary ; George G. Stanbro, Captain of the Host ; W^illiam
H. Jackson, Principal Sojourner; Lowell M. Cummings, Royal
Arch Captain; Henry Eaton, Master of the Third Vail; Dex-
ELECTIVE
Year.
High Priest.
King
I879----
1880....
1881 . ...
1882. ...
1883....
1884. ...
Bertrand Chafee
Bertrand Chafee
Bertrand Chafee
George G. Stanbro
William N. Jackson
William N. Jackson
Ira C. Woodward
Ira C. Woodward
Ira C. Woodward .........
W^illiam H. Jackson
Avery D. Jones
Averv D Tones
MEMBERS— ELECTIVE OEFICERS.
967
tcr E Folsom, Master of the Second Vail; John A. Bury,
Master of the First Vail, and George VV. Nichols, Tylen
The next year, the Chapter received its " Warrant of Consti-
tution." dated February 5th, 1880, and soon after its officers
were publicly installed by the Grand High Priest, David F.
Day, at the Opera House. The Chapter holds its stated con-
vocations on the first and third Monday evenings of each
month. Its candidates come from Spnngville, Arcade and
Golden lodges :
MEMBERS.
f Died Sept. S, 18S3.
Baker, J. D.,
Bigelow, C. D.,
Blakeley, W. W.,
Bourne, C. W.,
Bryant, A F.,
Buffum, S. W.,
Bury, J. A.,
Chafee, B.,
Clark, H. F.,
Cohen, J. L.,
Cornwell, I. A.,
Crawford, B. J.,
Cummings, L. M.,
Eaton, H.,
Fuller, A.,
Gilbert, S, T.,
Greene, G.,
Hadley, A. E.,
Hakes, A. F.,
Herbold, P.
Hufstader, R. E.,
Jackson, W. H.,
Jones, A. D.,
Masten, W. J.,
Moon, A. J.,
Myers, J. P.,
Nichols, G. W.,
Nichols, L. B.,
Persons, W. F.,
Prill, J.,
Prior, F.,
Reed, ]. W.,
Spaulding, V. P.,
Stanbro, G. G.,
Tabor, A. R.,
fThomson, N. K.,
Twichell, A. L.,
Twichell, W. E.,
Wadsworth, C. R.,
Warner, W. H.,
Wiley, J. M.,
Woodward, I. C,
Woodward, J. B.
OFFICERS.
Scribe.
Treasurer.
Secretary.
John M. Wiley JuHus B. Woodward. Charles W.Bourne.
John M. Wiley Ijulius B. Woodward. Charles W. Bourne.
John M. Wiley lAsa L. Twichell L. M. Cummings.
Asa L. Twichell John Prill L. M. Cummings.
John W. Reed John Prill L. M. Cummings.
Alonzo E. Hadley.. . John Prill Asa R. Taber.
968 EARLY EVENTS IN CONCORD AND COLLINS.
NOTES.
CONCORD.
The first birth was that of Lucius Stone in 1809. The first
death was that of Mrs. John Albro, in 1808. The first mar-
riage was that of Obediah Brown to Miss Curtis in 1 811. She was
a sister of Mrs. Amaziah Ashman. Christopher Douglass, Esq.,
officiated. The first school was taught by Miss Anna Rich-
mond in the Summer of 18 10. The first lawyer was Thomas
T. Sherwood. Hon. C. C. Severance practiced the profession
of law the longest, and Dr. Carlos Emmons the profession of
medicine the longest. Thomas Lincoln is the oldest archi-
tect and builder, and has followed his calling the longest. Joel
D. Holman followed the trade of blacksmith the longest, and
George E. Crandall has worked the longest at the jeweler's
trade. Jonathan Briggs is the veteran school teacher, having
followed the calling nearly fifty years. Calvin Killium, of
Waterville, has lived in this town longer than any other person
now living. Daniel Shultus is the oldest person living in this
town. Mrs. Ezekiel Adams is the oldest of the pioneers. E.
N. Frye has milked the greatest number of cows and Jeremiah
Richardson manufactured the most sugar.
COLLINS.
The first birth was that of a son of Aaron Lindsley in 18 10.
The first marriage was that of Stephen Peters and Sarah Par-
menter in 181 1. The first death was that of Straight
in 1812. John Hanford kept the first store in 1813 at Taylor
Hollow. Ralph Plumb opened the first store in Gowanda and
Samuel Lake the first one at Collins Center. The first school
was taught in Zoar by Simeon Waterman in 18 12. The first
Postmaster in Zoar was Phineas Orr, his commission bore the
date of 1820. Another postoffice was established at Taylor
Hollow, *but at what time the author cannot ascertain.-
NORTH COLLINS.
The first birth was that of George Tucker in 18 10. The first
marriage was that of Levi Woodward aid Hannah Southwick
in 181 2, and the first deaths, those of two girls, twin daughters
of Stephen Sisson. Stephen Stancliff built the first mill in
LOCAL NAMES OF SARDINIA. 9^9
tStS Stephen Tucker kept the first inn and Stephen Rose
i8i8 Stcpnen p ^^^^^^^ ^^,^^ taught by
the first store, both \n i«i3- ^ '^^
Phebe Southwick in 1S13.
j^OTES.-LOCAL NAMES IN SAR1)INL\.
'' Frattham" was named after Elder Stephen Pratt, who was.
^"M:dr^"::-vas named after Obed.ahMadiso
^^^Sh^;;^:] H!n:^.amed after Capt. Samuel Shepherd, who
war of 1 81 2, who located there.
" P otect on." The origin of this name is somewhat obscure
but it "supposed to have originated from the fact that a hot el
keepL placed the word " Protection" over his door as a s>gn, and
the little hamlet has been known by this name ever smce.
The first school taught in the south part of the town was by
Anna Richmond, in her father's house, .n 18.2
The first school taught in the east part of the town, was by
Melinda Abbey in 1S14. ^„d
The first birth m town was that of Ka> tin^^=,
the first death was a son of Henry Godfrey n, ,814 The fir t
marri.a.e was that of James Reynolds to Anna Richmond, m
7'"\r. Prindle was the first physician. Dr. Colgrove prac-
tised medicine the longest.
ELECTIONS IN EARLY TIMES.
In early days the towns were not divided into election dis-
tricts as they are at the present, but the t,me of holdn,g ea h
el^cdonwas'confined to three days, and thc-Pectors w- U
ballot-boxes would go from one point to another and rece.ve-
the ballots. In Concord the places of rece,vn,g the votes we e
in the Sibley settlement school-house in the forenoon of e
first day. Then the board in the afternoon would adjour,^ the
polls to the house of Isaiah Pike, from here the polls wou d be
adjourned to some convenient place in the west ?«« ° J^t
town for the forenoon of the following day, and '-""--
would be adjourned to the house of Jonathan Townsend ,n the
970 LIST OF PRESIDENTS.
afternoon, from whence it would be adjourned to the village of
Springville, where the polls would be kept open from morning
until night of the third and last day. I remember that in this
town Morris Fosdick, Wells Brooks, L. B. Tousley and C. C.
Severance were in the habit of accompanying the Inspectors in
their tour and looking after the interests of their parties, and
trying to secure the rights of their respective candidates.
A LIST OF PRESIDENTS FROM THE ADOPTION OF THE FED-
ERAL CONSTITUTION TO THE PRESENT TIME.
1789, George Washington. 1796, John Adams. 1800,
Thomas Jefferson. 1804, Thomas Jefferson. 1808, James
Madison. 1812, James Madison. 1816, James Monroe. 1820,
James Monroe. 1824, John Q. Adams. 1828, Andrew Jack-
son. 1832, Andrew Jackson. 1836, Martin Van Buren. 1840,
William Harrison, who died after serving one month and his
place was filled by the Vice-President, John Tyler. 1844,
James K. Polk. 1848, Zachary Taylor, who died in of^ce and
his term was completed by the Vice-President Millard Fill-
more. 1852, Franklin Pierce. 1856, James Buchanan, i860,
Abraham Lincoln. 1864, Abraham Lincoln, who was assassin-
ated, and Andrew Johnson finished his term. 1868, Ulysses
S. Grant. 1872, Ulysses S. Grant. 1876, R. B. Hayes, 1880,
James A. Garfield, who was assassinated, and his place filled by
Chester A. Arthur, Vice-President.
LIST OF GOVERNORS OF NEW YORK SINCE 1 777 UP TO THE
PRESENT DATE.
George Clinton from 1777 to 1795. John Jay, 1795 to 1801.
George Clinton from 1801 to 1804. Morgan Lewis from 1804
to 1807. Daniel D. Tompkins from 1807 to March, 1817.
John Taylor, Lieutenant Governor, Acting Governor from
March, 18 17 to July, 18 17. DeWitt Clinton from 18 17 to
January i, 1823. Joseph C. Yates from 1823 to 1825. DeWitt
Clinton from 1825 to P'eb. 11. 1828. Nathaniel Pitcher from
Feb. II, 1828, to Jan. i, 1829. Martin Van Buren from Jan. i,
1829, to March 12, 1829. Enos T. Throop, Lieutenant Gov-
ernor, Acting Governor from March 12, 1829 to Jan. i, 1831.
Enos T. Throop from 1S31 to 1833. William L. Marcy from
ERIK COUNTY S CONCKKSSMPIN. 97I
1833 to 1839. William H. Seward from 1S39 to i<S43. Will-
iam C. Rouch from 1843 to 1845. Silas Wright from 1845 to
1847. John Young from 1847 ^^ 1849. Hamilton Fish from
1849 to '851. Washington Hunt from 1851 to 1853. Horatio
Seymour from 1853 to 1855. Myron H. Clark from 1855 to
1857. John A. King from 1857 to 1859. Edwin D. Morgan
from 1859 t° 1863. Horatio Seymour from 1863 to 1865.
Reuben E. Fenton from 1865 to 1869. John T. Hoffman from
1869 to 1873. John A. Dix from 1873 to 1875. Samuel J.
Tilden from 1875 to 1877. Lucius Robinson from 1877 to
1879. Alonzo B. Cornell from 1879 to 1882. Governor Cleve-
land elected to fill the next term from 1882 to 1885.
ERIE COUNTY IN CONGRESS.
The following will show the representation of Erie county
in Congress since 1808 :
In 1808 Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Genesee, Niag-
ara and Ontario, were constituted the 15th Congressional dis-
trict. 1809-13, Gen. Peter B. Porter. In 18 12 the territor}^
which now embraces Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie,
Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara and Ontario counties,
was made the twenty-first Congressional district, with two rep-
resentatives. In 1813-15, Samuel M. Hopkins, Nathaniel
Howell. 181 5-17, Micah Brooks, Peter B. Porter; General
Porter resigned in 18 16 and Archibald S. Clarke was elected to
fill vacancy. 18 17-19, Benjamin Ellicott, John C. Spencer.
1819-21, Nathaniel Allen, Albert H.Tracy. 1821-23, William
B. Rochester, Albert H. Trac)\
Erie county was erected in 1821, and in 1822 Chautauqua,
Erie and Niagara were constituted the thirtieth district, with
one representative ;
1823-25, Albert H. Tracy. 1825-27, Daniel G. Garnsey.
1827-29, Daniel G. Garnsey. 1829-31, Ebenezer F. Norton.
In 1832 Erie county was made the thirty-second district :
1831-33, Bates Cook. 1833-35, Millard Fillmore. 1835-37,
Thomas C. Love. 1837-39, Millard Fillmore. 1839-41, M.
Fillmore. 1841-43. M. Fillmore. 1843-45, William A Mose-
ley. 1845-47, William A. Moseley. 1847-49, Nathan K. Hall.
1849-51, E. G. Spaulding. 1851-53, Solomon (i. Haven.
972 COUNTY JUDGES AND SHERIFFS.
1853-55, S. G. Havens. 1855-57, S. G. Havens. 1857-59,
Israel T. Hatch. 1859-61, E. G. Spaulding. 1861-63, E. G.
Spaulding.
In 1S62 Erie county was made the thirtieth district :
1863-65, John Ganson. 1865-67, James M. Humphrey.
1867-69, James M. Humphrey. 1869-71, David S. Bennett.
1871-73, Wilham Wilhams. 1873-75, Lyman K. Bass.
1875-77, Lyman K. Bass. 1877-79, Daniel N. Lockwood.
1879-81, Ray V. Pierce. 1881-83, Jonathan Scoville. 1883-85,
William F. Rogers.
LIST OF COUNTY JUDGES OF NIAGARA COUNTY BEFORE THE
DIVISION, AND OF ERIE COUNTY AFTER THE DIVISION.
1808, Augustus Porter, of Niagara Falls. 181 2, Samuel
Tupper, of Buffalo, 1817, William Hotchkiss, of Brant, Niag-
ara county. 1820, Ebenezer Walden, of Buffalo.
Erie county organized in 1821.
1 82 1, Samuel Wilkinson. 1823, Ebenezer Walden. 1828,
Thomas C. Love, of Buffalo. 1829, Philander
1837, James Stryker. 1842, Nathan K. Hall. 1845, Frederick
P. Stevens. 1847, Frederick P. Stevens. 185 1, Jesse Walker ;
died, and in 1852, James Sheldon appointed. 1856, James
Sheldon elected, i860, James Sheldon. 1864, Stephen Lock-
wood. 1868, R. L. Burrows. 1872, Albert Haight, resigned.
1877, William W. Hammond, to fill vacancy. 1878, William
W. Hammond, of Brant, full term. 1883, William W. Ham-
mond.
SHERIFFS APPOINTED.
1808. Asa Ransom. 18 10, Samuel Pratt, of Buffalo. 1812,
Asa Ransom, of Clarence. 1814, Asa Ransom, J. G. Camp.
1816, Asa Ransom. 1818, James Cronk, of Newstead. 1821,
G. Caulp, of Buffalo.
ELECTED.
1822, Wray S. Littlefield, of Hamburg. 1825, John G.
Camp. 1828, Lemuel Wasson, of Hamburg. 1831, Stephen
Osburn, of Clarence. 1834, Lester Brace of Black Rock. 1837,
COUNTY CLKRKS AND SU KKOCiATK. 973
nvirlesP Persons, of Aurora. 1840. Lorenzo Brown otBuf-
f 8aV Ralph Plumb, ot Collins. .846, Timothy A. Hop-
t o Amh^:!' -849, LeRoy Farnham, of Buffalo. :^
I ,scoh Cmdee of Sardinia. .855. Orrin LockNvood, of Bos-
oseph Candec ^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^ H. Best, of
Buffalo. ,864, Oliver J. Eggert, of A">h"st. 86 , Char es
narcv of Buffalo. 1870. Crover Cleveland, of Buffalo. 1S73,
fo,;7B Weber, of We'st Seneca. ,876, Joseph L. Habers ,-.,
of Buffalo. .879. William W. Lawson, of Buffalo. 1882, 1 lar-
ry H. Kock.
COUNTY CLERKS APFPOINTED.
1808, Louis Le Couteulx, of Buffalo. i8io, Juba Storrs. of
Buffalo 1815, Archibald S. Clark, of Newstead. iSi6 Fred.
K MerrUl, of Buffalo. 1819. John E. Marshall, of Buffalo.
1 82 1, James S. Barton.
ELECTED.
i8''2. Jacob A. Barker. 1825, Jacob A. Barker. '828 Eli-
jah Leach. 1831, Noah P. Sprague. 1834, Horace Clark.
18^7 Cyrus K. Anderson.' 1840, Noah P. Sprague. 184.,
M iyColton. 1846, Moses Bristol. 1849, Wells Brooks, of
Concord. 1852, William Andre. 1855, Peter M. Vo«..
18S8 O. J. Greene, of Sardinia. 1861, Charles R Du kee.
.864', Lewis P. Dayton. 1867, John Anchxw. ^^70 J -^H
Fisher. 1873, George S. Remmgton. 1876, D. C. Oatman.
1879, R. B. Foote. 1882, Joseph E. Ewell.
SURROGATES.
,808, Archibald S. Clark. 1813, Amos Calander. 1815, Dn
Johnson. I82I, Roswell Chapin. 1829, Martn. Ch.ttenden
died with the cholera). 1832, Isaac T. Hatch. V^S^' Samu I
Caldwx^H. 1841, Thomas C.Love. 1845, Peter MX osburgl.
1847, Peter M. Vosburgh. 1851, Charles D. Norton. 18,5,
Abram Thorn. ,859, Charles C. Severance, of Concord. 1863,
Jonathan Haskell, of Brandt, 1867, Horatio Seymour. 1871
Zebulon Ferris, of East Hamburgh. 1877, Zebulon Perns.
1883, Jacob Stern.
974 DISTRICT ATTORNEYS, STATE SENATORS, ETC.
DISTRICT ATTORNEYS.
1818, Charles G. Olmstead. 1819, Heman B. Potter (ten
years). 1829, Thomas C. Love. 1836, George P. Barker.
1837, Henry W. Rogers. 1841, Henry W. Rogers. 1844,
Solomon G. Hav^en. 1847, Benjamin H. Austin. 1849, C. H.
S. Williams. 1852, John L. Talcott. 1853, Albert Sawen.
1856, James M. Humphrey. 1859, ^- J- Fithian. 1862, Cyre-
nius C. Torrence, of Collins. 1865, Lyman K. Bass. 1868,
Lyman K. Bass. 1871, Bejamin H. Williams. 1874, Daniel
N. Lockvvood. 1877, R. C.Titus. 1880, Edward W. Hatch.
1883, Edward W. Hatch.
COUNTY TREASURERS.
1848, Christian Metz. 1854, James D. Warren. 1857, Lyman
B. Smith, i860, Norman B. McNeal. 1863, Francis C. Brunk.
1866, Charles R. Durkee. 1869, William B. Sirrett. 1872,
William. B. Sirrett. 1875, William B. Sirrett. 1878, William
B. Sirrett. 1881, Henry R. Jones.
STATE SENATORS.
1812, Archibald S. Clark, Newstead. 1820, Oliver Forward,
of Buffalo. 1825 jSam.uel Wilkinson. 1833, Albert H. Tracy.
1837, William A. Moseley. 1844, Carlos Emmons of Concord.
1847, John T. Bush. 1849, George R. Babcock. 1851, George
R. Babcock 1853, James O. Putnam. 1855. James Wads-
worth. 1859, John Ganson. 1861, John Ganson. 1863,
James M. Humphrey. 1865, D. S. Bennett. 1867, A.
P. Nichols. 1869, L. L. Lewis. 1871, L. L. Lewis. 1873,
John Ganson. 1874, A. P. Lanning. 1875, S. S. Rogers.
1876, E. C. Sprague. 1877, R. V.Pierce. 1879, B. H. Wil-
liams. 1881, Robert C. Titus. 1883, Robert C. Titus,
MEMliERS OF ASSEMBLY.
The following is a list of the Members of Assembly who have
represented the people of these towns in the Legislature :
Before the present County of Erie was organized, they were
represented by :
Archibald S. Clark, two years, Ebenezt^r Walden, Jonas Wil-
liams, two years, Richard Smith, Elias Osburn, Isaac Phelps,
Jr., two years, Oliver Forward, Mr. Hotchkiss. two years.
MEMHKRS OF ASSEMKl.V. . 975
1823 — Ebcnczcr F. Norton.
1824 — Samuel Wilkeson.
1825 — Calvin Fillmore.
1826 — Reuben B. Heacock.
1827 — David Burt, Oziel Smith.
1828- David Burt. Peter B. Porter.
1829 — David Burt, Millard Fillmore.
1830— Edmund Hull, Millard Fillmore.
1831 — Nathaniel Knight, Millard P'illmore.
1832— Horace Clark, William Mills.
1833 — Horace Clark, William Mills.
1834 — Joseph Clary, Carlos Emmons.
1835 — William A. Mosley, Ralph Plumb.
1836 — George P. Barker, W'ells Brooks.
1837 — Benjamin O. Bivins, Squire S. Case, Elisha Smith.
1838 — Lewis F. Allen, Asa Warren, Cyrenus Wilbur.
1839 — Jacob A. Barker, Truman Cary, Henry Johnson.
1840— Seth C. Hawley, Stephen Osborne, Aaron Salisbury.
1 841 — Seth C. Hawley, Stephen Osborne, Carlos Emmons.
1842 — W. A. Bird, B. H. Colegrove, Squire S. Case.
1843— George R. Babcock, Wells Brooks, N. McNeal.
1844 — Daniel Lee, Elisha Smith, Amos Wright.
1845 — Daniel Lee, J. T. Bush, Truman Dewey.
1846— James Wood, J. T. Bush, Nathan K. Hall.
1847 — John D. Howe, Horatio Shumway. William H.Pratt,
O. J. Green.
1848 — E. G. Spaulding, Harr\' Slade, Ira E. Irish, Charles C.
Severance.
1849 — Berwin Thompson, Augustus Raynor, N. McNeal, L.
Buxton.
1850 — Orlando Allen, Elijah I^'ord, IraE. Irish, Joseph Candee.
1851 — Orlando Allen, W. A. Bird, Henry Atwood, Charles
C. Severance.
1852— Israel T. Hatch, Jasper B. Young, Aaron Rile}', Joseph
Bennett.
1853— Almon M. Clapp, Williani T. Bush, Israel N. Ely,
Nelson Welch.
1854— William W. Weed. Rolland Germain, Charles A. Sill
Edward N. Hatch.
9/6 MEMBERS OF ASSEMBLY.
1855 — William W. Weed, Daniel Devening, Jr., L. D. Covey,
Seth W.Goddard.
1856 — John G. Deshler, Daniel Devening, Jr., John Clark,
Benjamin Maltby.
1857 — Augustus J. Tiffan\-, George D. W. Clinton, Horace
Boise, S. C. Adams.
1858— Albert P. Laning, Andrew J. McNett, John T. Whee-
lock, Amos Avery.
1859 — Daniel Bowen, Henry B. Miller, John S. King, Wilson
Rogers.
i860 — Orlando Allen, Henry B. Miller. Hiram Newell, Joseph
H. Plumb.
1861— S. V. R. Watson, Victor M. Rice. B. H. Long, Zebu-
Ion Ferris.
1862 — John W. Murphy, Horatio oeymour, Ezra P. Goslin,
John A. Case.
1863 — John W. Murphy, Horatio Seymour, Timothy A. Hop-
kins, A. G. Conger.
1864 — Walter W. Stannard, Frederick P. Stevens, Timothy
A. Hopkins, Seth Fenner.
1865 — Walter W. Stannard, Harman S. Cutting, J. G. Lang-
ner, E. W. Godfrey.
. 1866— William Williams. John J. L. C. Jewett, J. G. Lang-
ner, Levi Potter.
1867 — William Williams, C. W. Hinson, R. L. Burrows, A.
Prince, J. H. Plumb.
1868— G. J. Bamler, Richard Flack, L. P. Dayton, A. Prince,
James Rider.
1869— G. J. Bamler, P. H. Bender, J. A. Chase, C. B. Rich,
Abbott C. Calkins.
1870 — G. J. Bamler, James Franklin, A. H. Blossom, H. B.
Ransom, L. Oatman.
1871 — George Chambers, J, Howell, F. A. Alberger, H. B.
Ransom, J. M. Wiley.
1872 — George Chambers, George Baltz, F. A. Alberger, John
Simpson, J. M. Wiley.
1873 — John O'Brien, George Baltz, F. A. Alberger, John
Nice, R. B. Foote.
i^Oy 221949
Mi;.\ll'.KkS OF ASSK.MIII.W 977
1 874 — r. Maiirahan, Joseph \V. Smith, V. A. Albci'Licr. jolin
Nice, R. B. Footc.
1875 — Daniel Cruise, W. W. Lawson, Edward Gallatj^hcr,
Charles F. Tabor, B. Chaffee.
1876 — J. L. Crowley, J. C. Langner, Fdward (iallagiier,
Charles V. Tabor, Charles A. Orr.
1877— J. L! Crowley. J. C. Langner, EdwartI Gallagher,
Charles F. Tabor, Charles A. Orr.
1878— J. L. Crowley, J. G. Langner, I). F. Day. H. J, Hurd,
H. F. Allen.
1879 — Ji-iles O'Brien, l-rank Sipp, James Ash, James A.
Roberts, fL J. Hurd.
1880— Jeremiah Higgins, Frank Sipp, Arthur \V. Hickman,
George Bingham, H. J. Hurd.
1881 — Jeremiah Higgins, Frank Sipp, Arthur \V. Hickman,
Timothy W. Jackson, Job Southwick, Jr.
1882 — Cornelius Donahue, Godfrey Ernst, Elias S. Hawley,
Timothy W. Jackson, D. J.Wilcox.
1883 — Cornelius Donahue, Frank Sipp, Clinton, Timoth\-
\V. Jackson, D. J. Wilcox.
All
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